by Tina, Cathy, Catherine and Ariel

A screenshot of My Café. Image credit: Cathy Zhu

What do you think of the screenshot above? Does it remind you of some experiences?            


Hi, welcome to Tigerville!

Our Township has gathered 12 residents of coffee-lovers from different countries. We share recipes, participate in coffee festivals and work hard to make our town the best.

This is a popular mobile game, My Café, where 50 million coffee fans run their own coffee shops, set up or join townships and exchange their ideas for managing the shops. The online game sets a virtual environment to simulate social life in a Café, where people order dessert, engage in small talk and share their own life stories.

For years, online gaming has been labelled “addictive” or “unsociable” by parents and teachers. However, research findings show that online gaming does have the potential to propel language learners by putting students into a different virtual context and allowing them to develop different identities (Thorne et al., 2009).

A screenshot of My Café. Image credit: Cathy Zhu

Virtual Environments

According to Thorne et al. (2009), the term virtual environment (VE) is used to make a discussion about three different spaces, which are “open social virtualities, commercial 3-D gaming spaces designed around goal-directed activity within fantasy world settings and online environments designed to support educational objectives”(p. 807). It also can be regarded as a continuum that can be divided into three prominent categories: “social virtualities”, which refer to open-ended virtual spaces like Second Life; “commercially produced massively multiplayer online games (MMOs)”, where thousands of player online games interact in a virtual world at the same time (e.g., World of Warcraft); and “synthetic immersive environments (SIEs)” which combine MMOs with specific sets of educational aims (e.g., Quest Atlantis) (Thorne et al., 2009, p.808, p.809, p.812).

A screenshot of World of Warcraft. Image credit: World of Warcraft on Reddit

L2 learning in online gaming spaces

Previous studies suggested VEs are beneficial for language learning in the areas of identity development, task-based learning, negotiation for meaning/action, and intercultural competence and pragmatic abilities development.(Thorne et al., 2009).

  1. It is known to us that in a real classroom context, students tend to be afraid of making mistakes and losing face. However, the situation in online games, especially in MMOs like World of Warcraft is completely different. Because of the complexity and difficulty of game tasks, players are supposed to communicate in real-time within teams. Because of this, gamers have to compel themselves to do better in communicating. In that case, they use more semiotic features to deliver their message. Thorne (2008) reveals that participants, no matter experienced or less experienced, have a strong motivation in learning the other’s language and would correct linguistic forms by themselves or for each other more frequently through online gaming. As gamers ascend in rank in MMOs, they go through a process of language learning.
  2.  By controlling avatars that are largely different from their real-world identities, learners, especially adolescent learners, internalize the virtual world identity which provides them with new perspectives in learning and problem solving. For example, a more attractive avatar would perform more helpfully and confidently in verbal behaviors compared to a less attractive avatar (Yee and Bailenson, 2007). Moreover, through interacting and co-constructing game tasks with players from various cultural backgrounds, appreciation for cultural differences increases between interlocutors.
  3. The strategic development in pragmatics via VEs is also noteworthy. Sykes and Cohen (2009) reveals that learners are more conscious in language use in terms of the level of formality, timing and address, through participating in synthetic immersive environments(SIEs). Language learners apply language into a specific, local, online speech community and make language more lively in everyday communication.

A screenshot of Quest Atlantis. Image credit: It’s all about learning

Critique

When playing online games, it does contribute to second language learning. However, there are two things teachers should pay attention to.

On one hand, we need to choose the game wisely before introducing it to students. Not all games are suitable for language learning. Online games with violent elements can sometimes influence players (Kühn et al., 2019). We are concerned that if students always use violence to resolve difficulties in gaming, it might seep into their daily routine. To some extent, this can be seen as promoting the wrong values. Games using fantasy or topic-specific vocabularies that cannot be used outside the gaming world will not be suitable for language learning as well.

On the other hand, children may focus too much on the fun side of games, so they tend to ignore the frequently appearing texts in the games. They may revel in the twisted plot or stories, fancy animation, and sense of achievement of victory or task fulfillment. Some games consist of numerous levels, the difficulty of which increases as they progress. Children, who often lack self-discipline, will therefore probably invest long periods of time on playing games, and may not have enough time for their formal language learning.


Discussion questions:

  1. Do you have any similar experience of learning language through VEs such as online gaming? Do you find it helpful/unhelpful to your second language learning?
  2. When you become a teacher, will you facilitate your students’ language learning via online games?

62 thoughts on “Can you learn a language through online gaming?

