Unit 4: The Power of Language
4.2 Playing Digital Games
Do you play games? If so, what kind of games and with whom? Or do you play alone, on your phone? The advent of digital media has immensely expanded the way in which people can play and engage with information and with each other. This ranges from people now being able to take and share high quality images with the entire world within the matter of seconds to playing complex immersive games with others without being in the same room. When investigating digital games, you will find that a number of games, also many of the so-called brain-train games, are based on traditional board game ideas and techniques.
1. a) First of all, try out one example, and have fun. This is the game ‘memory pairs’ but a digital variation. The focus of this game is to match cards that show the numbers or equations that make up the numbers from a particular times table, to remember where these cards were placed on the board and to match the numbers with the right equations. Once you have played the game, think about the following questions and take some notes in your learning diary:
- How did you find the game experience?
- What was difficult, easy, exciting, boring?
- Think about what playing this game might be like for an older person? What might be the challenges?
- What could be the benefits of using this digital game in one of your language's sessions, for example being able to show this on a big screen to your group of participants or getting participants to play this in pairs?
1. b) Now think of traditional games you know which you could use in your language sessions by adding a language twist. You might also want to have a look at this website on foreign language games and be inspired. Pay particular attention to the section Games You Can Create on Your Own, which talks about games that can be played in digital or traditional formats. Compare your notes with our model answer.