In our final episode of season one, we are joined by James York, lecturer at Tokyo Denki University. James conducts research on the application of ludic approaches to language teaching. He explores research on the use of tabletop games in a task-based language teaching curriculum, the use of Reddit in multiliteracies-inspired curriculum, and building community through online games. He also edits Ludic Language Pedagogy, an open-access journal that publishes research on the integration of games and play in language teaching contexts.

You can find James on: Twitter | LLP Discord | email

Links & resources

James’s methodology: Task-based language teaching (TBLT): https://www.english.com/blog/teaching-methods-introduction-to-tblt/

Problem-based Learning (PBL): https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.napier.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S2452301116300062

Bill Cope & Mary Kalantzis (Eds.) A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Learning by Design (Palgrave macmillan, 2016)https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137539717

Discord: https://discord.com/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/

Massively multiplayer online (MMO) games: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_game

Minecraft: https://www.minecraft.net/

Apex Legends: https://www.ea.com/games/apex-legends

Among Us: https://innersloth.com/gameAmongUs.php

Kotoba-rollers: see J. York (2019), “Kotoba Rollers” walkthrough: Board games, TBLT, and player progression in a university EFL classroom. Ludic Language Pedagogy, 1, 58-­114. https://llpjournal.org/assets/publication-pdfs/york-j-2019-kotoba-rollers-walkthrough.pdf & J. York (2021) ‘Creating playgrounds in online teaching spaces: Kanami and Nene’s “hero journeys” Lucic Language Pedagogy https://llpjournal.org/2021/05/14/j-york-creating-playgrounds-hero-journeys.html
Situated Learning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situated_learning