Gaming

Two excellent ways to use gaming for language learning are:

1) Language Games - playing games to learn languages such as [|Duolingo] or [|Rosetta Stone] 2) Learning another language in a non-language related game such as [|World or Warcraft]where there are people speaking from all over the world.

For example, if I wanted to learn Spanish, I could try the Spanish version and hope to learn another language by playing the game and following the story. This would probably be easier to do if the individual is already familiar with World of Warcraft in their own language. This is because it would be difficult to understand how to play the game since there are a lot details to understand and there are also fantasy vocabulary words from made up languages depending on the character you choose. I have included a chart below.



I have never played World of Warcraft, so I looked at a video to better understand it. Here is an example of what World of Warcraft looks like, and where there are opportunities for conversation, reading, and listening skills: []

Some ideas for languages learning are: a) listening to computer generated characters speaking b) trading goods with other characters from around the world c) reading words in the interface d) having conversations with other players e) reading parts of the story.

__**Gaming and Teachers Perspectives (by Thava)**__

In my personal experience, many teachers at my current school have been very hesitant about using technology in the classroom. Many felt using technology was too much of a risk or they felt they did not have same knowledge base as teachers who used technology comfortably in their classrooms. In a study done about teachers' perspectives on using games in the classroom, it was discovered that many teachers didn't have competency to using video games for learning in the classroom.However, many teachers were very competent in designing lesson plans based on traditional lesson plans and the authors of the study felt that this could be easily transferred into using video games in the classroom. They understood that it was important use videogames in the classroom because it gave students voice and choice.The authors of the study felt most of the time teachers were hesitant because they did not want reprisal from their peers. Many teachers did not want to be seen as showing up other teachers by using new technology. The authors suggest that administration should offer more support and there should be more professional development when using technology in the classroom. Source: Gerber, H. R., & Price, D. P. (2013). Fighting baddies and collecting bananas: teachers’ perceptions of games-based literacy learning. //Educational Media International//, //50//(1), 51-62.