- Home
- A-Z Publications
- Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds
- Previous Issues
- Volume 11, Issue 1, 2019
Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds - Volume 11, Issue 1, 2019
Volume 11, Issue 1, 2019
- Editorial
-
- Articles
-
-
-
Realizing multiple literacies through game-enhanced pedagogies: Designing learning across discourse levels
Authors: Chantelle Warner, Diane Richardson and Kristin LangeOne of the primary struggles for scholars and practitioners of instructed foreign languages today is how to best teach language as discourse in all its complexity. Digital games, as massively semiotic ecologies, arguably offer a unique opportunity for language learners to experience that complexity in action. This article provides a model for teaching language as discourse in action through digital games, as a means of presenting language learners with opportunities to experience the complexity of text, genre and discourse. The model integrates three levels of discourse essential to digital gaming: (1) the designs of the games, (2) the interactions between gamers, both those that take part in the gaming platform (such as in-game chats) and those between participants in the classroom and (3) social discourses about gaming.
-
-
-
-
Virtual worlds and language learning
More LessTechnology has made an invaluable contribution to foreign language (FL) teaching, particularly so in recent years. The advanced technical capabilities offered by digital games, including voice and text chat, take the use of computer-mediated communication in language learning one step further, allowing for remote, anonymous and situated learner interaction. This article presents an overview on how virtual worlds (VWs) are being used for educational purposes and for FL teaching in particular. A literature review on existing research has been included, covering areas such as FL interaction, impact on affective variables and attitudes towards the use of these environments. Special attention will be devoted to how VW interaction may affect students’ anxiety, motivation and self-efficacy beliefs. Finally, teacher perceptions will be explored through the data collected among 179 secondary school FL teachers participating in the EU-funded TeCoLa project (‘Pedagogical differentiation through telecollaboration and gaming for intercultural and content integrated language teaching’).
-
-
-
Clustering analysis of game-based learning: Worth it for all students?
Authors: Manuel Palomo-Duarte, Anke Berns, Andrés Yañez Escolano and Juan-Manuel DoderoGame-based learning has proven to be effective for enhancing student motivation and learning outcomes. In this study, the authors first designed and then tested a 3D virtual world-based video game to support students in learning a foreign language. Two data mining clustering techniques are used to analyse the impact of the game on learning processes and outcomes. The aim is to classify students according to learning outcomes, by comparing specific language competencies, such as the grammar, vocabulary and writing, before, during and after a case study. The case study used here involved 102 undergraduate German language students from the A1.2 level (CEFR). The results obtained from the application of two different clustering techniques indicate that learners do not all benefit from game-based learning in the same way; some students might better develop language competencies through more conventional and guided learning approaches.
-
-
-
Beyond the monolingual habitus in game-based language learning: The MElang-E and EU·DO·IT projects in the interstices between linguistics, pedagogy and technology
Authors: Judith Buendgens-Kosten, Viviane Lohe and Daniela ElsnerMirroring prevailing monolingual ideologies in foreign language pedagogic practices, the majority of language learning games reflect a monolingual perspective on language and language learning. This article attempts to delineate alternatives to this monolingual habitus in game-based language learning (GBLL). In order to do so, it introduces two Erasmus+ projects that set out to develop multilingual language learning games which go beyond vocabulary drills or match-the-translation activities by encompassing a plurilingual perspective on languages and language learning: MElang-E (Multilingual Exploration of Languages in Europe) and EU·DO·IT (European Digital Online-Game for Intercultural Learning and Translanguaging). The authors will discuss how in projects of this type, the need for sociolinguistic realism and the overarching plurilingual pedagogy have to be actively balanced with the expectations, preferences and needs of learners and teachers. Preliminary survey data on stakeholders’ perspectives on such products shows that there is a widespread scepticism regarding the inclusion of some types of non-target language material in a language learning game. Consequences for the design of multilingual games will be drawn.
-
- Book Reviews
-