  1. I have never had any similar experience of learning language through VEs. I don’t like games. But when I become a teacher, I will definitely introduce the online gaming to my students. I will also incorporate my teaching with online gaming. What I will do is just like what you have mentioned. I will choose the suitable game for my students. The violent and pornographic ones will never be included. Besides, in order to reduce distraction, the game should also be educational as well as entertaining. What’s more, the time learners spend on the game should be limited. You can’t let them be addicted to games and it is also good for their eyes.

    • Thanks for your comment, Betty! I am not a fan of online games either but it might be good to incorporate teaching with online gaming since many young kids are game lovers nowadays. By introducing online gaming in teaching, students might be more motivated in language learning. And yes, as you mentioned, teachers should choose the range of games appropriately and carefully when using online games in teaching.

  2. Yes, though in mainland I may not have much chance to download some games which could set up a virtual environment full of English instructions, I downloaded some games with a total English language environment after I came to Hong Kong. For example, PUBG MOBILE is the game that I had played. But I think it wasn’t much helpful to my second language learning. Firstly, I think it is because that this game is exactly the foreign version of the game I had played in China. Therefore, I didn’t bother to spend time looking at the English instructions anymore. I was quite familiar with the manipulation of the game so that I didn’t need those instructions. Sometimes I simply skip that step. Secondly, this is a shooting game, it didn’t need many words to tell the stories and the core of this game is on the skills of the players. Thirdly, I think I play this game with the purpose of relaxing myself, so I didn’t pay much attention to learn language. Last, Even I might group with some people from the other country occasionally, I found few of them would be willing to open their microphone to talk with you. It seems that they just wanted to play the game by themselves, so there could be few opportunities to communicate with the other players either.

    When I become a teacher, I think I will not apply online games into language learning. It’s just impossible. First, there are no good online games for education. It is because nowadays the online games are more commercialized that few people would consider making online games suitable for the education which I mean is related to the textbooks. They have little profit with no support from the official organizations. Second, the exam-driven system has already given a great pressure on the teachers. The formal language learning leaves little room for digital literacies practices. Third, the misunderstanding from the parents and the lack of self-control of the students are also problems to solve. Especially for kids, if they got the chance to open computer, they may make use of this chance to play the games they really wanted to. They may use this as a disguise to achieve their real desires which is hard to monitor. Therefore, I think it might be the trend in the future, but I will not directly apply it before this method is well established.

    • Thank you Connor for the sharing! It is not surprised to read your comment that you do not see online gaming helpful to your second language learning and would not apply it directly to your teaching. I also found it is impossible to connect online gaming with language learning before. After I asked some of my male friends about online gaming, they think it helped them learn English to some extent. And I also had watched a funny videos about online gaming that a Korean player played games in China server to practice his Chinese because he is afraid to speak the language with native speakers face to face.

      But I agree with you that for adolescent who are not self-disciplined, they would be addicted to games and would not think about learning and the players they encounter online might be dangerous. It is very important for teacher and parents to teach them about the risk and danger in virtual world.

  3. Sadly, never had I experienced language learning through online gaming, because none of my language teachers introduced games in class. Also, all the schools I attended forbade games from entering class because they regarded them as “diamorphine”, which did no good to Ss’ both mental and physical development. In addition, almost all the parents at that time thought badly of games. If online games had been used in class, they would have complained about it.
    However, I’d like to give it a try when I become an English teacher. Given that this is a digital era, it is impossible to still keep to the traditional teaching ways without some innovations. Also, since the nature of children is playful, by incorporating games in education, they can be more motivated. Apart from that, games can create a “learning by playing” environment, Ss can autonomously learn the target language in the relevant context without “instilling”instruction. Although there are many benefits, some questions exist: How can teachers find games exactly relevant to the unit they teach? How to modify games? …

    • Thank you Flora and it is good to see your comment that you would like to clear the traditional thoughts and try to implement online gaming into your teaching. I agree with you that the traditional ideology towards online gaming has stopped teachers from embracing the new digital age. The language use has been developing wildly and vividly in virtual environments, though we consider it as informal use of language, it did happen in communication. Maybe we, as teachers, could make full use of the advantages of online gaming to improve students’ language learning.

  4. It’s a pity that I haven’t had any learning experience on online gaming, but according to what you have posted here, it’s enlightening that various kinds of VEs can to some extent be beneficial for language learning as long as it’s used appropriately.

