Against datafication, pointification, dehumanizing practices.

“the ludic century”

If games are the most popular, common, and pervasive media among all demographics (Palandrani, 2021; Wijman, 2020), there’s an imperative for us, teachers, to figure out where they fit into our practices.

digital game-based (language) learning is not going to help us do this!

Why ludic matters

Peer interaction and communication

Don’t believe the hype. Games and play are nothing new in language education.” (York et al., 2021)

Creative and authentic language use

Reducing the “affective filter” and increasing a willingness to communicate (thus allowing students to engage in hypothesis testing, negotiation for meaning, receive feedback, etc.).

Directions/rules with multiple parts

Phonological and phonemic awareness

“Authentic” “goal-oriented” language use.

Access to target language speakers (if we look outside of merely gameplay, but consider global communities around play and games).

Sharing and taking turns

Curiosity and creativity

Teamwork and collaboration

However, we can’t un-coddle students with gamification or “just playing” games. The teacher needs to do more. Referring back to deHaan (2019), if games are to be used at all, it should be as a transformative act, not to fill students’ minds with empty facts and figures for tests.

I have more thoughts on why “ludic” matters, but I’m saving it for a paper I’m writing.

Pleasure, thus avoidance of depression. “The opposite of play is not work—the opposite of play is depression” (Brown, 2009).

Physical movement releases neurotrophins in the brain, increasing the connections between neurons (Jenson, 2005)...

Boost creativity → leading to entrepreneurial opportunities?

Build stronger connections to learning when we play (Berridge & Keringlebach, 2015).

Hand-eye coordination

problem-solving

learning from failure

How does gamification or “Kahoots” allow for any of this?