Graduating on the Installment Plan

Researcher Heather Smith analyzes interactions between students learning English as a second language as they play a board game designed to encourage pupil-to-pupil interactions. Smith situates her research within a linguistic sociocultural theory and posits that students learn about the world primarily through speaking, being listened to, and interpreting the speech of others (416). Likewise, Smith suggests that “play” holds an important place in language acquisition because it allows learners to experiment with new structures in an environment that reduces consequences while promoting creativity (417).  This being the case, games that facilitate playful use of the target language between peers may be useful tools for language instruction.

During her observations of four mixed-language classes that participated in her board game, Smith noted the following interesting developments:

• Students were more willing to take risks with peers with language structures that they had not yet mastered than with instructors. This was likely because cultural expectations of mastery related to novice-expert interactions in the target language are not as present during pupil-to-pupil interactions (416). However, normal social pressures (teasing) felt by some students did prevent interactions in some cases (431).
• Experimentation with the target language seems much more likely with relaxed pupil-to-pupil interactions than with instructor-student interactions (433).
• Observing the play of students is useful to instructors because it reveals the process by which students acquire language skills (433).

Games in the L2 Composition Classroom
Although one might question the use of board games for teaching L2 composition, I see value in the incorporation of “play” into the composition classroom. Many researchers comment on the angst L2 learners feel when confronting the daunting task of composing in a non-native language; it seems that recreation, common to all students regardless of linguistic or cultural background, is a good tool for mitigating such anxiety. Many social games (Dungeons and Dragons, for example), incorporate interactions between reading, speech, and writing, and can be developed to facilitate the sorts of tasks that L2 learners are required to accomplish while simultaneously reducing emphasis on immediate mastery and the monolithic instructor.

Citation: Smith, Heather. “Playing to Learn: A Qualitative Analysis of Bilingual Pupil-Pupil Talk During Board Game Play.” Language and Education. Vol. 20, No. 5, 2006: 415-37.