Turn of Phrase ESL: Gamebooks as Retro Educational Tools
Read, choose, learn.
With more than a million words, the English language is considered one of the most varied and changeable languages in the world; new words and phrases are always being added. So much of this diversity comes in the form of idiomatic expressions: Ring a bell. Face the music. All decked out. Bad egg. Down to earth. Train of thought. English language learners hear these colorful expressions in everyday conversation or read them in books, newspapers, and magazines. Idioms and other forms of expression introduce words that have many different meanings and can be used to teach natural communication patterns, broadening the understanding and use of English in speech and writing. Learning how to recognize and use them will make students more confident, fluent English speakers.
Over at Night Owls Press we have created Turn of Phrase ESL, an educational series that uses a gamebook-inspired narrative format to teach idioms and other expressions. TOP ESL uses that classic storytelling method made famous by CYOA novels in a fresh, new way for ESL instruction and independent study.
Why Gamebooks?
As immersive learning experiences, TOP ESL’s gamebooks are great teaching tools. Researchers have long shown that learning a language in meaningful contexts can help students become more fluent and improve retention. The gamebook format provides the contextual literacy that is so important in language education. With their chooseable path structure, the books aren’t just an absorbing storytelling experience but are also a fun storymaking one. As readers immerse themselves in the stories and lives of the characters in the books, they become fully engaged in their own learning.
We also believe that language students respond best to material that engages both their brains and imaginations. We also think that gamebooks are just really fun and deserve a revival and place in the literary arts. (Did you know that Jorge Luis Borges probably wrote the first gamebook ever?)
“I’m pleased with the user-friendly model employed — a thoughtful, well-designed, and systematic approach to teaching second language learners important features of English, including but not limited to idiom, figures of speech, authentic English expression and collocations. I look forward to introducing this series to my Chinese undergraduates next semester.” — Michael D. Brown, Professor, English as a Foreign Language, Nanjing Agricultural University
How Does it Work?
Every TOP ESL book: • Presents a wide range of idioms and idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs, and collocations with meaningful contexts for better learning; • Tells the story in second-person, with readers in the role of the protagonist; • Features at least 60 decision points where readers are asked to choose among several options, testing their understanding of either idiomatic phrases and expressions or situational contexts related to story logic and character development;
• Offers multiple narrative paths and endings based on readers’ decisions; • Shows all relevant words and expressions bolded in the text for easy identification; • Includes a Glossary that defines “tested” phrases and expressions that appear in the decision points; and • Provides rich, creative material for classroom activities and self-study.
“Recognizing and using English idioms and phrasal verbs is essential to fluency. My students love learning and using idioms, but we can only cover so many of them in class. This series gives learners a fun, contextual way to access and learn a plethora of idiomatic phrases. I’m so excited to recommend these books to my students!” – Brynna Larsen, English as an Additional Language Teacher, Bonn International School
Using TOP ESL in the Classroom
Teachers and educators, here are a few suggestions for learning activities with the novels:
Act it out: Play charades with a set of idiomatic phrases from the books and have students act out the different meanings. For example, literal meaning vs. idiomatic meaning; or ‘optimal’ meaning vs. ‘less than optimal’ meaning based on the direction and context of the story.
Context clues: At decision points, ask students to discuss the expressions, words, or story details that helped them figure out how to choose the best option provided.
Character study: Create ‘character checkpoints’ where students stop and evaluate how the characters are changing or developing. Students can also make predictions about how characters will act based on motives, events, and the decisions made.
Creative conversations: Have students take a prescribed set of idioms from the books and prepare short dialogues in pairs or small groups using those expressions. Act out or read out loud the created scenes in class.
Draw it: Ask students to illustrate or describe in visual terms idioms for others to guess or fill in.
Explore idioms: Instruct students to select several idioms with dual or multiple meanings (e.g., “take care of it”) used in the books and write short scenes using them in the alternative ways.
Free writing: Using the books as a springboard, have the students write their own chooseable path stories or scenes. Students can create new stories using the same characters from the books or continue a story from an ending. They can also create new endings for storylines.
Letters: Have students write a letter to a character from one of the books to ask about the choices that were made or not made; ask students to exchange letters and answer each other’s letters.
→ Check our “Learning Guide” for an ongoing list of suggested classroom activities and reading guides for each title.
“A focus on vocabulary, activation of prior knowledge, and the stimulation of higher order thinking are core principles identified by the Center for Applied Linguistics. The TOP ESL books not only support these research-based practices, they promote strong student-to-text interactions in a fun and creative way.”
– Areli Schermerhorn, ESL, World Languages, and Bilingual Peer Observer, Syracuse City School District, New York State
2015 Titles:
We plan to release our first four titles in October/November 2015. Learn more about the series here.
