CALL Article Review

A. The Article

a. Title: Video Games and the ESL Classroom

b. Journal: The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XIII, No. 3, March 2007.

c. Johansen Quijano Cruz, radiant80@hotmail.com

Centre of Multidisciplinary Studies (Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico)

Link: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Quijano-VideoGames.html

B. Summary

The article is about the potential of RPG video games in helping young generation to learn English language and, the strategies to apply it in the classroom. Video games provide extra motivation for students and also give a platform for educators to enhance course content. Professional organizations have started using video games for simulation and as part of their curriculum. RPG or Role-Playing-Game is the most popular genre in gaming industry. A player can take various roles of character and go through journey of great adventures. Players will be shown a lot of real dialogues, subtitles and written text throughout the game. The games can be used as a catalyst to motivate students to share the learning content they found in the games during class. The nature of RPG games which involves deep characters and storyline and real settings and environment makes it suitable for it to be used in the classroom. In order for RPG games to be more effective in improving students’ speaking and listening skills, it has to be complemented with group activities which involve discussions and exchanging of ideas. Teachers can integrate literature, cultural issues, journal, and character analysis through oral presentation and quizzes. Violence and social content in video games are always an issue. One cannot entirely put the blame on video games when other types of mass media could also play a role in promoting violence. In general, there is no evidence showing video game as the sole reason of violence among youth. Several RPG games that are listed suitable for students are generally Square-Enix’s RPG series such as Final Fantasy and Arc the Lad. In conclusion, video games have more advantages compared to traditional books. Students are more motivated and learned pronunciation faster when they learn language through video games.

297 words

C. Reflection

The main reasons I review this article are because I truly believe in the use of video game as one of the more effective medium in improving one’s language, and I am one of the many successful testimonials of this fact. In order to attract kids and teenagers to get involved more with the target language, we need to use a medium that is close to their heart, something that is part of their fun and interactive life. That is, video games. Ask any kid in the world, they could not live without video games. An avid gamer would do anything in order to finish a game, which requires understanding of the plot and what is going on in the game. Even though the goal is to finish the game off, along the way gamers will come across weird vocabularies and challenging tasks which in return polishes their understanding of English language. Almost all video games are in English, and this in a way forced a player to learn Basic English before he/she can play the game. It doesn’t matter whether the intention of playing the game is to improve one’s English or not as long as it DOES improve the player’s knowledge on English. Although I agree that video games can greatly improve one’s English language, it should not be limited to RPG games. RPG could be a better choice for literature lessons, but for other aspect of English, other genres such as Adventure and Simulation should also be considered. Some video games nowadays are full with violence and social degradation, but I don’t believe that it is the main cause of violence among the youth. For these games, there is nothing we could do to stop them from going out into the market. What we can do is to choose what is suitable and best for the students according to their level of competency and maturity. But if we couldn’t find one, we should make one. Since our country are now in the broadband age, and with all the hype and mushrooming of MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), this can be a starting point for us to produce our own local products, instead of adopting others such as Jin Online, Ragnarok Online, etc. Our educators should collaborate with up-and-coming local gaming programmers to produce educational video games that are fit with our history, culture, syllabus, and educational philosophy. Like any MMORPGs, we could create a server in school to run such games. Since the game is according to the syllabus, all school across states could participate together. Therefore, there will be interactivity between schools, with students’ participation in the forum where they could discuss on how to solve puzzles and quests within the game. Of course, teachers and senior students will be the moderator. The game will replace the old traditional textbook. As such, we should promote and commercialize video games as part of educational tools in classroom’s teaching and learning. Instead of creating video games for the sake of entertainment and profit, we should focus on edutainment. There are many benefits can be gained if we are able to produce our own educational video games. It is one of the fastest growing industries in the market, and it is high time for educators to take gaming industry more seriously like other developed countries. It is time to develop, and be developed.

564 words

Side Info (Games I’ve Played)

One RPG game that I would like to promote is Baldur’s Gate series. It integrates almost all elements of an English language, be it vocabulary, written texts, riddles, pronunciation, journals, and even cultures albeit some of them are fictions. The game is based on R.A Salvatore’s best selling Forgotten Realms Series. Playing the game is almost like reading the novel, if not better. Video games like these can substitute novels without losing the touch of the author and the elements in the novel. It is like immersing oneself to the main character in the novel.

One great example of an adventure game is Lucas Art’s Monkey Island series. It has an interesting storyline, incredible humor, beautiful graphics, stirring music, and voices of talented actors.

Another great example of educational adventure-simulation game is Eco-Nightmare. Through this game, one will be exposed to many scientific terms related to green house effect, deforestation effect, and simulation of scientific experiments. It was produced by Discovery Learning, a subsidiary of Discovery Channel. These games are old but still great and more importantly; they are clean and suitable for any age