Impact of Video Games in English Learning
Impact of Video Games in English Learning
Technological changes have brought new ideas, software, video games and many other developing applications in computer use. Adults and children are using computers to distract their minds and perform challenging tasks that improves their innovative skills. Children play video games primarily for fun and education. There are different forms of video games that can be found over the internet via YouTube and many other technological sources. Children tend to choose the kind of games meant for their age levels that keep them interested. There are many different kinds of games available. For instance, there are educational games and social games (Julia, 2010). Educational games like Math Bluster are meant to improve calculation skills and are so fast-paced the participant has to be quick in order to win the game. Other games involve writing and reading English words. The child has to write and pronounce the word correctly in order to win the game. This improves his reading and writing skills. However, there can be a negative impact associated with video games as well. The theme of my research work is to show the impact of video games on English language learning.
Studies show that increasing numbers of computers in educational institutions have impacted learning the English language both positively and negatively secondary to students playing video games on the equipment. The games produce sounds that help young people learn English effectively and efficiently. This study will assist in identifying the influences and recommend corrective measures that may be adopted by institutions, guardians, parents and students in reducing or eliminating negative impact. Poor performance in schools by students affects their future success. For instance, not all games are played using the English language. Some video games use Spanish, French, or other languages. The students may ultimately focus on the visuals and ignore the audio (Russell, 2004). This is a challenge that most teachers are facing when promoting language acquisition because some students have poor listening skills.
Research justification
Video games have the potential to improve the language skills of students. English language is very important because it is the most common language used for communication, official meetings, and many other ways of correspondence. It is important that students understand the ways video games may improve their language skills. Improved language comprehension is significant because English is used for presenting examinations and answering the questions. A student who understands English easily is in a more advantageous position for performance than a student who has poor English skills; this is because the proficient student is better able to understand what the examiner wants and can answer accordingly. Answers are more readily understandable to a student adept in English because he can connect the sentences in an appropriate manner for the examiner. This leads to better test results and better chances for a successful future. On the other hand, video games that have a negative impact on English learning should be eliminated. Students will be able to understand the impact these games and stop playing them since they add nothing to their learning (Julia, 2010). They will hopefully spend more time on games that add value to their English language performance.
Significance of the research
The research findings will be shared to educational stakeholders. First, the findings will be shared among students. These are the main stakeholders who need to understand what video games can do for learning English specifically and school performance in general. This will encourage them to play games that are beneficial to them in their studies. Secondly, teachers will benefit from the findings because they will know which games to concentrate on in order to increase their efficiency in teaching English acquisition. Parents and the community will receive the same findings for the benefit of society by adding knowledge about the importance of video games in English learning. Those who are interested in learning and understanding English better have the potential to be positively impacted by the information presented.
Research questions
What are the positive impacts of video games in English learning?
What are the negative impacts of video games in English learning?
Objectives of the study
The study aims at achieving both general and specific objectives. They include:
The research aims at determining the impact of video games in English learning among students in schools (general objectives).
The research aims at determining the positive impacts of video games in English learning among students in schools (specific objective).
The research aims at determining the negative impacts of video games in English learning among students in schools (specific objective).
Research methods
The researcher used both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data. This was through use of questionnaires which contained both open-ended and closed questions. The researcher collected the primary data directly from students. This made the data reliable and valid because it was first-hand information. The students were the participants. They presented how video games impacted the English learning both positively and negatively.
Literature Review – 825 more words
In the process of conducting a literature review of research conducted in the area of how playing video games impacts English language acquisition, it quickly became clear that there are a number of subtopics related to the question. There are some studies that advocate the use of videogames as being an effective way to consistently present pronunciation and increase motivation. For instance, Reinders and Wattana (2016) propose that allowing the student to pursue practice of grammar and vocabulary in a non-threatening environment provides the opportunity to make mistakes and correct them without judgment. The authors reported on a study that investigated the effects of use of a game which allows other players to interact, including the amount and quality of the second language. While the researchers concluded that videogames do offer positive language interaction patterns and increased proficiency, planning is necessary to monitor correct usage.