    Whether I will facilitate my students’ language learning via online games really depends on the age and self-discipline levels of them. If they are mature young adults who are quite disciplined and understand what their intended goals of using online games are, I will encourage them to do it out of class as a kind of supplementary learning activity. I will carefully choose some suitable games for them, and each month I will expect them to share with me and other classmates about their learning experience in the class. However, if my students are young teenagers who are prone to digital games addiction, I probably won’t encourage them to do so as I worry that the disadvantages of gaming may outweigh the advantages for these age groups.

    So, if language teachers really want to facilitate their students’ language learning through VEs, are there any practical pedagogical methods that they can adopt?

    • Thank you Danial for the comment! Taking age and self-discipline levels of students into consideration is a crucial step when teachers would like to facilitate students’ language learning through online gaming. And I agree with you that it would be good to promote it as a supplementary learning activity for students to practice language in a trendy, vibrant community.

      It seems that SIE are more popular among teachers since it is designed to target educational objectives. There is a study about using an open-source game development platform (opencroquet.org) to build a foreign-language-specific SIE designed for the learning of Spanish pragmatics. So it may be a good choice for teachers to design goal-oriented online games so that students can learn language and have fun at the same time. However, at the same time, it is time-consuming and the work load for language teacher is large since they are not professional in the digital field. But it is good that we now can have a positive or neutral view on online gaming.

  5. Generally I play games in Chinese and the few English games I played are like The Sims and SimsVille. It was when I was about 12 years old and it was quite difficult for me actually to understand the words and sentences. Although I looked up some words, I don’t think I remember them. It didn’t help a lot.

    However, I do think learning via online games is a motivating method and I will try to supplement my class with it. It is necessary to choose the game which confirms to students’ level. There are also some simple games which only contain educational elements like memorizing words, making sentences. It’s a also a good choice to prevent students from addicting to the game.

    • Thanks for you sharing Vanessa! I am happy that you would like to try that in your future teaching. I also had played the English Sims when I was in primary school but there are too many new vocabulary so I switched to the Chinese version. In that case, gaming is not helpful to language learning. When put gaming into a interactive community, it might be helpful to students’ oral performance as well. So maybe we can also encourage students to practice language in a virtual environment.

  6. In fact, I don’t have any experiences of leaning language through online games because I am not a big fan of electronic games. But I remember one friend asked me some English questions when he played a popular online game called The Exciting battlefield. He mentioned there were a few times he even had some foreign teammates speaking English (The system would assign you teammates randomly If you play the game alone because each team always needs four people). To better communicate with them, he asked me some questions on English words and sentences. I found that quite interesting because it seemed that he was never interested in English before playing the game. I think playing the online game more or less motivates him to learn English. And I believe that is the same with many other people.
    So as an English teacher, I approve of facilitating students’ L2 learning through online games. Because online games can really engage students’ interest in language learning. And I agree that teachers should be more cautious with which game is used for education purposes because some games containing violent or pornographic factors are apparently not suitable for students. Besides, teachers should also keep an eye on whether students are leaning or they just simply indulging themselves in games. In general, I think the potential of L2 digital games remains untapped and much more efforts need to be paid to combine L2 digital games with language teaching more successfully.

    • Thank you coco for the comments! I have a friend with the similar experience but not in the Exciting Battlefield. The virtual environment provides them with more opportunities and motivations to learn and practice English. I agree with you that the potential of L2 digital games remains untapped and more research need to be done in this field. So it is important for us as teachers to have an open mind towards online gaming and try to apply it to teaching.

  7. Thank you for your sharing!

    I am sorry I do not have similar experience of learning language through online gaming since I am not keen on playing digital games. But I will facilitate my future students’ language learning via online games since I think this is a good method to arouse their language learning interest. You know, due to the exam-driven nature of the current English curriculum, students’ motivation to learn English is not very high. If we can link English learning with something most of the students are really interested in, they will be highly motivated, thus improving their learning effect. But here still remains one problem, that is, young students may indulge themselves in playing digital games if they are not provided with correct guidance. This indicates that learning English through online games may be more suitable for mature students who have self-discipline. For those young students lacking self-control, teachers must guide them carefully.

    • Thank you for the sharing, Sophia! Motivation maybe is the biggest advantage of the use of online gaming in language learning. And just as you said it might be very helpful to motivate students to learn English under the test-driven environment in China. It is good that you bring up the age group and the level of self-discipline for online gaming. That is also what causes the panic of using online gaming as a teaching method. I would like to recommend SIE, which is designed with educational aims, for teachers to try in their teaching.

