Language Learning Game Research Articles

Using arcade games to engage students in the learning of foreign and mother languages

It is imperative to continue thinking about and reinventing education because mobile technologies and the Web are redefining where, when and from whom we learn. Authors from different study fields have recognised the multiple possibilities of video games for language learning and for interdisciplin

Overspecified references: An experiment on lexical acquisition in a virtual environment

This study explores the role of quantity of information on vocabulary acquisition in a virtual world. Previous studies have shown that, although it makes interpretation more lengthy, speakers include more information in their referring expressions than is strictly necessary to identify an object – they overspecify. We aim to study the impact of this kind of overspecification on the acquisition of new lexemes in a foreign language. Our hypothesis is that using overspecified expressions during the practice of recently acquired vocabulary will help learners to better remember the lexemes and to exploit them more efficiently later on. In this paper, we describe an experimental study designed to evaluate this hypothesis, comparing two groups of learners who received overspecified and minimally specified referring expressions while practising newly acquired lexemes in the context of a language learning game in Russian. The game is situated in a virtual environment and the interaction is similar to that of a video game. Our results, based on experimental data from participants’ performance as well as a post-experiment questionnaire, support the claim that overspecification improves lexical acquisition rates compared to minimal specification. Some pedagogical suggestions are provided for the design of referring expression generation algorithms in Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Systems.

Online games for young learners' foreign language learning

Young learners’ use of instructional games in foreign language learning is not yet well understood. Using games that were part of the learning tools for an online assessment, Jido-Eiken, a standardized English proficiency test for young learners in Japan, we examined young learners’ game-playing behaviours and the relationship of these behaviours with learning outcomes. The participants were 3,945 children aged 4 to 12. We found that games that children played with relative frequency tended to share a set of features, including being cognitively demanding, evoking one’s curiosity, offering greater player control, and having multiple players. The frequency of plays decreased as the age increased in many games that we examined, but gender differences were hardly observed. We found different relational patterns between young learners’ game scores and English performance depending on the games and difficulty levels of the assessment. We discuss the implications for instructional game developers and teachers of young language learners.

Affect and willingness to communicate in digital game-based learning

AbstractThe possible benefits of digital games for language learning and teaching have received increasing interest in recent years. Games are said, amongst others, to be motivating, to lower affective barriers in learning, and to encourage foreign or second language (L2) interaction. But how do learners actually experience the use of games? What impact does gameplay have on students’ perceptions of themselves as learners, and how does this affect their learning practice? These questions are important as they are likely to influence the success of digital game-based language learning, and as a result the way teachers might integrate games into the curriculum. In this study we investigated the experiences of five students who had participated in a fifteen-week game-based learning program at a university in Thailand. We conducted six interviews with each of them (for a total of 30 interviews) to identify what impact gameplay had in particular on their willingness to communicate in English (MacIntyre, Dörnyei, Clément & Noels, 1998). The results showed that gameplay had a number of benefits for the participants in this study, in particular in terms of lowering their affective barriers to learning and increasing their willingness to communicate. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of further research and classroom practice.

POSTECH Immersive English Study (POMY): Dialog-Based Language Learning Game

This study examines the dialog-based language learning game (DB-LLG) realized in a 3D environment built with game contents. We designed the DB-LLG to communicate with users who can conduct interactive conversations with game characters in various immersive environments. From the pilot test, we found that several technologies were identified as essential in the construction of the DB-LLG such as dialog management, hint generation, and grammar error detection and feedback. We describe the technical details of our system POSTECH immersive English study (Pomy). We evaluated the performance of each technology using a simulator and field tests with users.

A principled approach to utilizing digital games in the language learning classroom

Kanda University of International Studies jrockjared@hotmail.com Empirical research into the use of digital games for educational purposes has shown promising results such as increased learner motivation, improved learner retention of information, and increased learner interest in subject matter. Furthermore, in the field of language learning, digital games have been used successfully in a variety of ways such as improving learners’ vocabulary acquisition, raising learners’ awareness of audience in writing, and increasing learners’ willingness to communicate. However, not all of the research into the use of digital games for language learning is positive; in some instances, the use of games can actually interfere with language acquisition. This paper will first briefly examine the potential benefits and risks of using digital games in the language classroom. Next, three principles for deploying digital games effectively in the classroom will be presented and discussed. These principles, synthesized from published empirical research into the use of games for educational purposes, are guidelines educators can follow to help ensure that learning objectives are met when utilizing digital games. Use of these principles will be illustrated with examples from published research articles.

