Dungeons and dragons in the classroom

Have you read the latest issue of Humanising Language Teaching? There’s a fantastic article by Monika Bigaj-Kisala about using (real) role-playing games in ELT: with character creation, game mechanics, dungeon masters and all that. If you were wondering how to embark on an epic journey with your class, this may be the ticket 🙂 I am tempted too because Monika makes it sound really simple: have the learners create characters, engage with each other in casual, problem-solving or conflict conversations, and roll the dice. The benefits are many, both affective and cognitive, and can make RPGs a worthy alternative to projects. On top of all that, Monika’s story of how she started using role plays with an unruly class of six-graders is even more inspiring than sword and sorcery: it’s about a teacher who tried different tacks and never stopped until she reached the kids.

P.S. If this topic is close to your heart, here’s a reference to a post about using the Hero’s Journey for gamification.