Positivity!

Awesome thing today. One of my students who is in grade 7 and always had trouble remembering to speak in French and not litter his French with English words, caught himself speaking English and switched immediately to French, re-saying what he had started saying in English. What was great about this was that I didn't remind him to switch back, his classmates didn't remind him, and he didn't switch because I was standing too near - he didn't glance in my direction to see if I could hear him or not, the way he often does. I was very proud of him! I know students are often made nervous when they are praised in front of the class, but that many of them they crave it all the same. This is where the awesomeness of gamification comes in! See, I'm the gamemaster, so I can do what I want. I can change the rules whenever I feel like it, as long as it suits the game and doesn't come off as unfair or break a player's connection to the game. So I awarded his team one Francais point. This got his teammates excited for him, and pleased for him, instead of resenting him as a goody goody. High fives were exchanged all around, and a new precedent was set - if you correct yourself when you catch yourself speaking English, you might just gain a point for your team!