Discussion Starters

Gaming
Addiction
Pre-Reading
A. 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?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match up as many words and meanings as you can.

Check this exercise again after seeing the words in context on page 2.

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

2. hook b) to catch a person’s interest

c) a thing or activity that helps you relax

3. subscription
d) serious, not casual
4. virtual world
e) a fictional place in a computer-based game
5. hard-core
f) something that you have become so
6. isolate accustomed to that you can’t stop having or doing

7. lose track of time g) something that is missing, emptiness

h) to leave or cause to be alone

8. compulsive
i) repeated, uncontrollable (behavior)
9. void
j) to be so busy doing something that
10. stress relief you forget about other commitments

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 Gaming Addiction
Discussion Starters

Reading
GAMING ADDICTION
What voids do video games fill?

1. Video games are designed to be addictive. Designers know how “Man is a gaming
to make a video game just challenging enough to hook a gamer. animal. He must
Players return to a game again and again in order to receive small
rewards. Rewards may include beating a high score or advancing to
always be trying
the next level. The gaming business profits when a gamer renews to get the better in
a subscription or buys the next version. Children, teens, and even something or other.”
adults become addicted to gaming because of these challenges
—Charles Lamb, essayist
and rewards.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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?

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 Gaming Addiction
Discussion Starters

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?

Vocabulary Review
A. Chunking

Create seven words or expressions by pairing the words that are commonly
found together in English. Then write a sentence for each example.

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

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

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 Gaming Addiction
Discussion Starters

Vocabulary Review cont.

B. Check Your Understanding

Write 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?

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?

Discussion
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 Thinking
Some 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”?

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 Gaming Addiction
Discussion Starters

Listening
 http://blog.esllibrary.com/2013/05/01/podcast-gaming-addiction/

Fill in the blanks as you listen to the recording.

GAMING ADDICTION
What voids do video games fill?

1. Video games are designed to be addictive. Designers

know how to make a video game just challenging enough
to 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 or
buys the next version. Children, teens, and even adults become
addicted to gaming because of these challenges and rewards.

2. Many addictive video games take place in a .

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 them further because real
people don’t want to be around them.

3. Gamers experience a 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 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.

4. Removing a video game or computer from a

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 ?

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 Gaming Addiction
Discussion Starters

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: TEACHING TIPS: LEVEL: Int – High Int

Students read about gaming addiction. See Discussion Starters Teaching Guide TIME: 1.5–2 hours
The lesson includes vocabulary review (https://esllibrary.com/courses/72/lessons/)
TAGS: discussion, addictions,
exercises, comprehension questions, and for a variety of ways to use the reading.
video games, gaming, games
discussion questions about addictions.

Note: Comprehension

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.
1. 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

Pre-Reading gamers may forget about showering or brushing

their teeth or their hair. This lack of hygiene can cause

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS them to become even more isolated in the real world.
5. The reading ends with two questions for readers. It ends this
Answers will vary. You may also want to talk about some popular
way to inspire a discussion about addictions and stress.
video games. Which video games do your students play? Do they
prefer arcades, apps, online games, subscription games, etc.?
(continued on the next page...)

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW

1. f 3. a 5. d 7. j 9. g
2. b 4. e 6. h 8. i 10. c

Reading (and/or Listening)

Read individually, in small groups, or as a class. Discuss the quote.

You can also play the listening as your students read along. A gap-
fill version of the reading is available on page 5. Help your students
with vocabulary and expressions that they are unfamiliar with.

*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?

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 Gaming Addiction
Discussion Starters

Answer Key cont.

Vocabulary Review SPELLING NOTE:

This lesson shows the American spelling of the word Behavior.

A. CHUNKING Most other English-speaking countries spell it this way:

Answers for sentences will vary. (*Have more advanced students Behaviour. Make it a challenge for your students to find this

write a short story, dream, or fictional news article using all seven word in the lesson and see if they know the alternate spelling.

expressions. This can be done individually, in pairs, or in groups.)

EDITOR’S NOTE:
1. low self-esteem 5. lose track of time
2. subscription fee 6. stress relief The correct adjective form of “addiction” is “addictive,” but

3. fill a void 7. in the long run more and more people are using “addicting” as an adjective.

4. virtual world Since it’s not an official entry in most dictionaries yet, you should
teach your students that “addictive” is the correct adjective

B. CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING form. However, you could have a discussion with more advanced
students about how languages change over time and include
1. YES
“addicting” as an example of this. For more information,
2. NO
see our editor’s blog post on Addictive Vs. Addicting:
3. YES (Have some discussion.)
http://blog.esllibrary.com/2013/04/11/addictive-vs-addicting/
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

Answers will vary. Place students in pairs or small groups.

Critical Thinking

Answers will vary. Place students in pairs or small groups.

Listening

1. hook, subscription
2. virtual world, isolates
3. high, lose track
4. compulsive, stress relief

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