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Top 5 Games for Social and Global Issues

global-social-issuesThe “Top” games series continues! Today, in celebration of the forthcoming Earth Day, the top 5 games that focus on global/world issues.

Global Issues are something that students really get interested in. Very motivating for language learning and it brings the learning focus into the wider world and gets kids thinking, critically thinking. Even active. Further, these games are for the most part authentic. That can pose a challenge for many students but because of the strong context provided through visuals / text / audio in these game, that isn’t a big problem. One other feature of these games is that they will take time and are for the most part, script based.

So here are the Top (free / no need to download) games for learning about global issues:

1. Darfur is dying. A game where the student lives the life of a refugee camp member and has to make decisions in order to survive.

2. Sim’s Sweatshop. Students learn about life as a sweatshop worker. Really attractive and well put together. Students actually work, gain a wage and get to feel what life might be like for those in a sweatshop.

3. Spent. The player must make spending decisions as an unemployed worker and try to survive what life throws at them.

4. Finding Zoe. In two handy age levels, students try to find Zoe and deal with all the social relationship problems that come along. Promotes tolerance and good relationships between girls and boys.

5. Student Survivor. A student navigates through the quagmire that is university life and tries to survive.

Notable mentions: Ayiti the Cost of Life, Electrocity, Play the News and Quizzes with a social conscious like Free Rice,

All of these games and many more along the same lines (I’ll try to aggragate and make one category) can be found on EFL Classroom 2.0s game page.

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ddeubel

Teacher trainer, technology specialist, educational thinker...creator of EFL Classroom 2.0, a social networking site for thousands of EFL / ESL teachers and students around the world.

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1 Response

  1. Abby says:

    Hello!

    I have been searching for the licensing rights for the image you have with the globe and the people. My group would like to use it on our research poster but cannot find the owner. Are you the owner of that image ie. did you create it etc? Or did you find it in a place of public domain? Your response would be greatly appreciated!

    Warm regards,
    Abby

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