Games as 'Defining Moments' of the College Experience: The Impact of Reacting to the Past in French

Reacting to the Past games enhance learning outcomes, promote multiliteracies, engage students, elevate the intellectual level of discussion, and enliven the classroom. Centered around rich texts and cultural flashpoints such as the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the clash between traditional and avant-garde painting at the 1889 Exposition universelle, these learner-centered games are driven by students, who are assigned roles with victory objectives. With proper scaffolding, they are empowered to accomplish surprisingly high-level tasks on the ACTFL scale. Students enthuse—and work very hard; instructors find their pedagogy reinvigorated; and language programs may find RTTP to be a lifeline.