Forms of participation and semiotic mediation in board games for second language learning

This article discusses a study on how language use and language development can be promoted through engaging students in different participation roles in board games. Theoretically, the study is grounded in sociocultural perspectives of activity theory and the role of play as a form of human motivation. A group of Grade 4 primary students learning English as a second language in Hong Kong participated in the games, with alternating roles as players and facilitators. Students’ discursive and embodied participation in the games was analysed to reveal how changing participation roles constitute a form of social-relational mediation that motivates students’ deployment of different interaction practices and multimodal semiotic resources to achieve context-sensitive, object-related and goal-directed actions in collaborative group activities. The data also show students’ agency and self-regulation when they enacted the same participation role with different subject positions and semiotic resources. This article concludes by calling for more attention to how engaged participation resulting in situated purposeful language use can be promoted through different forms of participation in social activities such as board games.

Book Review: Language at Play: Digital Games in Second and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

Book Review: Language at Play: Digital Games in Second and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

Multi-Senses Explication Activities Module for Dyslexic Children in Malaysia

Dyslexic children are having abnormal difficulties in reading, spelling and writing. The awareness on these problems leads researcher to conduct a case study in the psycholinguistic field about the multi-senses explication activities in the words mastery among the dyslexic children in Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Temu Melaka. Starting from the Information Processing Theory by Robert M. Gagne (1975) as the theoretical framework, this research aims to produce a module on the multi-senses explication activities for the dyslexic children in Malaysia. The subjects are five dyslexic children from Sekolah Kebangsaan Padang Temu Melaka. They are in the middle of following through the Dyslexia Specific Learning Problem Integration Programme in that particular school. Data were gathered from Test 1 and Test 2, questionnaire, interview sessions and observations conducted. The findings showed that the multi-senses explication activities could provide the language learning mode, especially on the mastery of the suitable words based on the dyslexic children’s mind. Besides that, researcher also emphasized on the language game element in the students’ learning of the Malay language. The interview sessions and the observations showed the improvised language learning game managed to pull the attention of the students and trigger the fun feelings of the dyslexic children in learning the Malay language which they felt difficult to master previously.

Learning to Play, Playing to Learn

Learning opportunities offered by digital games have become an important research topic in recent years. Language learning is one of the areas in which games could prosper but the question then is whether these should be specialized language-learning games or commercial off-the-shelf games for entertainment. The goal of this paper is to compare the experiences evoked by playing a commercial and two language-learning games in adult foreign language learners (N=62). While results of the experimental design suggest that a commercial game results in better playing and learning experiences, these findings are partly neutralized by the attitude of the participants towards learning through digital games and by being a frequent player of games or not. This raises questions as to how digital games should be designed to appeal to a public of learners that is not familiar with digital game-based learning or with gaming in general.

The impact of adventure video games on foreign language learning and the perceptions of learners

Several researchers have highlighted the potential of applying adventure video games in second language acquisition; however, few studies have investigated the impact of adventure games on foreign language learning. This study aimed to examine the effects of a commercial adventure video game on foreign language learning and learners’ perceptions toward this game. Twenty-two college students in Taiwan were asked to play an English adventure game BONE. One group was allowed to take notes while playing and the other group was not. After playing, both groups were asked to take a vocabulary post-test. The results indicated that both groups picked up some new words after playing the adventure game, but there was no significant difference between the two groups’ post-gaming performances. To better understand the strengths and weaknesses of using adventure games for foreign language learning, another study was conducted to explore 35 college students’ perceptions toward this adventure game. The results showed that students considered the game helpful in improving their language skills and motivation. Students also reported they enjoyed playing the game because of the intriguing game design. The findings in this study suggest that adventure video games such as BONE can provide useful input to help college students enhance their English listening, reading, vocabulary skills and learning motivation.

Tapping into the field of foreign language learning games

The use of serious games has seen a remarkable growth in the past decade. This has resulted in a substantial number of people with hands–on experience. However, to our knowledge, no research has been performed to harvest this source of information. By means of an explorative study, we collected the opinions of 47 serious game and computer–assisted language learning experts on the potential of serious games for foreign language learning. The first part of this paper discusses the opinions of experts in the light of different perspectives on foreign language learning. The next part of this paper elaborates on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of foreign language learning games, resulting in a nuanced view on the opportunities and limitations of foreign language learning games. As such, this paper explores possibilities and limitations regarding language learning games and frames those findings within the boundaries of literature on foreign language learning.

A pedagogy-driven approach to the design of a medical abbreviations videogame: Brevissima

This paper explores the development of a computer-assisted language learning game which teaches medical abbreviations. We use a pedagogy-driven approach which starts from a detailed specification of the language needs as they exist in a particular context, followed by the appropriate method and related technological solutions. Preliminary feedback is provided from an anonymous survey of student opinions about the game.