  8. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any experience of learning language through Ves. So as a possible English teacher in the future, I tend to be sceptical about the application of online games into L2 teaching. Especially in Mainland, we are under the examination-driven educational system, bringing online games into the L2 classroom may cause conflict between teachers and parents. Parents will probably worry about whether their children can really learn something useful from the virtual games. In addition, it doesn’t seem like a lot of educational games that are curriculum-related or suitable for English learners of all ages have been designed so far. So generally I will not take this risk.

    • Thank you Yvaine for bringing up the conflict between teachers and parents. It is an issue that cannot be neglected or sometimes it is even more important than classroom teaching. So teachers should consider every details and consequences when using online gaming as a teaching method or tool. Considering of the intense and vapid exam-driven environment of English learning, why don’t we try something new to motivate students to learn and tell them English can be used in a virtual life context other than tests.

  9. To be honest, I do not have any experience of learning language through VEs. As a future English teacher, I would try to facilitate my students’ language learning via online games since it has some advantages like identity development, negotiation for meaning/action. But I think there is still a long way to go due to the current education situation in mainland China that digital gaming is still be regarded as a kind of activity merely for entertainment. And lots of potential negative effects should also be taken into careful consideration. We teachers should try to select suitable games to incorporate them into our lessons.

    • Thank you Manty for the comments! It is true that the virtual environment help students to develop their identity and practice language in a meaningful context and the potential of VEs in language learning and teaching is still untapped. So firstly it is crucial for teachers to hold a new opinion towards online gaming. When we have that open mind, we can diversify teaching methods and help students to learn in a more interesting context.

  10. In fact, I do not have similar experience as you mention. When I was in primary school, I played several online games that allow real-time chatting but they are all in Chinese. Once I got into secondary school, all games are forbidden by parents and teachers.
    If I am the teacher, I would like to introduce some appropriate games such as The Sims to students for off-school activities. However, I will never encourage them to play those games as the games are easy to be addicted to, and I don’t want them to take the risk. The reason why is that the Chinese education is text-driven, and students are fully devoted to Gaokao, they can play the games to increase proficiency once they get admitted to the college.

    • Thank you Tiffany for the sharing. Just as you mentioned that the age group and the level of self-discipline are the key factors when choosing online gaming. It seems that leaning through online gaming is more suitable for adult students. However some students quit learning English after Gaokao because of the intense test-driven motivation vanishes and they do not have internal motivation in language learning. As teachers, what if we guide them to find the interest in language learning through online gaming and build their confidence? Will they be more motivated to learn English continuously?

  11. Thanks for your sharing.

    Actually, I don’t have any experience of learning English through online gaming, because my English teacher didn’t combine this method with classroom instructions. And I would not pin my hope on improving English in such an inefficient way that doesn’t work for me as I am not a fan of online gaming. However, I have ever heard from my friend who is crazy about LOL (League of Legends) that it is beneficial for him to build confidence and identity of speaking English through chatting with teammates on US serves when studying in America, even though he just acquired a few game terms and simple sentences.

    As a to-be teacher, I’ll definitely consider to incorporate my teaching with online games as appropriate. Especially when I read the article conducted by your group, I realized that there is synthetic immersive environments (SIEs) which is designed for educational purposes. I think It is a good choice to motivate learners to find pleasure in the study, in particular for beginners who have little interest in learning English. Maybe it would have little effect on some learners like me. Besides, teachers should take responsibility to avoid drawbacks of online games, such as unsuitable content for children and online game addiction.

    • It is good to know that you would like to try to incorporate online gaming in your teaching though you do not have any experience of learning through online gaming. I share the same feeling with you. Online gaming does help students, especially those who are not interested in English and not confident in using English, to practice the language and construct identity. There are various forms of virtual environments for us to explore and now SIE is the most popular one among teachers when incorporating online gaming in classroom teaching. Hope that we can try that out and diversify the teaching methods.

  12. Thank you for sharing the interesting blog.
    I do have experience of playing online games in an English speaking environment which named Life is Strange,but my purpose is just to enjoy the game rather than learning English. It is a narrative adventure game, containing lots of dialogues and narratage, so I read a lot of stuff in English. And the game was sooooooo amazing that I was willing to look up each unfamiliar word in the dictionary. I think it is helpful for English learning because a good game can always attract people and make English learning a process of enjoyment.
    As an English teacher, I will recommend my students some video games with high quality, because I am a big fan of video games and I can understand that a fan can do whatever he/she wants to get a better gaming experience. However, the problem is, there are localization patches everywhere on the Internet. It is difficult to monitor students’ behaviour. And parents may not understand how can a game improve students’ English competence.

