Lost in La Mancha: A mobile serious game experience for language training

Abstract

Lost in La Mancha is an online video game designed to help English speakers learn Spanish. It is based on a methodology that combines various learning strategies, such as problem solving and language use in everyday situations, with activities to be completed and access to course content. This educational initiative revolves around and is presented in the format of a serious game based on the adventures of its main character, Collin, who receives a gift from his company to take part in an experimental project that will enable him to learn Spanish and in which he will have to survive in an immersive recreation of the city of Toledo in Castile-La Mancha (hence the game's title). The video game's content is based on the level-A1 Spanish syllabus taught at the Instituto Cervantes (equivalent to international certification for Spanish as a second language). In addition to the use of a video game and an immersive world as an educational strategy, this project's value lies in the fact that it has been designed to be accessible via different channels and devices, including the internet and a whole range of mobile devices (iPods, tablets, smartphones, etc.). © 2012 Springer-Verlag.