There are also some researchers such as Drummond and Sauer (2014) who feel there is inadequate evidence to recommend videogames for the purpose of language acquisition. The authors collected information from 22 countries and over 192,000 participants in the 2009 Programme for international Student Assessment. After analysis, they determined that the academic performance in mathematics and language were negligible. Other published articles that agree with these findings include Creasey & Myers (1986), Schie & Wiegman (1997), Turgut and Irgin (2009), and Ferguson (2011).
On the other hand, there are also opponents to the use of videogames for learning effective English as a second language. Anderson and Dill (2000) concluded from their study that college students who spend more time playing videogames have a lower grade point average while Anderson, Gentile & Buckley (2007) and Tamamiya, Matsuda, and Hiraki (2014) addressed decreased scores for grades in secondary school. It should be noted, however, that these publications focused more on the time spent away from tradition study techniques and the violent content of the games rather than on specifically learning a second language. For the purpose of this paper, the literature reviewed directly addresses the impact of videogaming on learning effectively English rather than violent content, socialization, gender preference, motivation by amusement, or other aspects.
Vocabulary
Of particular interest in learning English is the accumulation of vocabulary words (Dolati & Mikaili, 2011). Students learning a foreign or second language find vocabulary is their greatest challenge and Vahdat & Behbahan (2014) believe there has been no adequate strategy developed to date that is superior for accumulating it. Games designed for building vocabulary include enjoyable challenges promoting contextual use rather than memorizing an English word compared to the same meaning and word in the native language. An instructor incorporating the use of games for teaching vocabulary prompts students to express opinions, exchange ideas, and otherwise communicate (Wright, Betteridge & Buckby, 1984).
Aghlara & Tamjid (2011) worked with Iranian children to promote vocabulary in English using a digital computer game, SHAIEx. When compared with the mean performance score of children taught English with traditional methods, they ranked significantly higher. A study by Segers and Verhoeven (2003) found that even children as young as kindergarteners have the ability to increase the amount of their vocabulary when they work with computers. The research took place with 67 children in the Netherlands who played games involving vocabulary for only 15 minutes twice a week over a 15 week period. Positive effects were reported on a vocabulary test taken before and after the exposure. Turgut and Irgin (2009) concluded that specific subskills such as pronunciation and vocabulary were enhanced through the instructional use of some types of games. They found that one advantage to interactive online games is that linguistic feeback is immediate. For instance, in The Sims game, the characters are controlled by text instructions, promoting written English vocabulary. In other games, vocal commands are necessary and mispronunciations results in incorrect actions by the characters. In these cases, the game may ask the player to change the pronunciation a number of times in order to improve the ability to speak English correctly through feedback.
Vahdat & Behbahan (2014) created a study on the topic working with 40 intermediate students of English as a foreign language with equal parts male and female. The authors were particularly interested in not only if playing videogames enhances learning language, but how. The results of students’ questionnaires supported the theory of “situated understanding” proposed by Shaffer et al. (2005) whereas a social context is simulated in addition to natural repetition and interactivity. The games used in the study had fairly small vocabulary lists, and the researchers felt if is possibly in future investigations that larger lists of vocabulary offered may show improved English skills.
It is interesting to note that the researchers felt male students had a greater aptitude for playing videogames than females, which has implications for instructors when determining if this type of instruction is suitable of individual students. Vahdat & Behbahan (2014) attributed this to males having improved visuospatial ability, particularly in violent games; this increased skill in visually perceiving object spatial relationships increased their skills in the game.
Brown, Hall, Holtzer, Brown, and Brown (1997) specifically addressed gender differences in playing videogames in their research, although not in terms of language acquisition. Their conclusions may have significance not only for instructors, but for the companies who develop videogames used for learning English as they may choose to pursue avenues to compensate for these differences in an effort not to hinder female players in their training.
