Elevating Student Learning in the World Language Classroom

The language maze is a fun concept that students enjoy once they have learned the vocabulary of giving directions in Spanish. The process is simple and it only takes two or three lessons to complete it.

Phase 1 After learning how to give directions in Spanish, pupils have to draw a maze including roads, squares and buildings with 10 instructions on how to get to a given goal. The main character can be a famous hero, placed at the entrance of the maze, and they have to label 10 parts of its body in Spanish. The goal can be a castle, a wonderful island or anything that entails positive feelings. Both items have to be labelled appropriately in Spanish as well.

Phase 2 It is time to colour the maze, add some obstacles like stones, walls, or trees on the paths and squares and roads, and colour some parts of the maze so that it is visually stunning. All the objects should also be labelled in Spanish and students have to name to their maze as well. Some examples: la puerta mágica, el muro, la plaza.

Phase 3 Pupils need to guide the player through a fixed set of instructions to reach his or her destination. The minimum set of instructions is 10 but students are welcome to write more directions in the target language if they wish to do so.

Phase 4 It’s time to start playing. Students swap their project with a partner who has to follow the instructions to go from

point A to point B. It is not allowed to follow the path of the game without reading the instructions. The first student to finish wins.

These type of language games are very popular amongst grades 6, 7 and 8. They ignite their imagination and make them learn new words and expressions in Spanish. It keeps them motivated, connected with the task and involved in the process of learning. Creativity should be encouraged and embraced in language learning and other subjects in schools around the world. We just need to find ways to trigger it!