Decrease anxiety about learning English with mobile gaming
It’s normal to experience some anxiety when s … ng a second language. When paired with large class sizes and limited … unities for practice during class time, however, this anxiety can limit a person’s ability to perform in the language classroom. In order to become proficient in a second language, learners require extensive practice with the language such as with new vocabulary words and grammar.
Due to limited class time, language teachers tend to focus more on teaching new items rather than having students practice what they have already taught. So having adequate time to practice is important, especially when it does not require the presence of a teacher. This can be accomplished via peer feedback, which has been shown to benefit language learning.
Enter a mobile game for language classrooms which allows learners to practice, and which allows for peer feedback with language: Spaceteam ESL. The game, which can be played on smartphones or other mobile devices, is a modified version of Spaceteam, created by Henry Smith of Sleeping Beast Games. Two researchers from Concordia’s Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance, David Waddington and Walcir Cardoso, developed the modified version in collaboration with Smith. This educational game is now free to download for Android and iOS.
Learn more about this topic by reading this article on Phys.
After reading “Decrease anxiety about learning English with mobile gaming” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs, and visit my YouTube channel.