Multiliteracies In The Foreign Language Classroom Using Video Games In The Flc

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 1,7, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, course: Multiliteracies in the Foreign Language Classroom, language: English, abstract: According to a survey published in 2013 nearly every youth spends roughly 180 minutes online every day during the school week (MPFS 2013: 64). Of the asked adolescents, 45% said that they play computer, console or online games regularly and gave the estimate of “76 minutes on weekdays and 101 minutes on weekends” (MPFS 2013:65) spend playing digital games. There is a term for all those born after the 1970s, that grew up surrounded and using technology on a daily basis: digital natives (Schoolnet 2009: 6). This new generation of born natives uses digital devices with little to no instruction. One could say they are fluent or literate in this 'language'. These digital natives use this technology based language to communicate, express themselves, as well as to understand and manipulate their environment. They use social networking sites as well as digital games, often combined with each other, to entertain themselves. Through their constant use digital natives are used to an environment, which constantly rewards them for things like endurance (daily log in rewards) or finishing things in a timely matter (finishing in a quest in a certain time frame). This kind of reward system is what they expect in the classroom. A traditional classroom environment may not be motivating enough for this new generation of learners (Schoolnet 2009: 6). This term paper deals with digital games in the English foreign language classroom (EFL). As students clearly enjoy playing these games and are motivated to do so on a nearly daily basis, why not use this kind of motivation to learn English? In the following the theory behind the usage and advantage of digital games in the classroom is outlined. In the end there is a teaching proposal for a unit, that uses an online game to teach historical facts and events.

Bridging Literacies with Videogames provides an international perspective of literacy practices, gaming culture, and traditional schooling. Featuring studies from Australia, Colombia, South Korea, Canada, and the United States, this edited volume addresses learning in primary, secondary, and tertiary environments with topics related to: • re-creating worlds and texts • massive multiplayer second language learning • videogames and classroom learning These diverse topics will provide scholars, teachers, and curriculum developers with empirical support for bringing videogames into classroom spaces to foster meaning making. Bridging Literacies with Videogames is an essential text for undergraduates, graduates, and faculty interested in contemporizing learning with the medium of the videogame.

Due to the rapid development of gaming technologies in recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the role that digital games can play in foreign and second language learning. Bringing together innovative research from an international team of contributors, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the use of digital games in computer-assisted language learning (CALL). The book firstly lays the theoretical foundations and outlines various rationales for using digital games, incorporating contemporary theories of second language acquisition. It also explores the development and impact of digital games designed specifically for language learning, giving due consideration to design principles, pedagogical requirements and student health. Chapters then draw on case studies from Europe and Japan to analyse in-game interaction, attitudes and participation in both institutional and out-of-classroom settings. Seamlessly combining theory with practical application, this book outlines recent developments in the field and the direction of future research, and is a valuable resource for instructors, researchers and practitioners who are designing games or looking to use them in their classrooms.

This MA thesis explores the idea of using video games designed for the mass market, in ESL classrooms. This topic is not well researched yet, however, it is an important one, considering the fact that a great number of students play games in their free time. Thus we should examine how to use this interest and apply it on teaching. The paper therefore attempts to prove that, if used correctly, video games can function as useful teaching tools and can help teachers achieve different teaching aims. To prove this, the paper looks into the existing research studies on the topics, shows that video games can have many positive effects on their players and demonstrates the ways video games can be used in the classrooms. The empirical part presents a study in which 48 students in five classes participated in lessons in which the game The Stanley Parable was used. The study showed that the game can be used in different ways as a way of achieving different teaching aims.

This edited volume explores how digital games have the potential to engage learners both within and outside the classroom and to encourage interaction in the target language. This is the first dedicated collection of papers to bring together state-of-the-art research in game-based learning.

How digital games can inform, enhance and transform L2 pedagogy The potential of digital games in the second and foreign (L2) classroom is enormous but harnessing their potential for application in the L2 classroom, however, presents complex challenges. In Language at Play: Digital Games in Second and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning , Sykes and Reinhart combine research from a variety of perspectives in applied linguistics, educational gaming, and games studies, and structure their discussion of five major concepts central to these areas: goal, interaction, feedback, motivation and context. While theoretically grounded, the volume's audience is primarily practicing L2 professionals with classroom experience. Intended for current and future foreign language teaching professionals, volumes in the Theory and Practice in Second Language Classroom Instruction series examine issues in teaching and learning in language classrooms. The topics selected and the discussions of them draw in principled ways on theory and practice in a range of fields, including second language acquisition, foreign language education, educational policy, language policy, linguistics, and other areas of applied linguistics.

There is a lot more value to be found in video games than what is traditionally considered educational. Video games can do more than just build one's literacy; it can teach mechanics, problem-solving, rules, narrative speaking, and even foster relationships with others. This book offers an in depth look at what an entire English Language Arts unit focused on video games in the classroom can look like. Included is a full 30 day unit utilizing the video games "What Remains of Edith Finch" & "Gone Home" as central texts. Students will be tasked to play both games and identify and analyze the many literary elements and rhetorical devices found across both games. A full unit plan and 30 individual lesson descriptions act as your teaching guide. Also included is a debrief of how each lesson went with my own students with student completed handouts attached. When I first decided to pursue a career in education, my close friends joked that I would be the teacher who watched movies and played video games with his students. I always knew in the back of my mind that both of those activities, especially video games, could be a real asset. My hope in writing this book is that you and other educators will be both inspired and prepared to teach with video games in your own classroom.

(Cont.) Outside of video games, we see terms like "web 2.0" used to describe technologies that allow website viewers to play a role in authoring additions to the sites they are reading, or "mashups" where users use programming interfaces to rapidly create web content by mashing together pieces from different sources. The second emerging concept critical for curricular designers to follow is that of transmedia storytelling. Traditionally, one might assume a model in which distinct media forms are used to serve distinct cultural practices: television or novels tell stories, video games are for play, blogs for socializing and textbooks for learning. While initially this may have been the case, as each of the media forms above have evolved, they have expanded to cover multiple other cultural practices, often by extending across other media forms. By following the evolution of the interactions between these various media forms and activities within entertainment industries, we can find valuable insight when forecasting their possible interactions in the education industry.