Students in McHenry Community High School’s Transition English class are using adventures through the Dungeons and Dragons tabletop fantasy game to improve their English language skills.
With the start of the 2025-2026 school year, Instructor Alex Maurer and Bilingual Instructional Assistant Luis Aguilar started a new quest to improve English skills through the popular role-playing game.
The class of 18 divides into groups, and within each group, students take turns playing their character or doing jobs within a Dungeons and Dragons adventure. Maurer guides the game as Dungeon Master.
Students become their characters in the game and have to use their language skills to work together throughout the campaign.
“It’s been a nice way of getting everyone involved, no matter the skill level,” Maurer said. “They are doing things together. It’s not a competition.”
Maurer said he wanted to try something new for his students who are perfecting their bilingual skills. Most students in his class speak Spanish but the other native languages include Serbian, Urdu, Portuguese and Ukrainian.
Many students take the class for several semesters, Maurer said, prompting him to try to find different ways to deliver material.
Aguilar, who provides translation support in the classroom, said unlike video games, Dungeons and Dragons requires participants to become immersed in the scenarios as they take on roles.
“You can see it in their faces,” Aguilar said. “We’re seeing the gears roll now.”
Mauer said students have reacted positively to the new adventures and he’s seeing a lot more social interaction between students. Dungeons and Dragons allows the class to use a group work model to benefit all students.
