Event

Role Playing Games in Classrooms - Here Not Be Dragons

Saturday, August 28th, 2021, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Speaker: Jay Palarino

Role plays are often an activity used to practice functional language. They have been shown to help develop language skills, increase motivation and promote active learning (Sato, 2001; Shen & Suwanthep, 2011; Ip, Linser and Naidu, 2001). Table top role-playing games (TRPGs) have also been shown to have similar positive effects (Randi & Carvelho, 2013; Kaylor, 2017). Though while these ideas are desirable, their ease of entry can be seen as high with many being intimidated by lengthy rules sets and even lingering cultural stigmas. This talk will show ways to bridge those gaps.

Many modern TRPGs have a much easier learning curve. In fact, they go beyond a typical "dungeon crawl" and allow players to design governments, solve mysteries, direct and/or star in movies akin to the Coen brothers or Ghibli, and even safely explore current social issues. The delivery method also is not much more variable ranging beyond paper and pencil to include, decks of cards, coins, QR code readers or SNS messaging with rules sets being no longer than an average teacher lesson plan. Many newer TRPGs are "GMLess" meaning that they are played collaboratively in groups rather than being led by a central story teller.

The talk will show and share four "hacks" of these TRPG ideas that can be replicated by any teacher. It will give outlines of best practices for using these resources within a CLT / TBL framework.

Jay Palarino is a TESOL certified, Cambridge examiner, currently studying for an M.A. in Appiled Linguistics and English Language Teaching. He has over 20 years of experience teaching English, Japanese, and Music in Japan and the US. He is also an active, published board game designer and developer who together with presenter Stephen Case, received the Best of JALT award. He has also been a key note speaker for the JET programme Skills Development Conference on the topic of classroom gaming. He currently teaches at the Fukuoka College of Medical Health and Sports and has a passion for adding effective game-based learning activities into the classroom.

Organization: Fukuoka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Fukuoka JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 500 yen

Venue: Online: The Zoom link will be posted on the Fukuoka JALT website the day before

Location: Online, Online Events, Online Event

Contact Fukuoka JALT

Trevor Holster