Simulation/Gaming in the EAP Writing Class: Benefits and Drawbacks

This study describes an integrated use of simulation/gaming in an English for Academic Purposes class, analyzes its benefits and drawbacks, and suggests how the technique would apply to other specific contexts. To write an argumentative essay, international students brief and run a simulation on gun control. They respond to a poll, debate, watch a movie, write letters to editors of local newspapers, read, and play bingo. They also debrief by discussing their performance and working with cartoons. Although the approach failed to provide enough accuracy to generate satisfactory organization and documentation, the level of motivation, metacognitive awareness, and topic authority point positively toward the technique. Student writers searched, organized, planned, and executed the knowledge they co-constructed. If there had been more time to debrief, other form-focused practice could have further improved the final results.