Abstract

Rankin, Gold, and Gooch (2006) found sufficient support for adult English language learners (ELLs) within the EverQuest® II (EQII) videogame to improve participants’ vocabulary by 40% on their pretest-posttest mean gain score after one month of gameplay. EQII (2006) is a noneducational, massively, multiplayer, online role-playing game in the heroic fantasy genre. Rankin et al. had a small sample size in their pilot study and called for larger investigations given the positive outcomes. My goal was to extend their study to include English grammar, listening, and reading skills. The purpose being to determine whether college-bound ELLs could improve their English skills and increase vocabulary by playing a MMORPG with prescribed second language acquisition optimizing features and activities, as an extracurricular activity for the self-regulation of language learning. This study adds to the literature of commercial-off-the-shelf videogame use for learning with special populations.

Citation

Rogers, S., Johnson, B., Van Eck, R., Van Haneghan, J. & Martin, S. (2017). A MMORPG with Language Learning Strategic Activities to Improve English Grammar, Listening, Reading, and Vocabulary. In P. Resta & S. Smith (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 451-463). Austin, TX, United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved August 5, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/177334/.

© 2017 Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)