    • Thank you Charlotte for sharing your interesting experience and recommendation. It is thrilled to know that you have learned a lot from online gaming just through narrative adventure games. I guess it would be more helpful if the game involves synchronous communication and intensive teamwork so that players could practice speaking as well. Online gaming provides players with the opportunity to learn languages and the achievement and joy of learning languages makes players would like to play the games. A good video game should be helpful to one’s mental development. As for monitoring behavior and parent’s consideration, I think by assigning students to write reflections on how gaming helps them to improve English might be a way.

  13. Since I don’t like playing online games, I don’t have experience of learning language through VEs. But if I am the teacher, I will be glad to integrate online gaming into my teaching. Because as researches have shown that it helps the gamers with identity construction and communicating competence. But since students are short of self-discipline and discernment to some extent, it’s important for teachers to choose the right game and the focus should be language learning instead of the entertaining purposes.

    • Thank you Mira and It is good to know that you would like to integrate online gaming into your teaching even though you do not like online games. As language teachers, we can have an open mind to embrace the language use in the new digital age. So it is important for us to get a closer look and select with cautious for students to learn.

  14. Thank you for sharing us this interesting topic. I seldom play digital games, so have no experience of learning by gameplay. Maybe I will use digital game in my future teaching to better motivate students, but it must be based on the specific pedagogical goals.
    As you have mentioned, the selection of game contexts is really important. If no kinds of game are found appropriate for students’ L2 learning, I would rather not use it. Besides, I will also encourage students to do more additional learning by engaging with others in the gaming communities through forums or blogs. It contributes to increased autonomous learning and exposure to or output of English, and it is helpful to shy students in particular.
    Lastly, since learning English through gameplay really requires much self-discipline, and I don’t think most teenagers can control themselves strictly in the face of digital games, teacher and parents’ monitor should be into place when we integrate gaming into teaching.

    • It’s glad to have your comment, Chang. As we know, a large number of teenagers are into video games in mainland China. Integrating second language learning and video games do contribute to motivating students, which may make the whole learning process more efficient and enjoyable. So if the content of the lesson matches the video games, why not give it a go?

  15. Frankly speaking, I myself didn’t have such kind of language learning experience through online gaming, while when I was working as a teacher in an international department, I did see some students were doing so. But from my perspective, language learning was not their first priority even though they indeed had few foreign gaming friends and they were using some English words to enhance the communicate and cooperative process. In their gaming time, most of the words used and communicative contents were the same and some were even rude words only to show their discouraging emotions when they lost the game. So, in this way, I don’t think this is a beneficial way to improve the language ability efficiently.

    In the future, I will keep an eye on some beneficial and suitable games, but only suggest students doing it after class rather than regarding it as the first few choices in language learning since most probably, I will teach students in high school and I don’t think most of them are self-disciplined enough.

    But if you have any online games really suitable for them, don’t hesitate to recommend those to me!

    • Thanks for your comments Lyla.
      Yes, I agree with you that gaming is not the first choice to learn languages, especially in classroom settings. It is also true that some players do use bad words when they are communicating with others in VEs. This is why we need to be very careful when choosing suitable games for language learning.
      I think “The Sims” is a good game for high school students to both experience life in VEs and learn language. You may keep an eye on it if you are interested in it. : )

  16. Well, I don’t have much experience in gaming since I seldom play games. But I am interested in one key point you have mentioned. If we do want to facilitate our students’ language learning by introducing relevant games, the type of games should be carefully chosen. Because games are designed initially for fun, otherwise they cannot be popular I suppose. Then here comes the question: if the teacher (like me) is not a big fan of games (I mean literally I only played the Tetris sometimes when I was a kid), how can he/she make sure his/her recommendation is suitable for students? Because like shopping on Taobao, you cannot rely on the comments from ex-buyers too much.

    • Thanks for your comment, Phoebe. I share the same experience with you that I hardly play any digital games either. Since we are not interested in games, needless to say that we have a good knowledge of them. It is quite a big challenge for us to choose an appropriate game for our students to facilitate their second language learning. So I guess maybe in the future, there will be a video game list that include the basic information about each game and their pedagogical implications. In this case, it will be more convenient for us to choose. Of course, before introducing them to students, it’s better to have a try in advance.

