The Effect of Using a Digital Computer Game (SIMS) on Children's Incidental English Vocabulary Learning

Year 2015, Volume: 36 Issue: 3, 1991 - 2000, 13.05.2015

Nasrin Noroozloo , Seyyed Dariush Ahmadi Ali Gholami Mehrdad

Abstract

Abstract. Words are deemed to be the building blocks of any language and the significant role of vocabulary in expressing our thoughts is indisputable. This study was designed to investigate whether the use of digital computer games in the classroom could affect incidental vocabulary learning by children. A quasi-experimental design with the pretest-posttest-control sequence was used in this study. An announcement was made to one hundred and fifty female pre-intermediate English learners about holding classes on vocabulary enhancement at Khane-Zaban institute in Hamadan, Iran. Sixty students registered for the classes. Since they were all pre-intermediate learners, they were randomly assigned to two groups, the comparison group (traditional class, n=30) and the experimental group (SIMS class, n=30). Then Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) test, taken from Wesche and Paribakht’s (1996) study, as the pretest was administered to both groups. After 20 sessions, VKS with different order, as the posttest was given to both groups. After the data collection, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted. The results indicated that the experimental group outperformed the comparison group and that the implementation of games in the classroom could enhance the incidental vocabulary learning.

Keywords

Children Level, Digital Computer Game, Incidental Vocabulary Learning

References

• Aghlara, L., & Hadidi Tamjid, N. (2011). The effect of digital games on Iranian children's vocabulary retention in foreign language acquisition. Social and Behavioral Sciences 29(2), 552 – 560.
• Bygate, M. (2000). Introduction to special issue: Tasks in language pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 4(3), 185-192.
• Chapelle, A. C. (2005). Computer assisted language learning. In E. Hikkel in Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning, (pp. 743-756). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum associates Inc.
• Cummins, J. (2000). Academic language learning, transformative pedagogy and information technology: Towards a critical balance, TESOL Quarterly, 34(3), 537-548.
• DeCarrico, J. (2001) Vocabulary learning and teaching. In M. Celcia-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (3rd edn) (pp. 285–299). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
• deHaan, J., Reed, W. M., & Kuwada, K. (2010). The Effect of interactivity with a music video game on second language vocabulary recall. Language Learning & Technology: 14(2).
• Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Finkbeiner, M., & Nicol, J.L. (2003). Semantic category effects in L2 word learning. Applied Psycholinguistics 24(3), 369-383.
• Gee, J. P. (2007). Good video games and good learning: Collected essays on video games, learning and literacy (New literacies and digital epistemologies). New York: Peter Lang Publishers.
• Ghasemi, B., Hashemi, M., & Haghighi Bardine, S. (2011). The capabilities of computers for language learning. Social and Behavioral Science, 28(8), 58-62.
• Griffiths, C. (2003). Patterns of language learning strategy use. System, 31(3), 367-383.
• Griffiths, C. (2006). Language learning strategies: Theory and research. ILI Language Teaching Journal, 2(1), 441-464.
• Hatch, E., & Brown, C. (1995). Vocabulary, semantics, and language education. Cambridge: CUP.
• Hornby, M. S. (1995). The Turns of Translation Studies: New Paradigms or Shifting Viewpoints? John Benjamins Pub Co.
• Hulstijn, J. H. (2003). Incidental and intentional learning. In C. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 349–381). Oxford: Blackwell.
• Juul, J. (2003). The Game, the Player, the World: Looking for a Heart of Gameness. In M. Copier and J. Raessens, Level Up: Digital Games Research Conference Proceedings (pp. 30-4). http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/mod/resource/view.php?id=2376 April 23, 2013 from
• Kapp, K.M. (2012). The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
• Long, M. H., & Crookes, G. (1992). Three approaches to task-based syllabus design. TESOL Quarterly, 26 (1), 28 -57.
• Maftoon, P., Hamidi, H., & Sarem, S. N. (2012). The effects of CALL on vocabulary learning: A case of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 3 (4), 19-30.
• Meara, P. (1980). Vocabulary acquisition: A neglected aspect of language learning. Language Teaching and Linguistics. 15(4), 221-246.
• McCarthy, M.J. (1990): Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Miller, M., & Hegelheimer, V. (2006). The SIMS meet ESL: Incorporating authentic computer simulation games into the language classroom. International Journal of Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 3(4), 311–328.
• Moir, J., & Nation, P. (2008). Vocabulary and good language learners: Lessons from good language learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Nagy, W., & Anderson, R. C. (1984). How many words are there in printed school English? Reading Research Quarterly, 19(3), 304-330. Retrieved April 22, 2013 from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/747823?uid=3739560&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70& uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103171616563.
• Nation, I. S. P. (1990). Teaching and learning vocabulary. New York: Newbury House.
• Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Paribakht, T. S., & Wesche, M. B. (1993). Reading comprehension and second language development in a comprehension-based ESL program. TESL Canada Journal, 11(1), 9-29.
• Paribakht, T.S., & Wesche, M. (1999). Reading and incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition. An introspective study of lexical inferencing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21(2), 195-224.
• Perrotta, C., Featherstone, G., Aston, H. & Houghton, E. (2013). Game-based Learning: Latest Evidence and Future Directions. Slough: NFER.
• Prichard, C. (2008). Evaluating L2 readers’ vocabulary strategies and dictionary use. Reading in a Foreign Language, 20(2), 216-231.
• Richards, J.C., & Renandya, W. A. (Eds). (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Saffarian, R., & Gorjian, B., (2012). Effect of computer-based video games for vocabulary acquisition among young children: An experimental study. Journal of Comparative Literature and Culture (JCLC), 1(3), 44-48.
• Schmidt, R. (1994). Deconstructing consciousness in search of useful definitions for applied linguistics. AILA Review, 11(2), 11-26.
• Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge: CUP
• Squire, K. D. (2006). From content to context: Video games as designed experiences. Educational Researcher, 35(8), 19–29.
• Steinkuehler, C. (2007). Massively multiplayer online gaming as a constellation of literacy practices. eLearning, 4(3), 297–318.
• Wesche, M., & Paribakht, T. S. (1996). Assessing second language vocabulary knowledge: depth versus breadth. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 53 (1) 13-40.