RPG for teaching ESL (English as a second language)

[peter quinn]

I am a total noob to computer RPG dev.

 

I teach Engilsh in universities in Japan.

I am a full time experienced and educated ESL teacher.

Many of my students like

RPGs so I wanna make one RPG in easy English as a teaching aid.

 

I often teach in the computer room

so it would b very cool to say "Today students, please play my RPG!"

 

I need my students to be able to access the RPG from the PC room in the university so i guess a pbbg is the best?

Also I have a Mac.

Help!!!

[a_bertrand]

Well there is certainly multiple possibilities to create an RPG, either inside the browser or outside. Teaching via a game could be a good ideas, but for that you need some dialogs / interactions and not simply some click to grow. Therefore I would avoid McCode and other similar gang / mafia games.

To help you better we should get a bit more details of what kind of game you would like to create, what are your computer skills and how much time you want to invest.

[peter quinn]

what kind of game you would like to create?

A 2d zelda style game hopefully with dialogs with voice files so the students can use listening and reading skills.

 

what are your computer skills?

No programing skills. I can blog.....

how much time you want to invest?

Depends on how long I will be able to use the result.

I plan on teaching for another 20 years at least.

If I can use the game for that long I would be motivated to put in the work.

Also there is no time limit so I can do it bit by bit.

[Sim]

If you want the game to list for 20yrs. I would probally go with something through web-browser. Technology's upgrading so fast and thats like the only thing that hasn't changed yet that much. HTML is still HTML like 12yrs ago. Back then there was VB3. vb3 no good now and anything made in that damn sure wouldn't be working now ;\

[a_bertrand]

Well 2D like zelda and voice acting is not something you get easily on the browser specially when you have no programming skills.

So I would maybe point to something like RPG maker (which version is for me unkown), which would offer a nearly complete kit to get an RPG with little programming.

If voice acting is not really a requirement and you want to go for a web based game then miniNEaB could be a solution as the result is similar to the old Zelda RPGs and programming is not required beside some in game scripting for the quests (which again is not done in PHP but via the web interface).

[ashbow97]

That sounds a pretty good way of teaching! :D Bieng a pupil still, I would love something like that, but as my English teachers are all boring I doubt they will xD

Maybe, if you want a speaking dialog part. Maybe you can do a text based RPG game like suggested above, but next to each link or writing, you could put a little symbol or something, and when that is clicked on, an audio file can speak what it says. So then the students get both the reading and listening skills.

Just an idea :) So you get your message across, but is also slightly easier to make. And I guess a text based RPG is generally cheaper too :)

[Lilith]

About 6 years ago, the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind had a huge thing they were working on much along these lines. There was a big controversy over it as they were using state funding and federal grants to back it up. The then administrator for the school (Angel Ramos) eventually resigned, or was fired, or IDK, he is not there now BC of it. Shortly after/during him leaving, all the programing disappeared from public view. (I know of a guy who still has a copy and has continued to develop the softs tho) This may or may not be something you want to look into as a base for your rpg, but I would highly suggest researching the situation so you are well aware of the precedent that has been set surrounding the development of RPGs as learning tools in a class room. I know there is not much fuss about using them, but developing them can become a highly complicated process and lead to issues of ownership, and becomes an increasingly complicated matter if you even develop one portion of the coding on a school owned computer.

Even tho this program was in the early developmental stages and was only being tested last time I was involved with it (Voice actor and sign interpreter on the project) we saw huge improvements with students abilities and progress in English use. More educators should look for unconventional means of educating the students they work with! Gaming is something they do anyway, and educational gaming is just now breaking through to the for front. My children actually have required gaming hours for their classes on sites like study island and apangia. Homework has never been so easy to get my children to do.

I wish you the best of luck, and hope to see something like this actually make it, and if you develop this and find success with your students, Don't be afraid to charge the school an annual membership fee for each student, because I doubt they will assist in the cost of development. Teachers have a bad habit of pouring their heart and soul into their students without getting much in return, so at least cover your expenses and leave $ for future developments.

[peter quinn]

Ashbow97 said

Maybe, if you want a speaking dialog part. Maybe you can do a text based RPG game like suggested above, but next to each link or writing, you could put a little symbol or something, and when that is clicked on, an audio file can speak what it says. So then the students get both the reading and listening skills.

Where did you suggest a text based RPG?

What program do I use for that?