Italian Gaming Lab: Using Tabletop Games for Language Learning (CLAC.50)
ITAL 220
Spring 2025
| Section:
01
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| This course may be repeated for credit. |
| Crosslisting:
CGST 220 |
Italian Gaming Lab is designed as a game-based Italian language laboratory that will focus on why and how tabletop games can be effective tools for language learning; examples will include board games, card games, and tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), an increasingly popular type of game that is based on collaborative storytelling in which participants either impersonate one or more characters or create and organize entire worlds.
In this CLAC course, we will explore how a game-informed pedagogy can work in Italian language and culture classrooms and to highlight analog gaming approaches that have worked inside and outside the language classroom. We will discuss the basics of Game-Based Learning (GBL) applied to L2 acquisition, as well as play a series of games that can illustrate the gameful principles previously studies. Participants will discuss the application of gaming principles to L2 acquisition and create reports and playful presentations on their linguistic journey through play. The course offers students the opportunity to use language creatively and to develop critical knowledge within the rising and innovative field of Game-Based Learning and educational game design.
The course will be conducted in Italian, and games will be played in Italian. Both intermediate/advanced learners of Italian (second-year level or above) and native speakers are welcome. If you are unsure about whether your language background is sufficient for the course, please contact the instructor. |
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| Credit: .5 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Discussion | Grading Mode: Credit/Unsatisfactory |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: ITAL102 |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (EDST-MN)(EDST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
: All readings will be provided by the instructor on Moodle. Excerpts from the following texts will be included: - Arnaudo, Marco. Storytelling in the Modern Board Game. - Boller, Sharon and Karl Kapp. Play to Learn. - Booth, Paul. Board Games as Media. - Byers, Andrew, and Francesco Crocco. The Role-Playing Society. - Caillois, Roger. Man, Play, and Games. - Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. - Deterding, Sebastian and Steffen Walz. The Gameful World. - Engelstein, Geoffrey, and Isaac Shalev. Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design. - Gee, James Paul. Good Video Games and Good Learning. - Grazy, Peter. Free to Learn. - Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens. - Juul, Jesper. Half-Real. - Kapp, Karl. The Gamification of Learning and Instruction. - Koster, Raph. A Theory of Fun for Game Design. - Nicholson, Scott, and Liz Cable. Unlocking the Potential of Puzzle-Based Learning. - Norman, Don. The Design of Everyday Things. - Reinhardt, Jonathon. Gameful Second and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning. - Ruberg, Bonnie. The Queer Games Avant-garde. - Salen, Katie and Eric Zimmermann. Rules at Play. - Shaw, Adrienne. Gaming at the Edge - Shell, Jesse. The Art of Game Design. - Squire, Kurt. Video Games and Learning. - Sutton Smith, Brian. The Ambiguity of Play. - Zagal, Josè, and Sebastian Deterding. Role-playing Game Studies. - Zimmerman, Eric. The Rules We Break and Manifesto for a Ludic Century.
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Examinations and Assignments:
: Weekly critical readings on different aspects of Game-Based Learning and game design; weekly class discussions to respond to readings or visiting speakers; weekly Discord channel entries to either prepare for in-class discussions or reflect on the assigned materials after class; weekly Critical Play sessions in class to try different games and reflect on their learning potential; final project + presentation - presenting a game and its learning potential and affordances; attend Game Nights. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
: During Pre-Reg - students should submit their interest in the class with a paragraph detailing why they want to take this class. |
| Instructor(s): Zamboni,Camilla Times: .....F. 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 12 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 12 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 2 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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