Computer Games In The Efl Classroom

Fact is that commercial computer games play an extensive role in young people's lives, today. According to a recent study, 62 % of German teenagers play computer games at least once a week. This development led many researchers, school leaders and teachers to the question in how far games can be used to engage young people and support their learning inside the classroom. These considerations have been supported by various studies, showing that computer games can enhance various cognitive skills such as the ability of concentration, stamina, tactical aptness, anticipatory thinking, orientation in virtual spaces, and deductive reasoning. Since then, few research projects have launched which examine digital game based learning (i.e. the learning with the help of computer games), both on a theoretical and empirical level. This study approaches the subject of digital game based learning in the EFL classroom from three different angles: Firstly, a scientific perspective will be adopted. The principles of the design and construction of games and game worlds will be examined. Secondly, the subject of the psychological effects of games on the player will be broached. Thirdly and as the main point, the didactic potential of computer games will be explored in detail. The author presents ways of integrating games into teaching units, and further, the abilities and competences that can be enhanced by the use of digital games. Moreover, particular challenges and problems will be identified that arise when the use of a digital game in class is planned.

Video games are a major source of contact to English language and culture, and the need to develop critical video game competency is high. This text presents reasons for (and defines) video game literacy for the English as a foreign language classroom as well as empirical research which covers problems and potentials of game topics in the classroom. This book offers as a result of the theoretical and empirical research countless ideas for task and material design, teacher education, theoretical and conceptual development of video game literacy and impulses for future empirical research.

This short introductory guide to using games in the ESL/EFL classroom gives some guiding principles for creating and selecting which games to use, and then gives three in-depth examples of games you can make for your own classroom, with photos of the games in use and a discussion of adaptations and variations. While all of the example language is from English-teaching contexts, the games would work equally well to teach other languages.

The ongoing digitalization of social environments and personal lifeworlds has made it crucial to pinpoint the possibilities of digital teaching and learning also in the context of English language education. This book offers university students, trainee teachers, in-service teachers and teacher educators an in-depth exploration of the intricate relationship between English language education and digital teaching and learning. Located at the intersection of research, theory and teaching practice, it thoroughly legitimizes the use of digital media in English language education and provides concrete scenarios for their competence-oriented and task-based classroom use.

This volume brings an international perspective to language skills – an area of importance to both theorists and practitioners in all contexts of language teaching and learning. The twenty-seven chapters included here are arranged into six sections devoted to fundamental background issues, spoken interaction, perception of speech sounds and production skills, reading contexts and purposes, writing challenges for advanced learners, and technology and language skills. Explored themes range from the conceptualization of language as skill and the development of L2 skills in communicative and intercultural approaches, through challenges in teaching specific skills and their components, to the consideration of the possibilities and limitations of the use of modern technology in assisting students in skill acquisition. The volume’s contributors point to the multiaspectuality of the process of developing language skills with reference to different age groups, diverse educational and social contexts, as well as instructional activities focusing on isolated and integrated skills. The book also includes original empirical studies concerning learning, teaching, and testing numerous aspects of language skills in L2 attainment. The book will be of interest to researchers, classroom teachers, and specialists in language education, philology and applied linguistics, as well as to graduate students involved in the study of language skills acquisition and instruction.

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.

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.

This book offers the first comprehensive study of the many interfaces shaping the relationship between comics and videogames. It combines in-depth conceptual reflection with a rich selection of paradigmatic case studies from contemporary media culture. The editors have gathered a distinguished group of international scholars working at the interstices of comics studies and game studies to explore two interrelated areas of inquiry: The first part of the book focuses on hybrid medialities and experimental aesthetics "between" comics and videogames; the second part zooms in on how comics and videogames function as transmedia expansions within an increasingly convergent and participatory media culture. The individual chapters address synergies and intersections between comics and videogames via a diverse set of case studies ranging from independent and experimental projects via popular franchises from the corporate worlds of DC and Marvel to the more playful forms of media mix prominent in Japan. Offering an innovative intervention into a number of salient issues in current media culture, Comics and Videogames will be of interest to scholars and students of comics studies, game studies, popular culture studies, transmedia studies, and visual culture studies.