Snakes, Ladders, Crossword Puzzles
Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 6:04 pm
Snakes and Ladders
This is actually a serious question concerning language learning. When I was a small child, that is, at a time when most households in our neighbourhood did not have a television set, my sister and I would amuse ourselves by playing “Snakes and Ladders”, an ancient Indian board game which is known throughout much of the world.
Over the years, I have become accustomed to seeing two rather common artifices in contemporary language-learning textbooks/workbooks for use in a classroom. I would point out that their use extends to materials which are specifically conceived for the instruction of adults, not children. I am referring to use of the “snakes” which contain items of vocabulary, as well as jumbled letters, which the student is meant to decipher. The images below are taken from Langenscheidt’s Berliner Platz, Deutsch im Alltag.
A similar device is the crossword puzzle. I have never enjoyed solving crossword puzzles, they simply do not appeal to me. Nevertheless, I believe that I have a reasonable command of my native tongue and, according to a number of online tests (for whatever they’re worth), it seems that I have a passive vocabulary well beyond 29,000 words in English. I acquired this vocabulary by reading, not by playing word games. Ditto for the “snakes” and similar artifices which plague the contemporary language-learning textbooks/workbooks for use in a classroom. I refuse to complete these exercises. Not only do they not appeal to me, I find them irritating and, quite frankly, an insult to my intelligence. I am offended by their very presence in course materials which are specifically designed for use by adults. I feel that I am being treated either as a small child, or a dolt, or a doddering old fool (which I may very well be, but we'll leave my wife to be the judge of that!). And yet, I believe that my obstinate refusal to play these games has not-in-the-least impeded my progress in the study of several foreign languages.
Pedagogical Value of Snakes and Crossword Puzzles in Language Learning?
My first question is: what pedagogical value do these artifices truly possess? Are there are studies (real studies, not psycho-babble studies designed to prove the author’s preconceived ideas) justifying their use?
My second question is: how do you react when you encounter these games in your language-learning materials?
EDITED:
Typos, as always.
This is actually a serious question concerning language learning. When I was a small child, that is, at a time when most households in our neighbourhood did not have a television set, my sister and I would amuse ourselves by playing “Snakes and Ladders”, an ancient Indian board game which is known throughout much of the world.
Over the years, I have become accustomed to seeing two rather common artifices in contemporary language-learning textbooks/workbooks for use in a classroom. I would point out that their use extends to materials which are specifically conceived for the instruction of adults, not children. I am referring to use of the “snakes” which contain items of vocabulary, as well as jumbled letters, which the student is meant to decipher. The images below are taken from Langenscheidt’s Berliner Platz, Deutsch im Alltag.
A similar device is the crossword puzzle. I have never enjoyed solving crossword puzzles, they simply do not appeal to me. Nevertheless, I believe that I have a reasonable command of my native tongue and, according to a number of online tests (for whatever they’re worth), it seems that I have a passive vocabulary well beyond 29,000 words in English. I acquired this vocabulary by reading, not by playing word games. Ditto for the “snakes” and similar artifices which plague the contemporary language-learning textbooks/workbooks for use in a classroom. I refuse to complete these exercises. Not only do they not appeal to me, I find them irritating and, quite frankly, an insult to my intelligence. I am offended by their very presence in course materials which are specifically designed for use by adults. I feel that I am being treated either as a small child, or a dolt, or a doddering old fool (which I may very well be, but we'll leave my wife to be the judge of that!). And yet, I believe that my obstinate refusal to play these games has not-in-the-least impeded my progress in the study of several foreign languages.
Pedagogical Value of Snakes and Crossword Puzzles in Language Learning?
My first question is: what pedagogical value do these artifices truly possess? Are there are studies (real studies, not psycho-babble studies designed to prove the author’s preconceived ideas) justifying their use?
My second question is: how do you react when you encounter these games in your language-learning materials?
EDITED:
Typos, as always.