I am very excited to call for papers for an edited book on Computer Games in Language Learning and Teaching. If you are working in this area I encourage you to contribute!
Recent years have seen a growing interest in the pedagogical benefits of computer games. Gee (2003), for example, identified 36 learning principles in the games he investigated. It is clear that computer games have the potential to engage learners and to encourage interaction in the target language. Immersive environments offer learners opportunities for situated learning and the adaptive qualities of most games ensure that learners are motivated to persist in their learning, thus increasing the chance of further exposure to target language input, and opportunities for output. The use of computer games in language education is based on the premise that successful learning is integrated into the sociocultural context of learners’ lives and encourages collaboration and lifelong learning (Lamb & Reinders, 2005). The use of new technologies, and in particular computer games, thus facilitates the bridging of learning within and outside the language classroom.
The potential of computer games, however, has not been investigated much from a second language learning and teaching perspective. Do games really motivate learners? Do they actually encourage more use of the target language? Do they offer opportunities for negotiation of meaning, or focus on form? Do they result in greater uptake and acquisition? Although some recent studies have started to address these questions (for example deHaan, Reed and Kuwada 2010, Piirainen-Marsh 2009, and Zheng, Young, Brewer and Wagner 2009), there is currently no dedicated collection of papers to bring together the state-of-the-art in research into game-based learning.
Similarly, for language educators it is not easy to identify the best way to include game-based learning into the curriculum (either as part of classroom or online instruction, or as a self-study complement to such instruction). There has not been much exchange of best practice in this area. Through the presentation of action research and case studies, it is hoped this volume will better inform language teaching practice about the potential role of computer games.
You can download more information about the book and how to submit a proposal here.
Tags: calls, games, publications