Game on – Getting to know the project
GAME ON – a co-funded Erasmus+ project which proposes an innovative, non-formal learning game-based approach, promoting social inclusion of migrants.
Our project GAME ON – Language Learning Games for Migrants and Refugees is a co-funded Erasmus+ project which proposes an innovative, non-formal learning game-based approach, promoting social inclusion of migrants and refugees through foreign language learning, focusing on everyday dialogues that adult people need in their usual social interactions. The specific objective of GAME ON is to develop language learning games-based methodologies for migrants and refugees at level A1 and A2, which are addressed to migrants’ educators as well as for migrants and refugees itself.
The very foundations of our project are based on the knowledge of the particular situation of our public as well as on the neuroscientific proposals developed over the last few years to deal with it. Indeed, after their arrival in a host country, newcomers face different periods of hope and despair. After the shock of losing a home, possessions and social life, displaced persons find themselves in a state of uncertainty and concern about their future. They may show signs of confusion, exhaustion and forms of absence. Adult education in this context should focus on providing the orientation and information they need immediately upon arrival.
Stress and preoccupation also directly affect the ability to concentrate and remember. When a person feels physically or emotionally threatened, their body secretes a hormone called “cortisol” which, in the long run, has a negative impact on the learning process and memory. This is why teachers and trainers need to build a warm and welcoming class based on trust and respect. In a positive environment, the brain is more likely to release endorphins, the hormones responsible for euphoria and pleasure, which stimulate the frontal lobe of the brain – the command center of thought. It is important for trainers to reduce any threats by providing inclusive activities and games that stimulate learners’ curiosity and enjoyment.
In order to consolidate the new information in the long-term memory system, the transmission of information must be repeated as much as possible. If information can be stored in the brain in many different ways (listening, repeating, writing, drawing, singing, moving, etc.), then learners will have access to it in many more situations. Board games are therefore an extremely suitable entry point to learning because they involve different senses and movement, reinforcing the learning process and the acquisition of information in long-term memory. These data from educational neuroscience will help trainers and teachers to transmit knowledge in a more brain-friendly way. This is even more important when teaching vulnerable adults, such as in the GAME ON project, of which migrant and refugee adults are a target group.
Stay in touch with us on the platform and on our Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gameonproject.eu to find out about GAME ON productions and games soon!