| Body | By Isabelle Sackville-West
This activity is designed to help language learners to build the critical skill of utilizing contextual clues in their environments to support communication. The activity uses Geoguessr, an online game platform that utilizes Google Map’s satellite feature to drop the player somewhere in the world and then asks players to identify where they are placed based on what they can see and explore. This activity can be used in any classroom regardless of target language or proficiency level. Teachers can expand on this activity or make it tailored to one specific language by selecting a map specifically where the target language is spoken.
Students will be able to:
- Identify contextual clues within a simulated environment to draw conclusions
- Investigate contextual clues
- Explain how the skills used in the game transfer to real-world target language scenarios
Materials: https://geoguessr.com/, Geoguessr Worksheet
Procedure:
- Brainstorm: As a class, brainstorm what kinds of contextual information is important when in a new place. Examples include signposts, the side of the road on which cars are driving, architecture, scenery, and plant and animal life. It may be useful to write out the information students brainstorm on the whiteboard so that students can refer to it during gameplay.
- Gameplay 1: Visit the website https://geoguessr.com/. Direct students to begin by playing a map of the United States or a map of a location with which they are familiar. Ask them to take notes on their own sheet of paper regarding what environmental clues helped them to discern where they were on the map. Debrief as a class.
- Gameplay 2: Next, have the students play the map titled “A Diverse World” (https://geoguessr.com/maps/59a1514f17631e74145b6f47). This map will require that learners continue to shape and refine the critical skill of paying attention to contextual clues in order to draw conclusions about their environment. As they play, students should also fill out the Geoguessr Worksheet. As they fill it out, encourage them to investigate any contextual clues that they discern through Internet searches. For example, if they note an area code on a billboard, they may be able to determine what city or state they are in.
- Reflection: When students are finished playing, bring the class together for a group discussion to think about how the skills they used while playing Geoguessr can be applied to the spontaneous communication opportunities outside of the classroom. Have them consider both visiting a new part of the world, as well as interacting with members of another culture.
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