Pedagogy Corner

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Playing Jeopardy with Powerpoint
in the Foreign Langauges Classroom

2005 "Best of Alabama" session presented at the 2006 SCOLT Conference in Orlando, Florida by Dr. John Moore of UAB.

Dr. John Moore teaches Spanish at all levels at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His research interests center around the Road to Santiago and pilgrimage studies in Spain. He also enjoys exploring other areas such as integrating technology in the foreign langauge classroom and his session was selected from those presented at the 2005 AAFLT conference to represent the AAFLT at the ollowing SCOLT conference. Dr. Moore is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Associate Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at UAB.

Playing Jeopardy with students is a fun way to review in any Foreign Language classroom. While methods such as Suggestopedia advocate the use of a review game of some sort after the instructional procedures for each objective have been completed, this is not always feasible. Jeopardy is effective as a more
global review (at the end of each unit plan, for instance) that serves to lower the affective filter and to build retention. Whereas most games focus on discrete items such as vocabulary or grammar, playing Jeopardy enables
students to integrate several skills at once, including cultural communication. For those of you not familiar with Jeopardy, the host of the show provides the 'answer' while the contestants must provide the corresponding 'question.'

The PowerPoint version of Jeopardy can be displayed using an LCD projector or even using a television monitor, the latter of which is available in most high school classrooms. Whichever the case, at least 24 point font is recommended for all students to be able to read the text. The PowerPoint template can be adapted for a variety of languages and classes so long as each new game is saved under a different file name.

When the opened PowerPoint file is not in presentational mode, the text in each individual slide can be revised in part or completely simply by clicking on the desired slide in the vertically descending list in the lefthand side of the screen and then by clicking on the text to be altered within the slide itself. The first slide contains the title, and the second holds the game board. The remaining slides are numbered first by row, then by column and correspond to the answers and questions in each of the four categories listed in the columns on the game board. Once in display mode, it is only a matter of pointing and clicking to play the game.

Although there is no one correct way to play, this author prefers to divide his students into two teams, giving credit for points earned but taking away points for questions answered incorrectly (or should I say for answers questioned incorrectly?). The questions and answers should increase in difficulty according to the amount of points awarded. Thus, if a student from team A chooses a 1000-point question, his/her team will earn 1000 points if she produces a correct answer (er, question) but will lose 1000 points if not. The instructor
may even decide that team B does not get to answer team A’s question. Individual teachers should decide whether or not they will allow teammates to help an individual team member answer, but may choose not to allow students to play with open book or notes in hand. Teachers may wish to provide a reward of some sort to the members of the winning or may decide that doing so is unnecessary.

In summary, it is up to the teacher to choose the material to be covered and how students will play the game. For those who were not able to attend the talk of which this brief article is a summary (given at the 2005 AAFLT conference in Birmingham and as the “Best of Alabama” session at the 2006 SCOLT Conference in Orlando), please write John Moore (jkmoore@uab.edu) for a copy. And, by all means, feel free to share this game with others.