One approach used in the Language Bridge method is the use of traditional games in the learning process. These are games that the local children play in their daily lives. Khaerunnisa, a program facilitator (fasilitator daerah, or Fasda) for INOVASI, and a teacher at the SDN SDIT Wihdathul Ummah Integrated Islamic Elementary School in Bima regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), often invites her students to learn while playing the Mpa’a Gopa game, which is similar to hopscotch.
According to Khaerunnisa, Mpa’a Gopa game can be played while introducing a learning concept or evaluating the students’ mastery of the material. This game can actually be found in other parts of Indonesia, and it is quite popular among children. Khaerunnisa integrates the game into the learning activity in school.
The rules of the game are quite simple. In every square drawn on the ground, Khaerunnisa provides a piece of information from the learning material. Each student who is playing has an Ince ( a stone) that they throw to a certain square. After the Ince is thrown into a square, the student who threw it jumps into that square and reads the information there. They have to go through all of the squares in a row, starting from the closest to the furthest from the starting position.
If a player throws the Ince and it lands on an unintended square, the player’s turn is over. The following players repeat the process. This is how the game is played in Khaerunnisa’s class.
After the game, Khaerunnisa asks the students questions about the learning material they read, while they were playing. To guide the flow of the game, Khaerunnisa uses the Language Bridge approach, where she translates several terms that are commonly used in the game into Indonesian.
This outdoor learning model that uses a local game is one of the Khaerunnisa’s students’ favorite activities. Moreover, there is an element of competition among groups of students, which is very exciting for them. Implementing this type of learning helps the children to look forward to their lessons and helps lessen their boredom when they are participating in conventional classroom instruction.