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?

I don't think teaching kids to play a game for better English, and even if I would be hella happy if you added ~250 players into the game, I think you should ask for permission of the administration before you do it.

What i think you should do (if you decide to do this) is get only those students into a game. That way, they could be practicing their English together, and they won't be at a disadvantage from gameplay. It would be a very interesting, but hard to implement, teaching style.

Plus, is would create a loophole in which a person playing in class can say "Well you told us to practice and I'm practicing" and get away with playing.

By the way good luck becoming a "teacher English" dunno what that is.. But good luck.

Yo. Juan. Chill out.

I think it could be a cool idea! I'd have to day the majority of the people I've met are either American or from the British Isles- But I have met some Russian, Japanese, Saudi, Napalese, Vietnemese, Canadian (super exotic, mega rare), and a Swede or two.
Maybe that could be a little bonus? Ask them to find out where their opponents are from? Could maybe drive a point of the inter-nationality of English. I'm only an American without a second language (I can pass by with a little spanish bu disregard it) But I imagine that might a bit exciting knowing that there are others in their same position?
Good luck to you- This could be a cool experience for them eh?

juanma206 wrote:I don't think teaching kids to play a game for better English, and even if I would be hella happy if you added ~250 players into the game

It's actually a common way of teaching to use games in order to improve certain (cognitive) skills. If these goals aren't met, games can be used to achieve affective learning goals. If you want to know more about this topic I would like to refer you to this article: https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/famsci/fs1430.pdf

mathwhiz9 wrote:those students

By 'those students', do you mean students who are interested in the game? And yes, it is very interesting but I feel it could be done.

juanma206 wrote:Plus, is would create a loophole in which a person playing in class can say "Well you told us to practice and I'm practicing" and get away with playing.

Students (of that age) need boundaries, so yes, you're right about it being some how dangerous. However, if teachers make clear rules about when Subterfuge is allowed to be played, not much could go wrong. In the school I teach at the moment, students are asked to leave their smartphone in a little box in the front of the classroom. At the end of class they get their phones back.
Furthermore, I am already using smartphones in class for different activities like kahoot.it or lyricstraining.com and it has never led to any problems.

juanma206 wrote:By the way good luck becoming a "teacher English" dunno what that is.. But good luck.

Thanks for pointing that out! 'teacher English' is a form of Dutchism and therefore a common mistake for Dutch people. In the Netherlands we talk about 'leraar Engels' and not about Engels leraar (English teacher), so I am not used to turning these two words around. Furthermore: as I said, I am still in training (for reasons like these) and teachers make mistakes all the time!

janitorialduties wrote:I think it could be a cool idea! I'd have to day the majority of the people I've met are either American or from the British Isles- But I have met some Russian, Japanese, Saudi, Napalese, Vietnemese, Canadian (super exotic, mega rare), and a Swede or two.
Maybe that could be a little bonus? Ask them to find out where their opponents are from? Could maybe drive a point of the inter-nationality of English. I'm only an American without a second language (I can pass by with a little spanish bu disregard it) But I imagine that might a bit exciting knowing that there are others in their same position?
Good luck to you- This could be a cool experience for them eh?

Thanks for the input Sir! I guess all sorts of assignments could be drawn up to make it more interesting, so that's a good idea for sure. Students are bored by writing hypothical letters and essays which aren't read by anyone except for their teacher, so getting actual responses will be the biggest change for them, as well as the fact that what they are saying has actual influence on the gameplay.

Questions remain:

- How can I moniter this?
- How should I assess them?
- How do I treat students who don't like games like these?

-How to monitor it?
Maybe you could use the in-game recording function and have the students turn in daily reports on what's going on in-game? You could also have them take screenshots of their in-game conversations, since there is no way to show chat in the recording function. If you need more, you could try emailing the devs. They might be able to set something up!
-How to assess?
Perhaps on the effectiveness of their communication? If they're playing against native English speakers, they'll have to communicate fairly well. Have them send you whatever they do in-game to assess?
You could also make it an extra-credit assignment or a participation-based grade, maybe?
-How to handle non-Subterfugers?
You could offer alternative assignments, like having them join another English-speaking online thing (not a game, probably).
If it's extra credit, you don't have to worry about it.
If you want everyone to participate in Subterfuge, you could try making a couple of games: One for students who want to try, and one for students who couldn't care less, maybe.

I think this is a great idea! I kind of wish my Spanish teacher in high school had done something like this.

I am in high school, so I guess that counts as some form of validation for my opinion. Here are my 2 cents on your idea.
- Does everyone have a phone? If not, you can't do this.
- Every class has those 5-10 people who misbehave, no matter what. They will see this as a chance to goof off and not learn. But this also may trick them into learning English....
- Make them 10 player games, with 9 students and one "admin" from the forums. The admin can help everyone out with the game and English. (I'd be willing to host the private game if there are too many for you to host)