Could role-playing video games help with language learning?

[Susan Penfield]

Rick,
Good question -- I can tell you that we have submitted a proposal to
work with NeverWinter Nights as a framework for Indigenous language learning
with a Charter School in Arizona. It is a very attractive software for lots
of reasons. We are working with a group here at the UA called the 'Learning
Games Initiative'  http://www.mesmernet.org/lgi/--- There are some  exciting
possibilities -- also lots of questions to be raised where Indigenous
languages/communities are involved...

I'll keep you posted and describe the project in detail soon...
Best,
susan


On 5/18/06, Rick Harp <rick_harp at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> 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
>



-- 
Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D.


Department of English(Primary)
American Indian Language Devel.Institute
Department of Linguistics
Second Language Acquistion &Teaching
     Ph.D. Program
Dept. of Language,Reading and Culture
The Southwest Center (Research)

Phone for messages: (520) 621-1836
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