Freedom to Play

This book empowers language and literacy teachers and researchers by framing teaching as the use of S.P.A.C.E. within constraints to create 'playgrounds' where everyone can engage. It enhances readers’ ludic, language, and pedagogical literacies, encouraging them to play, learn, apply, and seek more. Drawing from decades of successful teaching and research, the book balances theory, research, and practice while critiquing gamification and game-based learning—advocating instead for genuine ludic approaches. It includes two rigorous courses to help readers design lesson plans and evaluate their teaching. Playful elements such as memes, jokes, anecdotes, and reflections on both successes and failures make the book engaging and relatable. With a humanistic approach that prioritizes teachers and students over technology, the book is also inclusive, offering ludic language pedagogy examples for diverse contexts. Additionally, it bridges the research-practice divide and integrates support