Jekyll2026-07-08T01:08:40+00:00http://llpjournal.org/feed.xmlLudic Language PedagogyAn open-access refereed journal dedicated to promoting innovative and thoughtful integrations of games and play in language teaching contexts. ISSN: 2435-2349 Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgvan der Velden, M. (2026). From page to play: exploring interactive fiction to boost reading and writing skills in the EFL classroom2026-07-07T00:00:00+00:002026-07-07T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/07/van-der-velden-interactive-fiction-zine

van der Velden, M. (2026). From page to play: exploring interactive fiction to boost reading and writing skills in the EFL classroom

Metadata

van der Velden, M. (2026). From page to play: exploring interactive fiction to boost reading and writing skills in the EFL classroom. Ludic Language Pedagogy, 8, 21-38. https://doi.org/10.55853/LLP_v8Pg1

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KEY POINTS

  • What is this? An eight-page zine, including names of online interactive fiction (IF) games and activities EFL teachers can use to work on reading and writing skills with their English language students.
  • Why did you make it? Since the spring semester of 2024 I use IF with my upper-intermediate students to improve reading and writing skills. I want to share the games and activities I use and encourage colleagues to use IF in the classroom; the zine includes everything they need to get started, making it easier to bring IF into their teaching.
  • Who is it for? Teachers who would like to work on reading and writing skills in a ludic way and who are not familiar with IF and/or may be reluctant to use IF with their students.
  • What’s next? Convincing my superiors to let me take this further and teach it as a full, semester-long course on its own.

Tweet synopsis

Make working on close reading skills and improving writing skills fun for your students by using interactive fiction (IF) and related language activities in the classroom. #DGBLL #digital literacy #EFL #GBLT #IF #LLP #zine

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgSpecial Issue 01 - The Ludic You Love2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/llp-special-edition-the-ludic-you-loveISSN: 2435-2349

The Ludic You Love cover

❤️ The Ludic You Love

Welcome to the special issue The Ludic You Love.

This collection brings together educators, researchers, and practitioners who share games, activities, texts, and playful experiences that have made a lasting impact on their teaching and learning. From board games and storytelling tools to digital games and creative classroom practices, each contribution explores a particular ludic object and reflects on its educational potential.

Together, these papers offer a snapshot of the diverse ways play continues to inspire language learning communities around the world.

We’d like to thank special issue editors Robb McCollum and Ken Tran for their hard work making this happen, James York for formatting, and Martin Sedaghat for the front cover artwork.

🎲 Contents

🐍 Snakes and Ladders: Roll, Reflect, Remix!

Jonathan deHaan

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deHaan, J. (2026). Snakes and Ladders: Roll, Reflect, Remix! Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl01.

🎲 Rory’s Story Cubes: An Analog Storytelling Game Engine

Mark Johnson

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Johnson, M. (2026). Rory’s Story Cubes: An analog storytelling game engine. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 12–22. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl02.

🌙 Teaching Descriptive Adjectives Using Du Ký (Dream Adventure)

Trần Lê Khang

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Trần, L. K. (2026). Teaching descriptive adjectives using Du Ký (Dream Adventure). Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 23–31. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl03.

👁️ Seeing Words Differently: Using Dobble for Vocabulary Learning

Monika van der Velden

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van der Velden, M. (2026). Seeing words differently: Using Dobble for vocabulary learning. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 32–38. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl04.

🔵 Teaching Nouns Using Things in Rings and the Concept of Venn Diagram

Trần Lê Khang

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Trần, L. K. (2026). Teaching nouns using Things in Rings and the concept of Venn diagram. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 39–46. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl05.

🏀 Around the World: A Basketball-Inspired Language Game

Zachary Lubbers

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Lubbers, Z. (2026). Around the World: A basketball-inspired language game. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 47–50. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl06.

💰 Teaching Financial Literacy Using EZWorld

Trần Lê Khang

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Trần, L. K. (2026). Teaching financial literacy using EZWorld. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 51–60. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl07.

📖 Picture This: Wordless Picturebooks in the Language Classroom

Martin Sedaghat

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Sedaghat, M. (2026). Picture This: Wordless picturebooks in the language classroom. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 61–68. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl08.

✨ Story-asking: Imaginative, Co-created Stories

Diane Neubauer and Reed Riggs

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Neubauer, D. & Riggs, R. (2026). Story-asking: Imaginative, co-created stories. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 69–74. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl09.

🗺️ Playing with Place

Donald Richardson

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Richardson, D. (2026). Playing with place. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 75–80. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl10.

🌻 Wonder Flower: Planting Seeds of Life and Language in a Pixelated City

Erik X. Raj

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Raj, E. X. (2026). Wonder Flower: Planting seeds of life and language in a pixelated city. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 81–84. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl11.

🎭 “Take Your Heart”: Why Persona 5 Royal May Be the Best JRPG for Language Learning

Travis Compton

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Compton, T. (2026). “Take Your Heart”: Why Persona 5 Royal may be the best JRPG for language learning. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 85–91. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl12.