  17. I actually don’t have much experience in gaming. However, after reading your article, I realize that playing games can have good impact on learning language. I think I will try to choose some online games for my students to facilitate their language learning. By having fun in playing games, my students might have more interest in learning language and put more effort to improve their language proficiency. I believe that with the development of online games, there will be some games can be suitable for students to both have fun and learn language. Therefore, language teachers can use those online games to facilitate students’ language learning.

    • Thanks Eva. I am glad to hear that our post is useful for you: ) . Games can definitely Increase students interests and motivation in language learning, and I am also looking forward to more practices of using games to teach in l2 classroom.

  18. I’m sorry to say that online gaming and VEs are totally a blank area on me.
    As a future teacher, I would try to recommend my students to learn language through online gaming in the digital wild. Living in the 21st century, I can easily see the trend of online gaming on youngsters. Some of my friends spend all day long on gaming when they have free time, because they view it as a means of leisure. In this case, language learning is in a relaxed environment, which will facilitate students’ motivation and language intake simultaneously. Additionally, students are willing to spend much time in gaming, which is more powerful than only limited classroom teaching for language practices. But in terms of my target students, who are primary school students, it is very crucial to select the video games that are suitable for their language level and mental development. If possible, some game designed for young-age language learners would be the best choice. And teachers can collaborate with different schools to help students create a more mature language learning environment. In the meanwhile, monitoring their language development is another essential part for language teachers. The reason I’m not recommending it into the instructional class is that students develop their own learning styles and they have diverse interests. I don’t want some students’ needs are neglected and force all of them to game. Maybe, the after-class gaming club would be a good idea to gather them together to share ideas and strategies with gaming itself and language learning in gaming.

    • Thanks for your comments Krystal.
      I agree with you that gaming is a good way to maintain students’ long-lasting interests toward language learning.

      With regard to the games which are suitable for target students, I think it’s a good idea for you to develop a structured plan or syllabus with other teachers, professors or even game designers to make sure the game used are both entertaining and suitable for learning language.

  19. I don’t have similar experience of learning language through online gaming. In mainland China, most parents monitor their children’s use of electronic equipments in order to avoid children’s addiction to online games. As a teacher, I probably won’t introduce the online games into my classes, especially if my students are from primary or secondary school. Many children or teenagers lack the abilities of self-discipline, and they may use this learning method as an excuse of playing online games which have no benefit for their studies. Besides, the time of watching the electronic screens should be limited to protect children’s sight.

    • Thanks for the comments Christine.
      Yes, it is the fact that most parents and teachers regard gaming as an addiction instead of a tool of learning language. And it is also true that children’s self-discipline is the biggest concern. So again teacher should make sure students are playing games according to the way teachers wish them to do.

  20. Thanks for sharing your views.

    I have never tried learning language through gaming. From my personal experience of playing computer games (1st person shooting) that require real-time teamwork, I notice that people didn’t really talk much. The only thing people say is related to directions or to warnings. Perhaps other games would be better, such as a virtual equivalent of Scrabble?

    But as a teacher, I probably won’t try using video games (at least not the ones mentioned in the article) in my lessons for several reasons. I am still sitting on the fence when it comes to the evidence. The articles I have read so far on gaming and language learning do not hold up strong evidence that could persuade me that gaming is useful for learning.

    I do think learning can be fun, and I use a lot of activities in my lessons. But gaming just doesn’t seem to require language communication that much. Again, maybe some games will be better at this. I have reservations over if students will find those games very fun though.

    The downside of really fun games is also that they’re addictive. The second point of critique in your article is just too real. My hunch is that most students will ignore the texts in games and over invest their time in playing games.

    The fact that we say students would over invest in games also begs the question: if gaming is undoubtedly good for language learning, why are we worried that they would over play? We are usually not worried about students reading too much!

    • Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is not surprised that you would not use online games in your lessons because evidences are still not strong enough to support the necessity of use of online gaming to support language learning. The questions you raised are very interesting. When we introduce games(not online games) into classroom teaching, are we worried that students will get out of control and just pay attention to the fun side of games? I think the answer is yes but evidences have shown that some appropriate games can promote students’ language learning in and out side of classroom. Maybe we can keep an eye on the development of online gaming in language learning and teaching to see whether it can be a new way to teach second language.

  21. Unfortunately, I have never had any similar experience of learning language through VEs. As a future high school teacher, I think this learning mode may not be suitable for all mainland students. First of all, whether it can function or not largely depends on students’ self-discipline. Moreover, not all online games can be effective for students to exercise their linguistic competence. More importantly, the social environment as well as parents’ concerns should also be considered when implementing teaching.

