Topic: Young Learners | Young Learners as active creators of language
Presenter: Joseph Yaw Dawson
Presentation details
In today’s fast-paced digital world, young learners should be active creators of language, not passive consumers. This presentation explores how gamification and digital storytelling can be used as powerful tools to engage English language learners aged 6–12, while fostering critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration alongside language development.
Grounded in active learning and communicative language teaching principles, this session introduces a classroom model where learners progress through “quests,” earn vocabulary “power-ups,” and co-create multimedia stories using tools like Book Creator, StoryJumper, and Classcraft.
Drawing on current classroom-based research and practical examples, the presentation demonstrates how gamified storytelling enhances motivation, supports differentiated instruction, and gives students meaningful ownership of their English-language narratives.
Attendees will gain practical strategies for scaffolding storytelling tasks, integrating technology effectively, and aligning playful learning experiences with curricular goals. The session will also highlight assessment methods that prioritize creativity, process, and contextual language use—moving beyond traditional testing approaches. By empowering young learners to become confident digital narrators, teachers can cultivate digital literacy, intercultural awareness, and authentic engagement—skills essential for both language acquisition and the evolving future of education.
This presentation aims to inspire educators to view gamification and storytelling not as optional extras, but as core components of innovative, learner-centered language teaching.
About the presenter
Joseph Yaw Dawson is a certified teacher trainer and foreign language teacher at Specialized Educational and Scientific Center of Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russia. He holds Master of Arts, a Bachelor of Education, and a Teacher's Certificate 'A', from University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He also holds TESOL, CELT-P, TKT, Train the Trainer etc. He is currently doing his PhD in Sociological sciences.
His research interests include cross cultural training, talent management and methods of teaching foreign languages.