Resuscitating Dead Language Instruction: Using Role-Playing Pedagogy in the Latin Classroom
Abstract
This presentation considers the results of a qualitative study conducted at the University of Georgia during fall semester, 2012; the study examines the effectiveness of using a role-playing game in an intermediate-level Latin class. Rather than learning only through Latin translation�the traditional approach at the intermediate level�students in the class spent five weeks playing �Beware the Ides of March: Rome in 44 BCE,� a game in the Reacting to the Past series, assuming the roles of Roman senators in the period immediately following the assassination of Julius Caesar. Students composed speeches, political graffiti, and other documents in Latin as part of the game. They delivered their original compositions orally to their fellow senators, thus putting their Latin skills to practical use. This presentation should be relevant to anyone who is involved with language instruction�ancient or modern�at the college or high-school level.
Location
Room 1005
Recommended Citation
Albright, Christine, "Resuscitating Dead Language Instruction: Using Role-Playing Pedagogy in the Latin Classroom" (2013). SoTL Commons Conference. 67.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2013/67
Resuscitating Dead Language Instruction: Using Role-Playing Pedagogy in the Latin Classroom
Room 1005
This presentation considers the results of a qualitative study conducted at the University of Georgia during fall semester, 2012; the study examines the effectiveness of using a role-playing game in an intermediate-level Latin class. Rather than learning only through Latin translation�the traditional approach at the intermediate level�students in the class spent five weeks playing �Beware the Ides of March: Rome in 44 BCE,� a game in the Reacting to the Past series, assuming the roles of Roman senators in the period immediately following the assassination of Julius Caesar. Students composed speeches, political graffiti, and other documents in Latin as part of the game. They delivered their original compositions orally to their fellow senators, thus putting their Latin skills to practical use. This presentation should be relevant to anyone who is involved with language instruction�ancient or modern�at the college or high-school level.
