Seven ways to use online games in the WL classroom

My middle schoolers love to play online games, and I love them too! They are fun and they save me when we need a more relaxed day, or I need a sub plan, or we have a remote day, or a kid was absent and needs some extra practice. My go to is always Gimkit or Blooket. I love how easy it is to create question sets, and there are so many game modes that the kids don’t get bored. They are always coming out with new ones and new skins to help sustain their interest. Online games can be adapted and used in so many more ways than just vocabulary and test review. Here are seven ways to use online games in the World Language Classroom:

1. Use games to reinforce vocabulary with added repetitions

Sometimes it can be challenging to get enough repetitions of a word for a kid to acquire it. The repetitive nature of the questions is to their advantage. Students will be able to recognize the meaning of a word faster the more they play. If they get the answer wrong they will be told the correct answer and they will have another chance to get it right next time. Plus, the default is multiple choice so it is supportive for all but you can increase the challenge by making some open-ended or having them choose the correct French word for the English word given.

2. Use games as an assessment not just review

Digital games are a great tool for review. My suggestion is to use the same questions on your test for the review to save you time and students will see the connection between studying and the test.

But my favorite grading hack is using Gimkit as an assessment. This was a game changer for my UA classes. They rotate so often and there are so many students it was a challenge to keep on top of grading their summatives when I was doing a reading and listening assessment. So I started giving their summatives on Gimkit. Towards the end of the rotation we would spend a Gimkit day reviewing and then the next day we would use the same set as an assessment. We would have a ten minute review round to “warm up their brains and get in French mode”, then have the Quiz Round and then have a fun round. At the end of the round you click “view report”and it will tell you each student’s percentage correct. I decided an 80% was a 3, 90% was a 3.5 and 97-100% was a 4. I would show them their score each round so they could monitor their progress.

I like that students are supported by multiple choice questions and I could sit with a student and further limit their choices if needed. The game also supports read-aloud. Since the questions continue to recycle, one miss-click or wrong answer doesn’t ruin their score and allows for the opportunity to continue learning as you play. If a student didn’t end up meeting a 3 in the quiz round I either offer the opportunity to count their score on the fun round if it improves (assuming there is time to answer enough questions) or ask them some targeted questions. Entering the grades in the Gradebook are also super fast and I can do it right then after the quiz is complete.

I tell the students the money in the game just makes it fun but does not affect their grade. They don’t have to worry about upgrades or the leaderboard during the quiz, just focusing on answer questions. I remind them to read thoroughly and if they don’t remember an answer narrow it down by covering the wrong answers with their hand.

I usually put it to a vote and let the class choose a paper quiz or a Gimkit Quiz. Of all of my classes over the past two years I think only one class chose to have a paper quiz. You do want to have some paper quizzes on hand and ready in case a student’s computer dies or they forget it.

For my Level 1 students I like to keep the summative assessments consistent to show their growth (more on that in another post). But I will use a Gimkit game as a formative.

3. Add variety and ask questions

Rather than just have my whole set be translation I like to add variety, like match the image and the phrase. So I might have a picture of clouds as the question and they would have to choose the answer that said “il est nuageux”, or the question might say “il est nuageux” and they have to choose from four pictures. I like to use question words to get them thinking deeper in French Quelle couleur est l’éléphant? With an image and they have to choose the correct answer according to the picture. Adding true and false and fill in the blank questions as well as varying the length of translations to whole phrases will require them to read and think about the meaning of the sentence. For example, the question is: le chat est faché and the answers might be: A. The cat is happy. B. The cat is mad. C. The dog is mad. D. The dog is frustrated.

4. Use games for Reading Comprehension

I frequently make sets about stories I have told. I will add images so they have to match the image and the caption or answer questions about the story with images for support. For example, Où va l’extraterrestre? And they would have to look at the image of a grocery aisle to be able to choose the answer Supermarché. You can create questions about the text to check for understanding. After reading a couple of chapters of Brandon Brown wants a dog I created a set and we played a classic Blooket as a quiz to see how much they understood. I used the same questions they had while reading so I didn’t have to write the same questions (no need for you to work any harder!). You can also throw in some questions in English as well to see if they really did comprehend the target language such as What happened first? Where did the character not go? What did Amy want? Again, use a variety so students have to answer questions but also match key vocabulary for understanding.

5. Use games for Listening Comprehension

Gimkit allows you to record your own audio in the question. I love the variety that this adds. In my adjective kit I have some questions where I recorded myself describing a person (just a simple sentence) and they had to choose the correct image. I have a kit on the alphabet where students had to listen to the letter or a word spelled and type in the answer. Use the variety of questions - translation, true/false, match the description to the picture.

6. Use games for grammar practice

I don’t love teaching grammar as much as I love grammar. I do it to check the box and to make sure they are prepared for a more traditional language learning environment, so why not game-ify it. I use Gimkit’s text entry feature and will give them a prompt like elle (danser) and they have to type: elle danse, or je mang_ and they need to type an “e”. I like to make sure to use a variety of subjects so they will remember when they see “___ et moi” it is equivalent to “nous”. I throw in some questions like Jean et Marie = ___ as well. We do some conjugation practice on a worksheet first but this allows them to get a ton of practice in and they get faster. I make sure they have their notesheet out with them to refer back to. I will warn you they are VERY frustrated at first because it is challenging but I noticed such a difference after we played a couple rounds of this.

7. Use games as Sub Plans

THIS IS MY FAVORITE TIP AND MY FAVORITE SUB PLAN. Save yourself the hassle of coming up with sub plans that a non-target-language-speaking-sub can manage and just leave a game. It is super easy to write the instructions, the kids are more likely to participate in a game, you can easily check they completed their assignment, and it is a productive use of their time, not just busy work. It is a great opportunity to review the current unit, cycle back to previous units OR check the box of some vocabulary that you don’t always have time to incorporate. These are my FAVORITE sub plans. For example, we often do numbers with the calendar but you're limited to 1-31 and getting enough repetitions with the higher numbers can be a challenge, so my first sub plan is usually numbers. In my emergency sub folder I have copies of the number list already printed with the plan on top and I have a numbers assignment preloaded in our LMS. When I need that plan I can just pull it out or let my sub buddy know what to grab. I also like to do this with family members and basic food that we don’t get to discuss when we talk about our preferences. Are they going to remember all of the words? Probably not. They will have been exposed and can return back to the assignment for extra practice if they finish early. I figure I will probably need about three to five sub plans like this for the year. You also have a couple of options: have sets for each level or use the same set for all the levels. It will be new vocab for the lower levels but review and more repetitions for the upper levels.