Learning by playing has always been one of Minecraft’s strengths. Widely used for learning in the IT field, thanks to a collaboration with the University of Cambridge, it now makes available on its marketplace “Adventures in English with Cambridge”, the video game to teach English to children.
The game is designed to help children and teenagers practice and develop their language skills in a fun, immersive and interactive way. The learning path develops parallel to a general narrative, because the stories help to remember experiences with languages more easily.
The project finds solace in several studies, which have shown how games can facilitate the aptitude for learning. Research from the University Denver Business School shows that through videogames, on average 11% more concrete knowledge is acquired14% more skills based on newly learned knowledge and about 10% more information can be retained over the long term.
How the videogame works
At first, the game was only made available to schools, language centers and Microsoft users. The reception was immediately very positive and at the end of last year, “Adventures in English with Cambridge” won gold in the K12 category at the Reimagine Education Awards, the largest program of awards for “educational innovators” from around the world. .
The next step was to make the game available to everyone: now “Adventure in English with Cambridge”Can be purchased on the Minecraft marketplace at 830 Minecoins (about 4.50 euros) and is available on a myriad of devices, from PC to Mac, from PlayStation to Xbox to iOS and Android phones and tablets.
The game, designed for players of all ages who are following an English language learning path, is composed of challenges and puzzles, aimed at helping children and young people to practice and develop their language skills. “Adventures in English with Cambridge was built within the Minecraft world to help children and teenagers learn English while having fun with a game they love, “explains Belinda Cerdá, Head of Digital Partnerships at Cambridge Assessment English.
To guarantee the goodness of the training course, the team that worked on the new Minecraft world is made up of the same experts who carry out the tests for the famous Cambridge English Qualifications.
Two main objectives have been set: develop students’ vocabulary and communication skillsstarting from a basic level, equivalent to or higher than level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the international standard for describing and comparing language skills.
“We are thrilled to offer the large Minecraft community this new high-level content dedicated to learning the English language – concludes Allison Matthews, head of Minecraft Education – and this world allows you to totally immerse yourself in the English language, surpassing the classroom. , all in a magical Minecraft library full of minigames and in the company of a magical helper. Players all over the world will love it. “