Talk about different ways to gamify your English class.

1. Gamification in the ELT world
ELT Competencies Enhancement Course
ELT Competencies Enhancement Course
Acompañamiento para fortalecer las competencias en el proceso de enseñanza de la lengua extranjera inglés
5.02.02. Gamification

2. Open a Padlet and braistorm what gamification is.
https://padlet.com/internationalhousemexicodos/qoen
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3. Add your ideas

4. Same or Different?
Game based
learning
Gamification
in education

5. We already do game-based learning in
our English classroom
• Name games you play with your students

6. How do we get started gamifying?

7. 1. Giving points for meeting academic
objectives
Reading:
Do students need to be citing details from the text and evidence
for conclusions in class discussions?
Answers without evidence are now worth 1 point, a correct
answer with 1 piece of evidence is worth 2 points, a correct
answer + 2 pieces of evidence = 3 points.

8. 2. Giving points for meeting procedural/non-
academic objectives
Discipline, Interaction, collaborative work:
Need to solve a classroom issue such as shortening the time it
takes to check homework?
All students who have their homework out ready to be checked
before being prompted by the teacher now receive 2 points.

9. 3. Creating playful barriers
Classroom Management:
These sorts of barriers can be academic or behavioral, social or
private, creative, or logistical.
The point is, one of the primary tenets of gamification is the use
of encouragement mechanics through the application of playful
barriers–challenges, quests, first who…, top score in… for
example.

10. 4. Creating competition within
the classroom
Discipline/Class Routines/Getting started:
Teacher vs. Class: Students must follow a rule that the teacher
sets.
Anytime a student follows the rule, the Class gets a point.
Anytime a student does not follow a rule, the teacher gets a
point.
This is particularly great for introducing procedures and behavioral
expectations. If the Class wins, use a sustainable reward, such as a 1-
minute dance party, extended recess time, or fewer homework problems.

11. 5. Comparing and reflecting on performance
in nuanced ways personalized for each
student
Strategic behaviour
For example, one game might offer statistics of which objectives
were met and how, assigned a ‘badge’ based on that particular
performance ‘style,’ then track every minute detail around that
performance you can imagine: total number of jumps, number of
enemies alerted, number of different ways a specific problem was
solved, etc.
Praise different behaviour and effort done in various ways:
BADGES!
THE BEST TEAM PLAYER, THE FASTEST, THE MOST ACCURATE, THE
BEST DECORATED, THE CLEANEST DISPLAY, THE BEST
STRUCTURED, THE WITTIEST

12. 6. Creating a range of unique rewards
desirable for a range of unique students
Discipline, special privileges
“In my class, students get sunglasses to wear until the period is
over at 5 points, the privilege to take off their shoes at 10 points,
a positive text to their parents at 15, and if the high score is over
15, whoever has it may ‘steal’ the teacher’s chair.”
What are the privileges doable duding the pandemic?

13. 7. Using levels, checkpoints, and other
methods of ‘progression’
Performance and diligence / mixed ability classes:
 Track points over multiple classes, when students reach an important
milestone such as 100 points let them level up, as they progress further give
out sustainable milestone rewards, such as eating lunch with the teacher or
a free dress pass (if your school wears uniforms).
 Competitive students will race to have the highest level in their class and
grade which can be leveraged by creating quests that require them to recruit
lower-level students in quests that require both to practice target skills.

14. 8. Grading backward
Motivation, grades, feedback notes to parents:
Start grading at 0 instead of 100.
Every assignment, demonstrated mastery of skill, or desired
behavior earns points for them towards 100/letter
grade/certificate, or whatever reward you’d like to provide.

15. 9. Creating challenges with more than one way to be
solved and emphasize the different approaches.
Different learning styles:
 Praise effort and the capacity to recall and recite the way students
answered the task and give them extra points if they can explain it to
others.

16. 10. Giving learning badges instead of
(or in addition to) points or grades.
Recognition and sense of belonging:
 Agree with them on the virtues they want to highlight/praise.
Negotiate rewards. Assign roles of “Treasury man/woman” so you
don’t have to keep records 

17. 11. Letting students set their own goals, then track their
own progress in a fun/visual/social/personal way.
Progress recognition,
skills work, use of English
in class:
 Spanishmeter,
punctuality meter, WOW
Toastmaster’s way,
Camera’s on meter
ENGLISHMETER SPANISHMETER

18. 12. Helping students assume specific perspectives
in learning–as a judge, designer, father, etc.
Attitude:
This element of fantasy role-play is a
big draw of video games.
Make hats of different colors and
assign roles for each:

19. 13. Incentivizing student ‘exploration’ of content by
offering bonuses, ‘easter eggs,’ and other benefits of
achieving supplementary goals beyond the main lesson
objective itself.

22. Your day padlet! Well done!

23. Reference
• https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/12-examples-
of-gamification-in-the-classroom/
• https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/how-to-gamify-your-
classroom/