Chapter 8 - Educational Neuroscience and the Affective Affordances of Video Games in Language Learning

Abstract

Recent neuroscience research has demonstrated a profound connection between emotion and learning. The limbic system, composed in part of the hypothalamus, the amygdala complex, and the hippocampus, plays a large, interconnected role in emotion, learning, and memory. As the researcher, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, has posited on a number of occasions, learning and emotion are inextricably linked. This chapter will explore some of the affective affordances that digital video games offer within the context of foreign language learning in Japan. In particular, it will report on a case study that details the experiences of a small group of adult life-long learners who have little to no experience with video games (and indeed, very little interest in them). They interacted with various genres of games, including action games, puzzle games, casual games, and narratively complex games, several of which were rated as “mature” games, intended only for adult players. Qualitative data was collected in the form of videos taken during the gameplay, in focus group interviews immediately following the gameplay, and in follow-up surveys conducted several weeks later. Quantitative data was collected in the form of a self-reported emotional reaction assessment tool based on the pleasure-arousal-dominance emotional state model.