Week 5 Assignment 1 Games, Simulations, and Virtual Environments

Games, Simulations, and Virtual Environments

This week, I want to introduce a virtual environment and a game that have the potential to enhance adult education. Second Life is available on http://secondlife.com/, and the Restaurant Game can be reached via http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/restaurantgame.htm.

Second Life is an online virtual world. Everyone can create an avatar by entering the site for free and start exploring this world. It is not a game, but more of an online social environment to meet people and visit places. Users can get as creative as they can while creating their avatar and their virtual home. I selected this medium because learners can practice English while communicating with their classmates or strangers in a relaxed environment that does not involve competition. To incorporate this technology into my professional practice, I would inform the learners that are at intermediate level and above in the Preparatory Program about Second Life and encourage them to join it. Then, I would start a Second Life Fun Club, which learners can join as an extra-curricular activity, after class hours. I would have scheduled meetings with the learners there, to assign them specific tasks every week, such as “visit London and note down the most interesting person you met there”. In our next meeting, learners would describe this person. Another way I would use it is to ask my learners to reflect on their experiences in Second Life, comparing them to their real life. I would ask them to write a weekly reflection and submit it to me. I think learners who volunteer to join this club would benefit from this experience tremendously because they would be practicing English in a real-like environment according to their preferences. I would just be there to guide them in this adventure. The website http://www.avatarlanguages.com/teaching/virtualworld.php offers more ideas for using Second Life for educative purposes for those who are interested.

The Restaurant Game is great for English language learners to learn about the British culture. The player acts as a newly employed waiter at the Brit Café, who is trying to serve customers the right food. The menu consists of traditional British food, and the main aim is to familiarize the player with these dishes. There are three categories in the menu: starters, main course, and pudding and each has a number of scenarios in it once you click. I selected this game because I think it is important for learners of English to learn about the culture of the language they are studying, and food is a big part of the culture. I could use this game in class in my lessons for teaching purposes or I could assign certain scenarios as homework for my learners to learn some meals by exploring themselves, depending on how independent my learners are. I could test their achievement by giving them a quick True/False test in class. Another way of incorporating this game into my teaching is to turn certain scenarios into role-play activities in class. I could assign a different scenario to pairs of learners and ask them to learn every food on their menu. Then, in class, pairs could act out this scenario. I think this game is a fun way to teach learners of English about the British culture, and it could be integrated into the lesson in many ways.