Solutions
I started a new job last year at a school where every teacher is asked to run an after-school club. When asked what kind of club I would like to run, I immediately suggested Minecraft. It was a popular choice, and the club soon filled up with eager secondary students (aged 11 and up). But then a few other students approached me and asked if they could join the club even though they had not played the game before. That was something I had not thought about: I had assumed that all the students would already know how to play and that I would simply create tasks for them.
The solution I came up with was simple and was one that would finally lead to me getting to grips with the game myself. I asked those students who knew the game to prepare an introductory guide for new players, and I informed them that their first task would be to teach the other students – and me – how to play. In this way, the game made us all equals in the classroom. There was no hierarchy of the teacher as expert imparting knowledge to the students. The students were able to take a degree of control as we cooperated to learn together, using English as the vehicle to do so.