There is another idea built into the German word SPIELRAUM: Spiel means play or game

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At LGA, games can be a short activity inside a lesson, an interactive listening challenge, a story in which decisions change what happens next, or an entire game world used for German learning.

Games work well for language learning because they give learners something concrete to do with German. They may need to understand information, remember something from an earlier dialogue, react to another person, make a choice, explain a decision, cooperate, compete, solve a problem or decide what should happen next. LGA sources describe play as creating roles, goals, choices, uncertainty, cooperation, competition and consequences that generate reasons to understand, respond, communicate and act in German.

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Final Control by Learn German America

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Final Control is LGA’s competitive interactive story and game system.

Players do not simply follow a story. They help create it.

Challengers write their own competing German story contributions. They can introduce new ideas, characters, problems and possible directions for what happens next. Other players evaluate eligible contributions anonymously, while the Story Keeper decides how the continuing story develops. The Keeper may select one idea, combine several contributions or take the story in another direction.

Competition is part of the game.

Players can earn Game Score and build strategic influence over time. Strong contributions can affect later rounds, decisions and story development.

Final Control also includes game mechanics beyond writing. Powers can change what players are able to do, and a Power Wheel can introduce chance and new strategic possibilities. Powers can affect contributions, decisions, player influence and the direction of the developing story.

Different LGA characters, locations and storylines can appear inside Final Control.

It combines German writing, speaking, reading, decision making, competition, peer evaluation, strategy, chance and interactive storytelling.

German is not only the language of the story. It is part of how the game is played.

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Kahoot

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Kahoot turns language material into a fast shared challenge.

LGA can use Kahoot for vocabulary, useful expressions, grammar patterns, story details, cultural information and material from dialogues. Learners retrieve what they already know, distinguish between possible answers, react quickly and compare results with other learners.

LGA’s source system also includes teacher created and student created Kahoots, course review, vocabulary and structure retrieval, formative feedback and group competition.

A dialogue therefore does not disappear after it has been read or spoken. Its characters, vocabulary, situations and details can return later as game content.

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Roxxem

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Roxxem brings music, listening and game based interaction into German learning.

LGA can use Roxxem to work with authentic listening, lyrics and vocabulary through interactive activities and minigames. The same material can then return in conversation, vocabulary work, review or other lesson activities.

This creates another way into German: learners are listening for meaning, recognizing language and responding while working with media that already has its own rhythm and context.

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World of Warcraft auf Deutsch

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In World of Warcraft auf Deutsch, an existing game world becomes part of the German lesson.

What happens during play can become the learning material. A quest may introduce new vocabulary. A character or location may lead to questions. A decision may become a conversation. Something the learner wants to accomplish in the game may create an immediate need for a word, expression or explanation in German.

Playing, conversation, dialogue and language work can move back and forth. Something that happens in the game can lead to a new German dialogue, and language developed during the lesson can become useful again when the learner returns to the game.

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This two way connection between dialogue and games is part of the broader LGA design: characters, situations, vocabulary, relationships, story details and decisions can move from dialogue into a game, while events in a game can generate new conversation and dialogue.

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