Slave away or get away: Escape rooms as a motivational tool for the CLIL history classroom in higher education

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2022.15.1.1

Keywords:

languag learning, history, e-learning, higher education, motivation

Abstract

In present-day educational contexts, the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and gamification have been the basis for the implementation of escape rooms as pedagogical tools (Brusi & Cornellà, 2020; Rutledge et al., 2018). This paper aims at examining the role of virtual escape rooms in boosting History learners’ motivation in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) contexts. Twenty-nine first-year undergraduates enrolled in a Classical History module delivered at a Spanish university have taken part in this study by participating in a virtual escape room and answering a final survey. The findings reveal that escape rooms may result in highly-motivated students who feel less pressure when communicating in the target language. The implementation of escape rooms can therefore be seen as a useful resource in e-learning environments, fostering oral, collaborative and critical thinking skills.

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Author Biographies

Lucía Bellés-Calvera, Universitat Jaume I

PhD part-time adjunct lecturer at Universitat Jaume I. She is also a member of the Interuniversity Institute of Modern Applied Languages (IULMA) as well as a book and multimedia review editor in journals such as Language Value and Ibérica. Her research interests involve CLIL instruction, Applied Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, and the implementation of OERs in educational settings. Recent publications include articles such as Teaching English Pronunciation with OERs: The case of Voki (Sintagma, 2018), Teaching Music in English: A Content-Based Instruction Model in Secondary (LACLIL, 2018), Slave away or get away: Escape rooms as a motivational tool for the CLIL history classroom in higher education (LACLIL, in press) and the chapters The international classroom in a CLIL setting: The case of Tourism (in press), Written discourse competence and asynchronous online learning: an analysis of lexical errors in higher education (Dykinson, 2022).

Ana-Isabel Martínez-Hernández, Universitat Jaume I

PhD student in Applied Languages, Literature and Translation. She graduated in English Studies in 2013 at University of Alicante. She has visited other countries and universities’ as an undergraduate and postgraduate student, such as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth in Ireland and the University of Wolverhampton in the UK. She has also collaborated in the organization of different academic events as a member of the organising committee, she is a member of the research group GENTT (Géneros Textuales para la Traducción) and the Research Interuniversity Institute of Modern Applied Languages (IULMA). She currently teaches English to undergraduate Translation and Interpreting students at Universitat Jaume I. Her research interests focus on applied linguistics, the acquisition of foreign languages, teaching English to students with special needs, as well the implementation of ICTs in the EFL classroom.

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Published

2022-07-15

How to Cite

Bellés-Calvera, L., & Martínez-Hernández, A.-I. (2022). Slave away or get away: Escape rooms as a motivational tool for the CLIL history classroom in higher education. Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning, 15(1), e1511. https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2022.15.1.1

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