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Gaming AddictionDiscussion Starters

PRE-READING VOCABULARY TASK ☀Match the words on the left with the meanings on the right.

1. addiction2. hook3. subscription4. virtual world5. hard-core 6. isolate7. lose track of time8. compulsive9. void10. stress relief

PRE-READING WARM-UP QUESTIONS ☀1. What does “gaming” refer to?2. How does a pastime become an “addiction”?3. How have video games changed in the last decade?

a. a fee that you pay on a regular basis for paid access to something

b. to catch a person’s interestc. a thing or activity that helps you relaxd. serious, not casuale. a fictional place in a computer-based gamef. something that you become so accustomed to

that you can’t stop having or doing itg. something that is missing, emptinessh. to leave or cause to be alonei. relating to repeated, uncontrollable behaviorj. to be so busy doing something that you forget about other commitments

Gaming AddictionWhat voids do video games fill?

Video games are designed to be addictive. Designers know how to make a video game just challenging enough to hook a gamer. Players return to a game again and again in order to receive small rewards. Rewards may include beating a high score or advancing to the next level. The gaming business profits when a gamer renews a subscription or buys the next version. Children, teens, and even adults become addicted to gaming because of these challenges and rewards.

Many addictive video games take place in a virtual world. Gamers who are antisocial in real life often have important roles and relationships in their games. Skilled gamers with low self-esteem in the real world may gain confidence inside the screen. This confidence may not be noticed by people in the real world. Hard-core gamers sometimes forget simple hygiene like showering or brushing their teeth. This isolates them further because real people don’t want to be around them.

Gamers experience a high when they are playing. This sense of pleasure often turns to guilt when they eventually stop playing. The only way to feel better again is to get back to the game. Many gamers lose track of time in their virtual worlds. They may begin to lie about how long they spend gaming. Like many addicts, gamers often let their grades slip or lose their jobs.

Removing a video game or computer from a compulsive gamer may not solve the problem. Gaming often fills a void in a person’s real life. A gamer who is banned from playing may become compulsive about something else, such as gambling. Is gaming different from other compulsive habits such as texting, surfing the net, or shopping? What would you say if a gamer told you his addiction was simply a form of stress relief?

“Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other.” ~ Charles Lamb

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low, fee, a void, world, subscription, long run, self-esteem, track of, virtual, lose, relief, in the, stress, fill, time

VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍

A. ChunkingCreate seven words or expressions by pairing the words that are commonly found together in English. (Don’t look at page 1.) Write a sentence for each example. Be careful! You must use all of the words.

B. Vocabulary Review – Check your understandingWrite YES or NO beside the following statements.

1. Is a subscription something you pay for? ______

2. When a place is isolated, is it usually in a big city? ______

3. Can you lose track of time even if you’re wearing a watch? ______

COMPREHENSION ✍Discuss these questions in pairs, and write the answers in your notebook.

1. How do gaming companies hook players? 2. What is an example of a reward in a video game?3. How do some gamers build up their self-esteem?4. Why does the reading mention hygiene?5. How does the reading end, and why does it end this way?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Do you know someone who is addicted to gaming? Describe this person to your classmates. Collect a large number

of adjectives to describe gamers. What do gamers have in common? 2. What kinds of video games do you think are the most addictive, and why? 3. Which is worse, being addicted to gaming as a child or being addicted to gaming as an adult?

CRITICAL THINKINGSome people are addicted to video games while others are addicted to gambling. How are these addictions similar? How are they different? Which one is a more serious addiction? How would you define the word “addiction”?

1. m

2. m

3. m

4. m

5. m

6. m

7. m

4. Is biting your fingernails an example of a compulsive behavior? ______

5. Do some people consider reading a form of stress relief? ______

6. Are you a hard-core gamer if you play video games once a week? ______

Gaming AddictionDiscussion Starters

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Note: In the following teachers’ notes, a * indicates a place in the lesson where you might want to encourage your students to take their learning one step further. (Some teachers call this teaching approach “Demand High”.) Try to involve as many learners as possible. Rather than just telling students that the answer is right or wrong, invite them to talk about why it is right or wrong. If you have students in a group setting, make sure that some of your students aren’t just sitting back quietly, letting others do the work.

Lesson Description: Students read about Gaming Addiction. The lesson includes vocabulary review exercises, comprehension questions, and discussion questions about addictions. Intermediate–Advanced. Time: 1.5–2 hours. Tags: addictions, video games, gaming, games, discussion

PRE-READING WARM-UP Individual answers.You may also want to talk about some popular video games. Which video games do your students play? Do they prefer arcades, apps, online games, subscription games, etc.?

PRE-READING VOCABULARY TASK1. f 2. b 3. a 4. e 5. d 6. h 7. j 8. i 9. g 10. c

* After your students have read the reading, go back to the vocabulary match exercise. Can your students spot any words that may mean something different in a different context? E.g., hook, track, relief

COMPREHENSION1. Gaming companies hook players by challenging them just enough and by creating small rewards. 2. Examples of rewards in video games include an advancement to the next level or an achievement

of a high score. (Can your students think of other rewards from specific games they have played?)3. Some gamers build up their self-esteem by becoming skillful in the virtual world.4. The reading mentions hygiene because hard-core gamers may forget about showering or brushing

their teeth or their hair. This lack of hygiene can cause them to become even more isolated in the real world.

5. The reading ends with two questions for readers. It ends this way to inspire a discussion about addictions and stress.

VOCABULARY REVIEWA. Chunking – Individual answers for sentences. 1. low self-esteem2. subscription fee3. fill a void4. virtual world5. lose track of time6. stress relief7. in the long run

B. Yes/No1. Yes 2. No 3. Yes (Have some discussion.) 4. Yes 5. Yes 6. No (You could try having a vote to determine what your students would classify “hard-core” as.)* Invite students to rewrite the NO sentences to make them YES sentences.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and CRITICAL THINKING – Individual answers. Place students in pairs or small groups.

RELATED IN THE ESL-LIBRARY – Mini-Debates: Video Game Violence

* Have more advanced students write a short paragraph using all seven expressions. This can be done individually, in pairs, or in groups.

* See Discussion Starters Teachers’ Notes (www.esl-library.com/discussion) for avariety of ways to use the reading. Audio is available for this lesson. Students can access the audio via our podcast and iTunes.

From the Editor: The correct adjective form of “addiction” is “addictive”, but more and more people are using “addicting” as an adjective. Since it’s not an official entry in most dictionaries yet, you should teach your students that “addictive” is the correct adjective form. However, you could have a discussion with more advanced students about how languages change over time, and include “addicting” as an example of this.For more information, see our editor’s blog post: addictive vs. addicting. http://www.esl-library.com/blog/2013/04/11/addictive-vs-addicting/

Teachers’ NotesGaming Addiction

Spelling Note: This lesson shows the American spelling of the word Behavior. Most other English-speaking countries spell it this way: Behaviour. Make it a challenge for your students to find this word in the lesson and see if they know the alternate spelling.