    • Thank you Brenda for the comment. When it comes to new literacy on the cyber environment, the biggest concern is from parents that children are able to reach to the unhealthy content more easily than in the real life. So it is very important for teachers and parents to give guidance when they surf the internet but we as teachers can still keep an open mind towards the use of online gaming in language learning and teaching.

  22. Learning a language through VEs or online gaming is a rather new idea to me. I’ve never connected with my L2 learning, because I consider it as a way of entertainment in our leisure time. As now I’ve read more research on online gaming, I do believe it can be powerful supplementary support in language learning, but still, it takes time and more evidence to prove its effectiveness in teaching.

    For teaching English, I won’t encourage students to have self-paced learning via VEs and online gaming without my guidance, but I would give a try on helping them with following considerations: Whether the game aligns with students’ learning outcomes and current curriculum? Whether it engages students with adequate exposure of the target language to make interactions? Whether it distracts students attention from academic learning? etc. Most importantly, support from the school and advice from my colleagues matters a lot.

    • Thank you Stefanie for the comments. I can’t agree with you more and that is pretty much the attitudes I hold towards online gaming. The principles that you listed are very useful and helpful. I would like to add one more article that support and guidance from parents also matters.

  23. Actually, I am not fond of playing games online, so as you can see I have no experience of learning a language through online gaming. However, it is known that students are likely to get addictive to games, which distracts their attention from academic learning. Thus, when I become an English teacher, I will think twice before I integrate it with my teaching. Whether I can be well supported by my school and students’ parents? Whether I can cooperate well with parents to control students’ screen time? Whether I can choose suitable and educational games for them to avoid some violent and pornographic elements? etc. If the most answers are yes, then of course I will definitely incorporate my teaching with online gaming.

    • Thank you Jiaxin for the comments. Yes, I think the questions you listed are very important to think about before we want to implement online gaming in our teaching. I think there are still possibilities that we could make the use of online gaming in our teaching to fulfill the needs and requirements.

  24. I agree that online games can be a way to learn languages. When I was young, I would play some simple single player games, many of which were in English only. In order to play those games smoothly, I gradually acquired some simple words and expressions. When playing games, it was normal that I would not consult a dictionary specially, so I might have a command of some knowledge according to the game situation and context. It could be a natural and easy way to learn certain language.

    I remember an uploader I followed on Bilibili, who became famous for playing PUBG. He has uploaded a lot of live videos, and sometimes played games live. In his videos, he was very proficient in using English to communicate with his teammates from other countries. Many people were amazed by his proficiency in English, but he admitted that he had not taken language training on purpose and he just improved his English through the online communication. I think that online games may give us more opportunities for communication.

    If I were a teacher, I would encourage students to learn languages through online games. I would try to choose the right game for them, and ask them to give enough feedback later to examine their gains.

    • Thank you Julie for sharing your experiences and the story of a Bilibili Uploader. It is very exciting to hear that people do have positive attitudes about the effect of online gaming in language learning. It makes us be more confirmed that it is worthy to try the new approach in our teaching. I am also glad that you would love to have a try!

  25. Actually I do not play games at all so I also haven’t had experiences of learning L2 through playing games. And because of this reason, I think I would not facilitate my students’ language learning via online games if I become a teacher in the future. Since I have no experience of playing games, it is hard for me to find out suitable games to attract students and encourage them to learn through playing. What is more, I do not think that parents would understand our reasons that regarding gaming as a way to learn L2 in Chinese context. If we encourage students to play games, parents may be angry hhh. It is also difficult for us to prevent students from addicted to gaming. All in all, it is admitted that this way of learning can motivate students, but in my opinion, its disadvantages outweigh its advantages.

    • Thank you for sharing. It is not surprised that you would not use online games in your lessons. Empirical evidences are still lack to support the necessity of use of online gaming to support language learning. Maybe we can keep an eye on the development of online gaming in language learning and teaching to see whether it can be a new way to teach second language. And I hope the class tonight will change your opinion. :p

  26. I have a similar experience of learning language through an online game–SIM CITY. I learned plenty of words from different fields such as construction, factory, urban design, etc. My vocabulary increased significantly when playing these games. I find it really helpful in my second language learning.

    I would first do a trial lesson to know my student’s self-discipline and their performance in other aspects before I can conduct a lesson with games as teaching aids. If students can have effective learning outcomes in their assessment I assigned after the trial lesson, I would consider using it to teach words and grammar.

