A brief literature review

Reference Baltra, Armando Language learning through computer adventure games. Simulation and gaming, 21(4), pp Crawford, Chris The art of computer games design. [WWW] book/Coverpage.html#TOC (8 May 2008) book/Coverpage.html#TOC Emes, Craig Is Mr Pac Man eating our children? A review of the effect of video games on children. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 42, pp Gee, James Paul What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. ACM computers in entertainment, 1(1), pp. 20.

Reference Hogle, Jan G. Considering games as cognitive tools: In search of effective ‘edutainment’. [WWW] (5 May 2008). (5 Prensky, Marc Digital game-based learning. New York: McGraw-Hill. Prensky, Marc Really good news about our children’s video games. [WWW] %20Really%20good%20news.pdf (5 May 2008). %20Really%20good%20news.pdf Smith, Richard and Pamela Curtin Children, computers and life online: educaton in a cyber-world. In Snyder, Ilana (ed.), Page to screen: taking literacy into the electronic era. London: Routledge, pp

Introduction There is currently growing attention about the use of computer games or video games in learning among educators and researchers. Video games (e.g. Nintendo, Sega) were first introduced in 1970s and IBM PC was introduced in 1981.

Introduction According to Prensky (2001:35), at the turn of the millennium, almost half of the employees in the U.S corporate workforce “have never lived without hundreds of thousands of video images a day, never known a world without some kind of computer.”

Introduction Playing computer games or video games occupy a considerable amount of young people’s time. Purpose of the review : to investigate whether or not computer games or video games should be used in the language classroom and if game-based learning really helps and works.

Research Questions 1) What are the motivations or reasons underlying the use of computer games? 2) Will the language learning be facilitated by using computer games?

Reasons underlying the use of computer games “Relaxed and self-confident learners learn faster.” (Dulay, Burt and Krashen, 1982, as cited in Tomlinson, 1997:9) Crawford (1996) argues that “any game that does not deliver the experiences implied by the motivating factor will not be enjoyed.”

Reasons underlying the use of computer games Primary reason of game-playing in the classroom is to combine learning and entertainment. Computer games play a vital role in learning material that is not intrinsically motivating, for example, subject that is really difficult, dry and technical. Fantasy and Curiousity fulfillment

Reasons underlying the use of computer games Computer games, serve as an effective cognitive tool that promote higher order thinking skills (Hogle, 1996:8) Smith and Curtin (1998) express that the conventional school syllabus and pedagogical procedures are obsolete because they ignore the cultural learning and experiences of the new generation, which are technologically constructed.

Facilitate Learning ? ? Emes (1997) reports that there is no clear and direct relationship between academic performance and playing computer or video games. No study so far has been able to show the relationship between the exclusion of computer games and improved of language learning

Facilitate Learning ? ? Lepper and Malone’s study (1987, as cited in Hogle, 1996:8) suggests that engaged interest of the learners could lead to longer time on task and at the same time promoting better learning of the instruction and stimulate continuous interest in the future. Green and Bavelier (n.d, as cited in Prensky, 2003) have obtained global attention for reporting positive effects of playing video or computer games: they enhance learner’s visual selective attention.

Facilitate Learning ? ? Baltra (1990) -- there are some games (e.g. adventure games namely Dream Chronicles 2, Atlantis Quest) can encourage the development of communicative competence of learners, in both L1 and L2. Pierfy (1977, as cited in Hogle, 1996:9) concludes that stimulations and games may improve retention of knowledge or information

Key Point Language teachers should look at computer games’ merits by considering ways of using the computer games positively in teaching rather than seeing it as a regrettable fact of life that has to be tolerated.

Future Research 1) investigate the relationship between the exclusion of computer games and improved learning based on empirical data 2) examine the capacity of adventure games to promote learners’ noticing of input 3) what guidelines and pedagogical principles should be provided for incorporating computer games in the classroom.

The End