Pamela Parks, Madame Sensei

I teach Spanish, French, Japanese, and English in a tiny little portable. My classes are 32-39 students, and I want them to work collaboratively. It is too hard for me to say, “Hey class! We are playing store today!” and then set up a bunch of painted refrigerator boxes, only to have to take them down in a hurry before the next class walks in. With Minecraft Education, I have taken my French students undersea to meet Jacques-Yves Cousteau and help him observe the glow squid in its natural habitat, I have taken my Spanish students on an escape room adventure to help La Matadragones slay the dragon and win the heart of the prince, and my Japanese students learn the rules of the Japanese garden and then have to demonstrate that they understood by creating their own authentic garden. And of course, it’s easy to get students navigating a Minecraft airport, load them on a Minecraft plane, and take them on a virtual field trip to Paris or Buenos Aires… To be successful, students have to speak to each other in the target language for the entire hour and twenty minutes of class, even the first-year students. They can do it if I lay the groundwork correctly.