    • Thank you for your comment, Key. I do appreciate the experience you mentioned and I guess you do get a sense of achievement. You not only enjoy the fun side of the game but also expend your vocabulary. What a fantastic experience.
      As for how to introduce the game to students, I totally agree with you. As a teacher, we need to be familiar with the game and make a detailed plan about how to conduct it in and out of class.

  27. I have played English games but I’m not sure whether this experience counts. It is a online game where players come to know their tasks and complishment by reading English. I found it quite helpful to my L2 learning, particularly in terms of vocabulary learning. The setting of the game is a house so playing it involves a lot of words related to housekeeping. I did learns some words from it.
    I’m not sure about it. First, I need to think carefully what games I should recommend to them which is beneficial to their language learning to the largest extent. Then I have to make appropriate arrangement to ensure it facilitates the existing curriculum rather than taking up too much of the student’s time because their schedule is quite tight already. Besides I need to well communicate with students, their parents, and the teachers of other subjects, to convince them that the games are going to help students learning. It’s very challenging.

    • Thank you for your comment, Olivia. To some extent, the game you mentioned can be seen as a digital game which facilitate L2 learning. And you did accumulate topic vocabulary about housekeeping. With the benefits, why not have a try?
      As for the second part, the considerations you listed are what other teachers may think about. Actually, before introducing the digital games to students and their parents, a lot of preparation and arrangement need be done in advance. Though it may be a challenge for teachers, it does benefit language learning and it will be a trend in the future. Why not be a pioneer in this area?

  28. Not actually. Because I seldom play online games and when I play online games, I tend to focus on the plots or the fun sides of the game. For example, if I’m playing a Japanese online game and encounter Japanese words that I need to understand in order to do tasks in the game,I would not try to learn the language. I would just go to the Internet and search for the game walkthroughs in my L1. And then I know how the plot goes and I can play without any difficulty

    I think I will not encourage my students to learn English via online games. If the games are too interesting for them, it is easy for them to be abstracted and ignore the language. And if the games are boring to them, they will not enjoy this process of language learning. .

    • Thank you for your comment, Queen. The experience you shared about playing digital games tend to focus more on the recreational aspects rather than language learning. You fail to get a sense of achievement to some extent. So maybe this is part of the reason what you don’t want to introduce the video games to your students. At the same time, what you concerned is what we need to take into account before introducing to the students. We are supposed to choose the games quite carefully.

  29. I still remembered playing Restaurant City with my mom on Facebook. As the interface was in English, both of us communicated in English for tasks in the game, such as exchanging ingredients and the way to design our restaurant. I have to say both our English improved a lot as not only we now know many the English words for foodstuffs, but also the way we use English, i.e. in an informal way. Our relationship had also improved a lot since both of us shared a common goal.
    With this positive experience, I would surely encourage parents and students to be engaged in such fun educational activities. However, the way we package it becomes very important as parents are distraught their children would spend too much time on the Internet rather than study. After all, we have to strike a balance between work and having fun.

    • Thank you for your comment, Warren. I really appreciate your experience mentioned above. This is the first time I got an example which shows that playing video games contributes to strengthening the relationship between family members. And I am quite sure video games will be introduced in your class. What’s more, you also take the time on playing games into account. This is what I will do in my future lessons.

  30. Unfortunately, I have no similar learning experience through VEs. When I was young, I played lots of online games in Chinese version, so it is unhelpful to my second language learning but only made me happy in my leisure time. I think I will facilitate my students’ language learning via online games if the games are beneficial and suitable. However, we should also strictly control the time they spend on playing games, otherwise they might get distracted from learning language.

    • Thank you for your comment, Yichen. I cannot agree with you more. We both believe digital gaming is a facilitator of second language learning. What we need to do is choosing wisely.

  31. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried to learn English through VEs before. As a future English teacher, I might not formally introduce this method to my students, because I plan to teach primary school students who are normally in a stage of lacking self-discipline. If they play under my supervision, the intended learning outcome might be achieved. But I can’t monitor every student’s behavior after class, so I would rather not take the risks.

    • Thank you for your comment, Aria. I agree with you that online gaming as supplementary teaching activities might not be applicable to young learners such as primary school kids, and I believe you’re absolutely entitled to your decision of not wanting to take the risk too. If you have the opportunity of teaching more advanced English learners, however, I hope online gaming can take some pressure off your shoulder as well as engaging your students more in English learning in a fun way.

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