David Dodgson: Breaking the Learning Blocks: Minecraft and Language Learning

Room MERLIN

Livestream

World Clock Sat 4pm GMT 5pm London, 6pm Paris, 1am Tokyo (Sun), 12pm New York

Minecraft is not just a game. It is THE game of the moment for children all over the world and if you teach them, you will have surely heard them talking about it enthusiastically.
It is simply a game of breaking and placing blocks but it opens all sorts of doors to creativity for young learners. Through this game, kids learn to plan, create, collaborate, think outside the box and, if it all goes wrong, try again - all powerful skills for learning. Beyond the game, students engage in a highly active network of fan forums, community discussions and YouTube guides to explore even more.
But how can this game of few words be useful in an ELT context? This session will examine ways to harness the incredible learning potential Minecraft holds to allow our language students to express themselves and engage with the language... and break the learning block.

David Dodgson has worked with young learners in Turkey for over a decade (but is soon to embark on a new teaching adventure in Gabon). He also works as a freelance teacher training consultant and holds an MA in EdTech and TESOL. He is interested in effective use of technology in the classroom and personalising the learning experience, which has led him to explore the area of game-based learning (GBL). He blogs about GBL at eltsandbox.weebly.com and other ELT issues at www.davedodgson.com. You can also find him on Twitter as both @eltsandbox and @davedodgson.