Pervasive Games and Mobile Technologies for Embodied Language Learning

Thanks to the rapidly increasing adoption of mobile communications and wireless technologies, language educators are now empowered to sculpt interactions and design learning experiences using the real world as their canvas. City streets, shopping centres, cafés, and cemeteries can be augmented with new layers of meaning and narrative as learner-players use their language skills to navigate the chaotic and unpredictable environment of everyday life and achieve their objectives. Spatially expanded games provide a natural way to situate language production in context-rich, authentic settings, in contrast to the comparatively sterile confines of the traditional classroom. They are multimodal, multi-sensory, and highly personal immersive experiences. This paper explores the potential of technology-enhanced pervasive urban games for language learning and the pedagogic and philosophical foundations upon which these ideas are based. Examples are provided from an ongoing location-based research project.

ReCALL special issue: Digital games for language learning: challenges and opportunities

Frederik Cornillie, Steven L. Thorne and Piet Desmet ReCALL / Volume 24 / Issue 03 / September 2012, pp 243 ­ 256 DOI: 10.1017/S0958344012000134, Published online: Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0958344012000134 How to cite this article: Frederik Cornillie, Steven L. Thorne and Piet Desmet (2012). ReCALL special issue: Digital games for language learning: challenges and opportunities. ReCALL, 24, pp 243­256 doi:10.1017/ S0958344012000134 Request Permissions : Click here

Not-so-Serious Games for Language Learning. Now with 99,9% More Humour on Top

Verbal and figurative humour characterise some of the most memorable commercial video games. Humour, in general, is also a precious strategy to enhance language learning. What happens if we embed humour in serious games for language learning? This paper will briefly cover: a) the origin of fun; b) the essence of humour; c) both the cultural dependence and the universality of humour; c) its meaningfulness to language learning. In the end, a proposal for integrating humou r in serious games is formulated, along with several examples of ‘teaching humour’ extrapolated from a successful commercial video game (Day of the Tentacle).

The role of feedback in foreign language learning through digital role playing games

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the use of digital games for purposes other than pure entertainment, including (formal) training and education. This paper examines the cognitive benefits of the genre of digital role-playing games for foreign language learning, with specific attention to the role of focus-on-form approaches and language-directed feedback. Suggestions for research are made, with particular reference to how formal properties and learner perceptions of feedback may mediate learning outcomes as well as gameplay experience.

Foreign Language Tutoring in Oral Conversations Using Spoken Dialog Systems

Although there have been enormous investments into English education all around the world, not many differences have been made to change the English instruction style. Considering the shortcomings for the current teaching-learning methodology, we have been investigating advanced computer-assisted language learning (CALL) systems. This paper aims at summarizing a set of POSTECH approaches including theories, technologies, systems, and field studies and providing relevant pointers. On top of the state-of-the-art technologies of spoken dialog system, a variety of adaptations have been applied to overcome some problems caused by numerous errors and variations naturally produced by non-native speakers. Furthermore, a number of methods have been developed for generating educational feedback that help learners develop to be proficient. Integrating these efforts resulted in intelligent educational robots — Mero and Engkey — and virtual 3D language learning games, Pomy. To verify the effects of our approaches on students’ communicative abilities, we have conducted a field study at an elementary school in Korea. The results showed that our CALL approaches can be enjoyable and fruitful activities for students. Although the results of this study bring us a step closer to understanding computer-based education, more studies are needed to consolidate the findings.

Alternatives for Making Language Learning Games More Appealing for Self-access Learning

This investigation of popular computer games in comparison with language learning games was designed to offer an insight into the potential of games to the field of self-access. The study surveyed and analyzed common characteristics of popular computer games and then compared them with characteristics of several language learning games. It also investigated the participants’ recommended characteristics of computer games for learning English. The data were collected from undergraduate students at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand. The results showed that the most conducive characteristics for attractive language learning games included animation, variety, planning strategy, virtual background, challenging action and accumulated reward.

Leveraging Mobile Games for Place-Based Language Learning

This paper builds on the emerging body of research aimed at exploring the educational potential of mobile technologies, specifically, how to leverage place-based, augmented reality mobile games for language learning. Mentira is the first place-based, augmented reality mobile game for learning Spanish in a local neighborhood in the Southwestern United States. This paper explores both the complexities and benefits of integrating mobile games in second and foreign language learning contexts. Relevant background issues are discussed and the Mentira project is described, including an exploration of the setting, narrative, gameplay, and curriculum. Initial findings and future goals are explored. Gameplay, the importance of ’place’ for language learning, is discussed and the role of student buy-in. The paper concludes with future considerations for the continued use of mobile games projects for language learning as well as other disciplines.