Elements of gamification and new technologies in the service of modern didactics: teaching German as a foreign language for translation and interpretation

Abstract

The digital age and the era of accelerated technological progress are witnessing significant changes in all branches of sciences. Modern didactics also requires a constant adaptation of methodologies as well as the implementation of the latest advances in cognitive sciences, such as neurodidactics and experimental neurolinguistics, or machine translation or artificial intelligence mechanisms (ChatGPT, Google translator, Deepl, etc.). Especially young people need modern approaches in learning. Growing up in a digital world and educated partly on video games, the new generation is more than ready to put modern technologies into practice in education. The frequent spending of young people in virtual space and social networks makes it necessary to include elements of gamification and simulation of reality in the methodology of education for more visible practice. This approach is in line with the postulates of embodied learning (embodied learning — Shapiro & Stolz, 2019; Grein, 2021). This learning methodology motivates students and offers experiences such as: self-experience, being-in-the-real-world, which they are so used to in everyday life as well. In this article we will discuss new possibilities of incorporating this didactic approach and new technologies into the methodology of foreign language teaching for future translators, whose field of work is characterised by the need for direct practical application of acquired knowledge, preferably already at the initial stage of training. Incorporating gamification elements into teaching methodology is a great advantage for didactics and can be applied in any of its fields.