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Language, Education and Technology pp 329–343Cite as

Digital Games and Second Language Learning

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

Abstract

As interactive, multimodal, immersive, and extremely popular environments, digital games have received increasing interest from educators in recent years for their potential to enhance the language learning experience, both inside and outside the classroom. Review studies from general education have confirmed that “playing computer games is linked to a range of perceptual, cognitive, behavioral, affective and motivational impacts and outcomes” (Connolly et al. Computers & Education 59(2):661–686, 2012) although this depends on the subject matter (Young et al. Review of Educational Research 82(1):61–89, 2012). Early studies in the area of language acquisition have demonstrated positive effects of game play on motivation, willingness to communicate, language socialization, and a range of other factors involved in the language learning process. As a relatively new field, however, there are significant gaps in the available literature, and many worthwhile areas remain yet to be explored. In this article, I will describe how research into digital games relates to earlier research on game-based learning, primarily with younger learners, before discussing the key areas in which studies have been carried out and their most important findings. The following sections discuss some of the challenges faced by the field and suggest future directions for research and development in this field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Hayo Reinders

  2. KMUTT, Bangkok, Thailand

    Hayo Reinders

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  1. Hayo Reinders
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Correspondence to Hayo Reinders .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Portland, Oregon, USA

    Steven L. Thorne

  2. Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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Reinders, H. (2017). Digital Games and Second Language Learning. In: Thorne, S., May, S. (eds) Language, Education and Technology. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02237-6_26

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