🎮 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

James York

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York, J. (2026). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 92–105. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl13.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgJonathan deHaan - Snakes and Ladders: Roll, Reflect, Remix!2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/ludic-you-love-01-snakes-and-ladders

Jonathan deHaan - Snakes and Ladders: Roll, Reflect, Remix!

This paper explores how a familiar board game can be reimagined for reflection, remixing, and language learning. It offers a playful way to connect game mechanics with classroom discussion and creative adaptation.

Metadata

deHaan, J. (2026). Snakes and Ladders: Roll, Reflect, Remix! Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl01

Download this paper

📥 Download the PDF here

You can also browse other papers in the special issue on this page.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgMark Johnson - Rory’s Story Cubes: An analog storytelling game engine2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/ludic-you-love-02-story-cubes

Mark Johnson - Rory’s Story Cubes: An analog storytelling game engine

This paper explores how Rory’s Story Cubes can be used as a flexible, low-prep storytelling tool for language learning. It highlights how playful prompts can support creativity, collaboration, and classroom discussion.

Metadata

Johnson, M. (2026). Rory’s Story Cubes: An analog storytelling game engine. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 12–22. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl02

Download this paper

📥 Download the PDF here

You can also browse other papers in the special issue on this page.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgTrần Lê Khang - Teaching Descriptive Adjectives Using Du Ký (Dream Adventure)2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/ludic-you-love-03-dream-adventure

Trần Lê Khang - Teaching Descriptive Adjectives Using Du Ký (Dream Adventure)

This paper explores how Du Ký (Dream Adventure) can be used to teach descriptive adjectives in engaging and meaningful ways. It shows how a familiar playful activity can support vocabulary development, imagination, and learner interaction.

Metadata

Trần, L. K. (2026). Teaching descriptive adjectives using Du Ký (Dream Adventure). Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 23–31. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl03

Download this paper

📥 Download the PDF here

You can also browse other papers in the special issue on this page.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgMonika van der Velden - Seeing words differently: using Dobble for vocabulary learning2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/ludic-you-love-04-dobble

Monika van der Velden - Seeing words differently: using Dobble for vocabulary learning

This paper explores how Dobble can be used to support vocabulary learning by encouraging quick visual recognition, discussion, and meaningful language use. It highlights how a simple card game can be adapted for classroom practice and learner engagement.

Metadata

van der Velden, M. (2026). Seeing words differently: using Dobble for vocabulary learning. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 32–38. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl04

Download this paper

📥 Download the PDF here

You can also browse other papers in the special issue on this page.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgTrần Lê Khang (Ken) - Teaching Nouns Using Things in Rings and the Concept of Venn Diagram2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/ludic-you-love-05-things-in-rings

Trần Lê Khang (Ken) - Teaching Nouns Using Things in Rings and the Concept of Venn Diagram

This paper explores how Things in Rings and the concept of the Venn diagram can be used to teach nouns in a creative and accessible way. It highlights how visual organization and playful categorization support language learning and classroom discussion.

Metadata

Trần, L. K. (2026). Teaching nouns using Things in Rings and the concept of Venn diagram. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 39–46. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl05

Download this paper

📥 Download the PDF here

You can also browse other papers in the special issue on this page.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgZachary Lubbers - Around the World: A Basketball-Inspired Language Game2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/ludic-you-love-06-around-the-world

Zachary Lubbers - Around the World: A Basketball-Inspired Language Game

This paper explores how a basketball-inspired game can be adapted for language learning through competition and quick retrieval practice. It shows how familiar sports formats can create engaging opportunities for speaking and vocabulary review.

Metadata

Lubbers, Z. (2026). Around the World: A basketball-inspired language game. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 47–50. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl06

Download this paper

📥 Download the PDF here

You can also browse other papers in the special issue on this page.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgTrần Lê Khang (Ken) - Teaching Financial Literacy Using EZWorld2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/ludic-you-love-07-ezworld

Trần Lê Khang (Ken) - Teaching Financial Literacy Using EZWorld

This paper explores how EZWorld can be used to teach financial literacy through engaging game-based activities. It highlights how play can support practical vocabulary, decision-making, and learner participation.

Metadata

Trần, L. K. (2026). Teaching financial literacy using EZWorld. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 51–60. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl07

Download this paper

📥 Download the PDF here

You can also browse other papers in the special issue on this page.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.orgMartin Sedaghat - Picture This: Wordless Picturebooks in the Language Classroom2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:002026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00http://llpjournal.org/2026/07/01/ludic-you-love-08-picturebooks

Martin Sedaghat - Picture This: Wordless Picturebooks in the Language Classroom

This paper explores how wordless picturebooks can be used to support language learning through observation, inference, storytelling, and discussion. It highlights how visual literacy and imagination can work together in the classroom.

Metadata

Sedaghat, M. (2026). Picture This: Wordless picturebooks in the language classroom. Ludic Language Pedagogy Special Issue: The Ludic You Love, 61–68. https://doi.org/10.55853/llp_lyl08

Download this paper

📥 Download the PDF here

You can also browse other papers in the special issue on this page.

]]>Ludic Language Pedagogycontact@llpjournal.org