Who hasn't played hangman as a kid? I think we all have. It's a fun game with few rules. I downloaded the app for my iPad thinking the game had no educational value but that it would be fun to guess Spanish words. I thought it would be easy. Hangman was easy when I was a kid. I thought wrong. In fact I found myself giving up more than I thought I would. The words were very difficult to guess. There were a total of 10 guesses allowed for each word, regardless of how many letters were in the word. I felt like I didn't get one of them, but I know I did. Despite failing miserably, I did enjoy the game. Why? I found that it was more challenging than I thought it would be for one, but also because I have the potential to get better by playing more. It wasn't until I played the game in Spanish that I realize this game has everything to do with spelling and knowing vocabulary. I found myself hoping we could draw the face, just so I could have more guesses.
This would be an excellent game that I would like to use with Spanish 1010 students. The students would learn to spell better and more importantly; they would learn what letters are more common and how letters interact with one another. For example, we have rules in English like "i" before "e" except after c, right. Those who play hangman in English learn this rule faster because of the consequences of the game. The same is true for Spanish. Students will learn how to spell and when to use vowels with accent marks. The down side to the game is that it is hard when you first start because you are not used to spelling those words and using your "Spanish" brain to play games. In fact, that is one of the main reasons to play. You need to learn how to use Spanish in all aspects of your life.
Although this game had categories, it didn't have hints. For newer students, it would be good to have hints or definitions of the word to help players guess the letters. Such hints don't guarantee that the player will know how to spell the word. The hint could even draw another part of the body for example.
I loved the simplicity of the game both as a player and as a teacher. It's easy to explain to students and students can get the fact they have to guess a letter without even understanding a lot of Spanish. As a player I can focus more on the word that I'm guessing than the rules of the game.
I do find it odd that hangman involves death. Does it have to? Can you play with by drawing another object? Death seems very final and you feel like more of a loser when you can't get very many letters. Does the basic concept of hangman stress out a student? I would guess not at the college level, but perhaps so. I wouldn't change the rules of the game or what was drawn until I played this game with students several times.
Overall the game seems like a classic game to play with first year students. It seems like a great icebreaker to start off a class and open students up to learning. I would try this with several classes before changing the rules.
This would be an excellent game that I would like to use with Spanish 1010 students. The students would learn to spell better and more importantly; they would learn what letters are more common and how letters interact with one another. For example, we have rules in English like "i" before "e" except after c, right. Those who play hangman in English learn this rule faster because of the consequences of the game. The same is true for Spanish. Students will learn how to spell and when to use vowels with accent marks. The down side to the game is that it is hard when you first start because you are not used to spelling those words and using your "Spanish" brain to play games. In fact, that is one of the main reasons to play. You need to learn how to use Spanish in all aspects of your life.
Although this game had categories, it didn't have hints. For newer students, it would be good to have hints or definitions of the word to help players guess the letters. Such hints don't guarantee that the player will know how to spell the word. The hint could even draw another part of the body for example.
I loved the simplicity of the game both as a player and as a teacher. It's easy to explain to students and students can get the fact they have to guess a letter without even understanding a lot of Spanish. As a player I can focus more on the word that I'm guessing than the rules of the game.
I do find it odd that hangman involves death. Does it have to? Can you play with by drawing another object? Death seems very final and you feel like more of a loser when you can't get very many letters. Does the basic concept of hangman stress out a student? I would guess not at the college level, but perhaps so. I wouldn't change the rules of the game or what was drawn until I played this game with students several times.
Overall the game seems like a classic game to play with first year students. It seems like a great icebreaker to start off a class and open students up to learning. I would try this with several classes before changing the rules.
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