A serious game for improving inferencing in the presence of foreign language unknown words

Abstract

This study presents the design of a serious game for improving inferencing for foreign language students. The design of the game is grounded in research on reading theory, motivation and game design. The game contains trial-and-error activities in which students create conversations and then watch these conversations play out. Making mistakes results in students receiving feedback and being requested to try again. An evaluation of the system was also conducted, in which participants used both simple text and the game. Post-test scores for using the game were significantly higher than scores when reading the text. User reception to the system was also positive. These results suggest that serious games can be effective for enhancing inferencing when foreign language students face unknown words. Implications for reading comprehension and for incidental vocabulary learning are also discussed.