Tag Archives: ESL

Competition Winner! Christmas Escape Game

Congratulations to Nada Purtic, the winner of the Digital Play Christmas competition! Here, as the last Digital Play blog post of the year, is Nada’s idea for the December Escape Game. Well done Nada! A copy of Digital Play (the book) is on the way to you. December Escape Game Lesson Plan Level: Beginners Language: [...]

Get ya gaming mojo back

Did you ever play computer games as a kid? Is there a game you remember that you always used to play? Would you like to play it again? If your answer to any of these questions was ‘Yes’ then why not play it again?  Maybe you can’t.  Either you or your parents sold on your [...]

10 Gaming Genres To Adapt In Class

Here’s a brief description of ten gaming genres and some tips on how they can be used in the classroom.  All these games were chosen because they are popular with young language learners, engaging and fun.  You can read lesson ideas and plans on this blog by following the links. 1  Point and click These [...]

Another Interactive Text Adventure : Spent

As Chris Roland showed us with Inanimate Alice (Part I & Part II), there is a lot of scope for language learning and teaching in Interactive fiction. Spent is a very different type of text adventure. It’s not interactive fiction – firstly, because it deals with a very serious subject : poverty. It is also [...]

Gamify your classroom with Chore Wars

Gamification One definition of gamification is the use of features usually found in games in areas of life which are usually game free. Only time will tell if this buzzword becomes the next big thing as some people are predicting, but meanwhile, sites such as Chore Wars can help you make a game of some [...]

Spotlight on Digital Play Innovators #5 Michael Gibson

Michael Gibson is a filmmaker and serious games expert.  He is a member of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association which is an online network of professionals dedicated to the design, implementation, and evaluation of games and simulations to improve learning results. Along with co-founders Allan Stitt and Frank Handy, he runs the online [...]

Question forms with ‘Ask Peter’

Learners write questions for the online Tarot reader ‘Ask Peter’ to answer. Level: Pre-intermediate + Location: Connected classroom Language focus:  Wh- (QASI) forms Game: Peter Answers Preparation Ask learners to write down three questions.  there are three rules: The answers have to be the names of people in the room. They should try and use [...]

Blockbusters

Level: Advanced Location: Computer room Topic: Revision & test of course book vocabulary. Language focus: Reading Game:  Blockbusters How to play Your learner plays the single red team against the computer (the two blue guys).  The aim of the game is to make a white line across the board from top to bottom (or the [...]

Happy Family dress up

Level: Beginners Location: Computer room Language Focus: Physical description: clothes/ body. Skills Practice: Reading Game: Happy Family Dress up Preparation 1.  Play a game yourself and write out a description of the family like this: The boy has got black hair and dark skin. He’s wearing an orange striped top with short sleeves and a [...]

Game Talk : Angry Birds

Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s a simple conversation activity/warmer that might be of interest to you when you go back to teaching after the winter break. Talking about games with learners can be a very useful activity, especially if you choose a game that everyone has heard of or played. So, which one to choose? [...]