Literature Review on CALL
Title: Changes in Lexical and Reading Proficiency Through English Input from Video Games
Author: Benjamin Thanyawatpokin
Year: 2017
URL: http://ialltjournal.org/index.php/ialltjournal/article/view/271/pdf
Purpose of Study:
to shed more light upon the benefits of playing video games in a foreign language
to gain a more complete picture of how student lexicons and reading comprehension skills change
Literature Review:
Intensive Reading
Incidental learning refers to a non-deliberate approach to learning vocabulary in which learners expose themselves to comprehensible texts that, consciously or unconsciously, spur them to recognize and learn new words (Nation, 2014).
This also usually implies gaining large amounts of L2 input in the form of reading for pleasure (Krashen, 1981).
Hunt and Beglar (2005) proposed incidental vocabulary acquisition would have to be "reinforced through review or large amounts of additional reading" (p.40) due to vocabulary gains being "often partial and probably acquired incrementally."
Incidental learning refers to a non-deliberate approach to learning vocabulary in which learners expose themselves to comprehensible texts that, consciously or unconsciously, spur them to recognize and learn new words (Nation, 2014).
This also usually implies gaining large amounts of L2 input in the form of reading for pleasure (Krashen, 1981).
Hunt and Beglar (2005) proposed incidental vocabulary acquisition would have to be "reinforced through review or large amounts of additional reading" (p.40) due to vocabulary gains being "often partial and probably acquired incrementally."
Hulstijn and Laufer (2001) also confirmed the findings of this hypothesis in a study, in which EFL learners were asked to complete one of three activities with varying amounts of involvement to learn 10 low-frequency target words.
It could be said that contexts with higher information produced what Hulstijn and Laufer (2001) would call more involvement and thus, higher gains in comprehension.
Extensive Reading
video games have been shown to present opportunities for large amounts of English input as shown by deHaan (2013).
It has been posited many times before that L2 learning is possible to some degree with sufficient input (Krashen, 1981).
Day and Bamford (2002) first created a criteria for what kind of text could be used pedagogically as ER
Grabe (2009) states that, for reasons such as lack of resources, a focus away from fluency development, and the importance of exams, Extensive Reading as a pedagogical approach to learning at a tertiary level has suffered in popularity.
Grabe (2009) also states that there is evidence that extensive reading that is applied under certain principles over a longer time frame can lead to many important benefits.
Nation (2014) also noted that extensive reading studies done with native speakers used unsimplified texts while simplified texts were used for non-native learners.
What is A “Video Game”?
Most researchers seem to agree on common criteria for games, which is that they are, "a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome," (Salen & Zimmerman, 2004: 80).
Commercial Off-The-Shelf Games (COTS)
According to general game-based literature, games that are not specifically created for the purpose of L2 teaching or learning are called commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) games (Cornillie, Thorne, & Desmet, 2012).
Video Games as L2 Input
Most research done on video games usually call to mind the way learners have changed over the years and their reliance on different methods of gaining knowledge; otherwise known as the "digital native" (Prensky, 2005).
A list, adapted from Gee (2007) but slightly adapted for length, is presented below:
Video games allow players to change the virtual world they inhabit. Players must interact and solve problems to continue the game.
A sense of identity is shared with the character on screen, which stimulates investment in the goal or objective.
Manipulation of the virtual world is allowed which promotes investment and interaction in the game world.
Meaning and concepts introduced in video games are clearly shown to the player through experiences they have in the game world.
Squire (2005) also emphasized the importance of interaction in video games and how, "their ability to grant players agency within the narrative fiction of the game-world and its rules...account for players' actions in creating the experience.“
Squire (2011) calls this "interest-driven learning".
Squire (2011) also stated, "Although this principle is not new, many digital media researchers believe that it is increasingly relevant to the future of education, given the explosion of digital media" (p.47).
Studies on Video Games and English L2 acquisition
A study done by Sylven and Sundqvist (2012) explored the question of whether or not video games are conducive to L2 learning.
Ranalli (2008) chose to use a real-life simulation game called “The Sims” to investigate if nine intermediate-level ESL learners from various countries were able to improve their vocabulary knowledge through game play.
The next study explored the effectiveness of massive-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)-based instruction in elementary English education in Korea (Suh, Kim, & Kim, 2010).
Squire (2011) and Gee (2007) have said using video games in this way is not favorable in that the "fun" aspect is absent and motivation to play could be damaged.
Vahdat and Behbahani (2013) studied the effect of video games when compared to more traditional pedagogical methods.
The study most similar to the current research, deHaan (2013) investigated using various video games to improve Japanese learner English ability.
Research has stated that the minimum to observe changes in ability requires eight weeks (Squire, 2011).
Research Questions:
1. Can English video games foster gains in reading comprehension? 2. Can playing English video games increase vocabulary size? 3. Can playing English video games increase word recognition speed?
Methodology: Quantitative and Qualitative
Participants: Two groups of volunteering students
Experimental group : One group of 2nd year undergraduate students (four male, five female) from a university in Japan.
Control group: 10 students from the same university
Findings: 1. All subjects mentioned in the interviews that after seeing the dialogue or explanation on screen coupled with animations or visuals, they were able to grasp the meaning of the text they read.
2. Vocabulary size dropped for students who underwent treatment when compared to the students in the control group who simply read graded readers for two months.
3. All participants were able to read the text as a whole faster. The subjects attributed this to repeated contexts and sentences during the course of gameplay.
Discussion: Video games can improve reading and vocabulary recognition rate. However, it does not help in improving vocabulary size.