Could role-playing video games help with language learning?

[Rick Harp]

This is an article from the March 2006 edition of 'PC Gamer' Magazine. It 
made me wonder if what they did here with math and english in a "RPG" could 
work for language instruction.

Rick Harp,
a Cree language student in Alberta
http://www.bluequills.ca/cree_language_certificate.htm



Education Through Gaming - Learning Quest
-----------------------------------------

Instructor uses popular RPG to Math, English
 
Lessons come with a nice carrot for pupils at West Nottinghamshire College 
in Nottinghamshire, England. They're learning Math and English with the 
educational aid of PC RPG Neverwinter Nights.

Pupil-pleasing teacher Gavin Smith has built a custom Neverwinter Nights 
module that reinforces math and English courses for post-16 students. At 
the end of each lesson, students get a chance to test what they've learned 
in a fantasy quest. For math, students are asked to shop for supplies for a 
boat journey. "It's designed to test ratios and fractions," Gavins 
explains. "And students immediately want to learn. They come to their 
teachers demanding knowledge."

West Nottinghamshire College believes that the RPG module has helped the 
local school achieve remarkable academic success. More than 500 students 
have passed through the course, the team won a BECTA "Beacon" award, and 
the exam boards now endorse the module as an official teaching product. The 
national average for students' "retention and achievement" hovers around 
the 34% mark, but this college averages 94%.
 
Gavin describes the effect the game is having on the pupils as "a minor 
miracle." "We've got something here. Games captivate students in a very 
different way than traditional teaching. It's really quite special."

copyright PC Gamer Magazine > http://pcgamer.gamesradar.com