13th Annual Language Educators Workshop
October 23, 2026
From Play to Participation:
Practical Game-Based Learning with Gamehut
Imagine a world language classroom full of students working together and using the target language to solve a problem. That is the power of game-based learning. This interactive workshop explores how game-based learning can support engagement, collaboration, and meaningful language practice in the classroom. Participants will experience and explore Gamehut, a recently launched, educational game-based learning platform designed to promote meaningful L2 production in world language classroom. Through live play sessions and short presentations, the workshop will connect each tool to practical principles of game-based learning, inclusive participation, formative assessment, and low-pressure language use. The workshop will also highlight how game-based learning can map digital learning activities to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, with particular attention to designing activities that support interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communication. Attendees will design and adapt classroom-ready activities for their own students.
Participants will leave the workshop with:
- Access to Gamehut tools demonstrated during the workshop, including guidance on how to begin using them with students. Each attendee will receive a Gamehut Teacher account to access and use the platform.
- Access to ready-to-use and adaptable game sets from the Gamehut Gallery, which participants can explore, reuse, or modify for their own instructional contexts.
- A working draft of one classroom activity created or adapted using a Gamehut tool of their choice.
- A planning guide for selecting the appropriate game format based on instructional goals, learner needs, and participation objectives.
- Practical strategies for facilitating inclusive, low-pressure game-based activities and identifying evidence of student learning during play.
- Ideas for immediate classroom implementation, including ways to use Gamehut for oral production, vocabulary development, review, speaking practice, formative assessment, and collaborative learning.
No prior experience with Gamehut is required. Participants will be guided through accessing the platform, exploring available activities, and creating or adapting materials that they can continue developing after the workshop.
Keynote Speaker
An Adobe Certified Expert and CompTIA CTT+ trainer, he leverages technology to enrich language learning. His scholarship has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, including CALICO, FLTMAG, and SLRP. He has authored award-winning software programs and led workshops on engaging, communicative pedagogy at national and international venues. His current work explores how game-based learning supports second language development and promotes engagement in the classroom. His most recent project is Gamehut, an innovative game-based learning platform designed to promote participation, collaboration, and oral production in L2 classrooms.
Dr. Mahmoud Amer
Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Professor, and former Chairperson of the Department of Languages
and Cultures at West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Workshop Schedule
| Time | Activity | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
8:30 - 9 a.m.
|
Continental Breakfast
|
|
|
9 - 9:30 a.m.
|
Welcome and Introduction to Game-Based Learning
|
Opening activity, workshop goals, and an introduction to how purposeful classroom
games can promote engagement, collaboration, and meaningful language use.
|
|
9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
|
Exploring Gamehut: Vocabulary and Participation
|
Participants experience Vocabee and consider how game-based activities can support vocabulary development, retrieval
practice, and broad student participation.
|
|
10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
|
Game-based Learning for Communication and Review
|
Participants explore Buzzrs as a tool for interactive review, teamwork, and oral language practice. Discussion
will connect game design to instructional goals, inclusive participation, and ACTFL
communication modes.
|
|
12 - 1 p.m.
|
Lunch Break
|
|
|
1:15 - 1:30 p.m.
|
Expanding Classroom Practice with Gamehut
|
Participants experience DiceKrush for practice, review, categorization, discussion, and problem-solving.
|
|
1:30 - 2:15 p.m.
|
Design Studio: Creating Classroom-Ready Activities
|
Participants begin creating or adapting a Gamehut activity aligned with their own
learners, instructional objectives, and relevant language-learning goals.
|
|
2:15 - 3 p.m.
|
Sharing, Reflection, and Next Steps
|
Participants share ideas, identify possible classroom applications, and review continued
access to Gamehut tools and adaptable Gallery resources.
|
Embedded Throughout the Workshop
Brief presentations and facilitated discussions will be woven throughout the day to address:
- Principles of effective game-based learning
- Engagement, collaboration, and low-pressure language use
- Connections to ACTFL communication modes and learning goals
- Inclusive participation and formative assessment
- Selecting the appropriate Gamehut tool for a specific instructional purpose
Contact Us
Campus Address
Stroud Hall 208
(570) 422-3407
Department Chair, Modern Languages, Philosophy, and Religion
Dr. Jeff Ruth
languages@esu.edu
(570) 422-3419
