Nicola Work, OFLA Editor for Electronic Media 
Associate Professor of French, University of Dayton

A few years ago, I participated in an Escape Room activity during a language teaching conference. I had never played an escape room and had no idea what was happening during the activity, but I was intrigued. Participating in this activity could be a fun way to get students out of their seats and become actively involved in the learning process. They would practice the target language while refining their problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills. I was hooked!

What is an Escape Room? An escape room is a group activity where a team of players is locked in a room and must solve a series of mental and physical challenges to discover how to escape from the room. Since we cannot lock students into our classroom, an escape game is a good alternative for teachers. An escape game is a group activity where a team of students tries to break into a locked box by solving a series of mental puzzles and physical challenges.  If all locks are unlocked and the box opens, the students win. 

Why? As philosopher Michael Polanyi said, “True learning happens when we immerse ourselves in what we learn, and this is the case in utilizing gaming and experiential education.” Escape games are an excellent way to facilitate active learning and allow students to inquire, problem-solve, experiment, and collaborate while actively engaging with the course content and the target language. The experiential learning aspect of escape games allows for opportunities to take initiative, make decisions, and be accountable for results. Students learn from experience and can learn from natural consequences, mistakes, and successes. Escape games also help with the retention of material: based on the learning pyramid, 75% of the content will be learned through applying the material. These activities also address higher-order learning skills such as application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Escape games create a student-centered environment, with learners actively participating in the learning process. As a bonus, gamification of learning increases motivation and engagement. 

What content? Escape games in language education lend themselves to practicing vocabulary or grammar, teaching culture, literature, and film, facilitating learning about the syllabus, or getting to know each other. They can be themed with any topic and be adapted to any language level and student age. Escape games are vehicles for authentic resources and make language come alive. 

What do I need? To create an escape game you will need to invent a story in which students can get immersed – the game’s premise. This premise might be to escape from a killer or a place, explore a location like an Egyptian tomb, deal with a curse, stop a hacker – let your imagination run wild. You will also need different locks, a box you can lock, and a timer. Finally, you need to create activities such as puzzles (physical or mental), problems, tasks – again, your imagination is the limit. 

How do I play? On the day of the game, you will set up the room. Put the clues and all materials students might need around the room – hang them on the wall, lay them out on tables, put them on the floor, etc. Tell the students the rules, tell them what locks they need to open (3-digit lock, 4-digit lock, word lock, directions lock, key lock, etc.), and set and display the timer – I like to use one on YouTube with music. Then, it is time to sit back and watch. Students will look at the clues, try to see how they fit together, and start puzzling and solving problems. They work together, help each other, and try to figure it out. If they think they solved a puzzle and found a solution (a 3-digit number, a 4-digit number, a direction combination, a word), they try to open the respective lock. If it opens the lock, they complete one activity; if not, they return to the drawing board and continue solving the puzzles. 

What do students say about escape games in class? My college students really like them. The first time they played, they had the same reaction I did – they did not know how it works, what to do, and how to go about it. But once they figure it out, they really get into it. Students are competitive and they want to win. They work in teams, they help each other, and it is a fun way to review course content or practice new material. Students told me that they remembered a lot of the material from the game afterward. 

What do I as the instructor say? It is an excellent way for me to review course content with the students at the end of the semester. At this point, they know each other, and they feel comfortable working in different teams to solve the challenges. I love to observe the game because on game day I have nothing to do. My work was done beforehand – so I watched. It is great to see shy students take the lead on solving a puzzle, see different groups of students working together, and see their minds actively at work. When the game is over, we reflect as a group on what went well, what was hard, and how they solved each puzzle. Finally, I take a picture of them in front of the timer with signs saying “we broke out” or “we almost made it”. For me, these escape games are a fun way to be creative, and I love observing the actual game. It is truly as much fun as playing it. Give it a try!

Further readings and resources:

Nicola Work’s workshop and conference presentations with resources and pictures:
https://sites.google.com/udayton.edu/nicolawork/presentations

Puzzle resources:
https://resources.breakoutedu.com/puzzleresources

Escape rooms in the FSL Classroom. http://www.omlta.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/F11-Escape-rooms-in-FSL-Amanda-Cloutier.pdf