The conclusions of Dolati and Mikaili (2011) reinforce the idea that videogames should not be simply introduced to the students without further instructor involvement. On the contrary, it is important for instructors to research which games are available and choose those that are appropriate based on whether students play the games alone, in teams, or one-on-one against other students. There are various levels of proficiency and students have the opportunity to move up the levels as their skills progress. There is frequently a cultural context and topic selection is a factor. In the games used by Reinders & Wattana (2016), student felt the abbreviations, ungrammatical sentences, simplistic wording, and emoticons inhibited their acquisition of proper use of English. Instructors would do well to preview games in order to eliminate the possibility of these distracting elements. Wang (2010) also concluded in his study of 150 Taiwanese teachers in primary schools that in order to achieve the maximum effect from the use of games involving communication, instructors must take into account the individuality of the students and be flexible in assessing results and needs.
A study conducted by DeHaan, Reed and Kuwada (2010) evaluated Japanese students who played a digital game rather than watching it and the effect on delayed vocabulary recall. An important aspect of the study was that it was not necessary for the participants to have any knowledge of English at all. It was found that there were gains in English vocabulary acquisition whether the participants played or only watched the game. Although the focus of the game was not learning English vocabulary, it nevertheless occurred. In addition, the researchers felt playing videogames increases the gamer’s ability to comprehend written material in English and to understand spoken English. Further research is needed with the evaluation of building English vocabulary as the goal of the game design. The authors felt that the interactivity component to videogame learning is so definitive that “the extent to which users can participate in modifying the form and control of a mediated environment in real time” (p. 75) has significant importance.
Another example of the same occurrence resulted when Piirainen-Marsh and Tainio (2009) studied player verbal interaction repetition while gaming. While language acquisition was not the purpose of the research, it was found that players began to expand on the phrases and change the context of the phrases as the game progressed. The conclusion of the researchers was that, “On the whole, repetition offers a flexible resource through which the participants display continued attention to relevant features of the game and co-construct the collaborative play activity” (p. 166).
A point to consider regarding the Piirainen-Marsh and Tainio (2009) study was that the players communicated about the game, but not in it as characters. Research conducted by Oretega (2009) found when communication was established by text chatting, there were fewer technical language errors possibly due to the ability to take time to think about responses and carefully construct replies. When Reinders & Wattana (2016) placed the players within the game in an oral capacity, language skills became fragmented and less technically correct. However, in a study by Verdugo and Belmonte (2007) involving testing of 6-year-old Spanish children, test scores were higher for English comprehension with students who were exposed to digital stories with oral English in accompaniment.
Overcoming Possible Barriers
Proponents of using videogames to learn English state barriers are lowered and interaction encouraged. In terms of acquiring skill in a second language, exposure to students to input by the second language encourages acquisition (Reinders & Wattana, 2016). However, regardless of the quality of the game, if the student is unwilling or unable to participate in playing, the benefits are unappreciated. While shyness or poor skills playing the game initially contribute to hesitancy, individual motivation on the part of the student is a strong factor. In many countries, this motivation translates into the desire to obtain and gain success in employment where English proficiency is crucial. In their research, Reinders and Wattana (2016) found that only 6.2 percent of the students participating in the use of videogames to improve their English skills rated their existing skills as “good” prior to participation while 44 percent reported that their skills have improved after taking part in three sessions of the game primarily due to feelings of confidence, relaxation, and increased willingness to try to use English; direct observation during play reinforced this conclusion. Students identified as being shy when in class demonstrated a tendency to increase their levels of participation, losing their reluctance and showing various ways of expressing themselves differently. However, it should be noted that when students reported unimproved skills after participation, it was because they had to focus on acquiring game skills rather than language skills. These participants rarely started conversations during the game, spend excessive time responding to other players, and when they did so, it was with emoticons, abbreviations, and simple words. This reinforces the other responses by more comfortable students that these communication techniques retarded improvement in English usage since they were ways for participants with poor language skills to “short-cut” their communications.
