Teaching with Subterfuge
Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 7:08 am
As some of you may know I am following a teacher training program in The Netherlands to become a teacher English for students aged 12-18. For a long time the emphasis of teaching has been on the structure of the language and on all the different grammatical constructions. Whereas the accuracy and knowlegde of language is important and should be known in order to use it effectively, the emphasis has shifted towards fluency and communication. I get taught at university that the main goal is that my pupils should to be able to read, write, listen and speak in English, something which I highly support. Lessons based on communicative goals have proven themselves to be more interesting than lessons based on grammar or vocabulary and therefore I am trying to make sure my lessons are interesting and innovative.
Lately I have been thinking of new ways to make sure my students start communicating and I wondered if Subterfuge might be a cool method of getting my students into talking to other people in English, as they are basically forced to talk English in this game. They are already all over their smartphones, so it won't feel as a traditional assignment they are used too. On the other hand, we all know this game is not a game everybody will like, so the same will apply for the pupils I teach. I am not sure how to bring this to my pupils and more importantly, how to make this work properly. Do you guys have any ideas I can work with?
Lately I have been thinking of new ways to make sure my students start communicating and I wondered if Subterfuge might be a cool method of getting my students into talking to other people in English, as they are basically forced to talk English in this game. They are already all over their smartphones, so it won't feel as a traditional assignment they are used too. On the other hand, we all know this game is not a game everybody will like, so the same will apply for the pupils I teach. I am not sure how to bring this to my pupils and more importantly, how to make this work properly. Do you guys have any ideas I can work with?