Educational design of serious games - In the research field of computer-assisted language learning

Abstract

In this paper we shall discuss the potential of serious games for teaching and learning languages online. As suggested by for instance Warschauer (2004) computer-assisted language learning (CALL) may have a profound influence on the ways in which languages are learned and taught, as CALL may support the need of language learners to use languages in meaningful contexts to have a real impact on the world. The issue for language education may therefore be to explore the potential of online games for simulated or real interaction that includes learners' own production of language in protected settings. The paper will build on data from a research project, Serious Games on a Global Market Place (2007- 2010), funded by the Danish Council for Strategic Research, in which an online game-based platform for teaching and learning English (www.Mingoville.com) has been studied in the context of English as a second language in Danish primary schools. The initial research process - which was based on an analysis of the platform as well as interviews with developers - suggested that one of the challenges of developing a design for serious games in language education consists of renegotiating the educational games genre to balance drill-based exercises with contextualised simulations that involve fruitful thinking, real language interaction and student engagement. One hypothesis of the project is, following the initial research and drawing on previous research in the field, that the process of designing serious games for CALL may significantly benefit from involving children's own experiences with using languages (primarily English) online for gaming and interacting. The paper will suggest ways of incorporating these experiences into the educational design of game-based material for CALL.