Part of the appeal of playing the game in terms of amusement and competition contributes to the motivation for students who may be lacking in the desire to achieve in the job market. Some games, such as the 2004 game World of Warcraft developed by Blizzard Entertainment, provide the opportunity to interact and communicate with other players not physically present. The situation is non-threatening and allows social support with participants who may have superior English skills. For students who may be hesitant to show a deficit of English proficiency in the classroom, this type of learning has the potential to increase willingness to learn (MacIntyre, Baker, Clément & Conrod, 2001).
There is also the component of skill level playing the game that influences the ability of the student to incorporate English language acquisition. In a study by Kamprasertwong (2010), it was found that while students normally reluctant to speak English improved their communications skills significantly from session 1 to session 3, participants who struggled with their ability to play the game stated it was too much to learn the game and English at the same time. For this reason, poor playing skills may play a part in inhibiting the effectiveness of videogames in learning English as a second language. The same result was seen in the study by DeHaan, Reed & Kuwada (2010) and was contributed to extraneous cognitive load caused by the student interacted with the game in addition to mentally trying to assimilate English skills. For this reason, when teachers have selected a game for the use of reinforcing acquisition of the English language, it may be necessary to provide preliminary time for some students, particularly females or lower-income students not previously exposed to the gaming process, to have time to acclimate to the physical demands of the game without the need to incorporate English into the process. In a research study, this would influence variables, but in the actual classroom, it would provide an opportunity for students with poor gaming skills to be able to take advantage of the learning situation before being required to simultaneously adapt to a second language which would result in cognitive overload.
Baek (2008) surveyed teachers who had attempted the use of computer games in classroom teaching and determined there were six reasons they were not often used: 1) teaching curriculums already in place often make integrating computer games difficult and many teachers are not familiar with which games to use, 2) there is the possibility students will lose interest in traditional teaching methods due to computer games having the appeal of being more amusing, 3) when students have different levels of gaming skills, it may be due to socioeconomic factors and the participants from lower income families may not have had the exposure to gaming of their more affluent classmates, 4) teachers may not have access to supporting materials or equipment for the use of computer language games, 5) class schedules may impose time constraints, 6) budgeting for the software, internet connections, and equipment may be beyond the ability for some teachers to acquire, and 7) the possibility may arise that parents are not receptive to the use of videogames in the classroom in certain cultures, particularly if the games involve violence or fantasy.
Funding is always a challenge to educators. While some games used in classrooms are inexpensive or even free, they are frequently not a complicated and have less value than more expensive commercial offerings (Rice, 2007). According to Tüzün (2007) and Annetta et al. (2008), these types of games result in loss of interest by the students. With the more expensive, commercial games, it is also necessary to have equipment that allows proper formatting and execution of the software. For a typical classroom, this requires several students playing the game simultaneously on different computers, each with associated costs such as purchase and licenses copies of the game.
As mentioned previously, classroom time may be limited for the training of instructors and students in how to operate the game. In a complex videogame such as World of Warcraft, dozens of hours may be required. In addition, when teachers hit a stumbling block in the game for which there is no apparent solution, it may be necessary to access the technological support of the company distributing the software. Since teachers should be relatively proficient at the game before introducing it to the classroom, Charsky and Mims (2008) suggest the purchase of a manual for strategies, another drain on resources. Some teachers may feel the extensive use of their time to learn to effectively play the game decreases the appeal of using it. One possible solution to the problem would be the creation of an educational website for teachers to allow them to access answers to barriers in the game, promote evaluation of students to access suitability, and overcome other issues in using classroom videogames for teaching English as a second language. As the practice becomes more popular and teachers are asking for solutions to barriers of using this method of instruction, continued research may increase the effectiveness and use of videogames for promoting more effective English skills.
Conclusion
A child with a passion to win will always be good in communication. Educational games have a positive impact on the learning of the child. For instance, listening to the audio enables the student to grasp important tones which help them in the construction of grammatical English sentences. However, the games also have a negative impact on the performance of the child who has a passion for games and spends most of his or her time playing ones that are not educational (Chris, 2015). This may affect his performance in English acquisition and other subjects because the students can only understand the language of the game and ignores other components of effective English use. The student’s writing skills may also be poor if the video does not show the words that are spoken.
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