Language Learning in an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game): A Case Study of L2 Learners of German

Open Access
- Author:
- Vosburg, Donald M
- Graduate Program:
- German
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- December 15, 2014
- Committee Members:
- Barry Richard Page Jr., Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Xiaofei Lu, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Carrie Neal Jackson, Committee Member
Michael Travis Putnam, Committee Member - Keywords:
- German
SLA
MMORPG
World of Warcraft
Language Learning
Applied Linguistics - Abstract:
- This dissertation reports on the experiences of seven American undergraduate students who played World of Warcraft (WoW) over eight weeks with native German speakers. Participants played in groups of four with a language guide (LG) for three hours a week, and at the end of eight weeks they returned to play in a two-week delayed gaming session. Over the course of the project the participants completed a pre- and post-oral proficiency exam, conducted a pre-, mid-, and post-individual, and post-group interviews, and kept a gaming journal. The only guidelines for the participants and the LGs were to use German as their language of communication. How and when they communicated was up to them. All gaming sessions, exams, and interviews were recorded, transcribed, and tagged to observe changes in participant activity levels, including word counts, lengths of run, English used, and subject-verb-agreement (SVA) and finite verb placement. I analyzed these qualitative and quantitative data on the participants’ language learning in a gaming environment using the framework of Activity Theory (Leontiev, 1978). Results found that participant activity levels fluctuated week-to-week. Word counts, runs, English usage, and SVA and placement varied each week. However when dividing the data into two halves after the fifth week, an upward trend in spoken production, SVA and placement control, with a reduction in English is observed. Oral exam scores also exhibited increases in these same categories, and each participant increased their oral proficiency scores. Activity levels and outcomes were shown to be influenced by, among others: language and gaming motivations, group dynamics, in-game tasks and dungeons, stress, and collaborative interaction with the LGs. The analysis highlights the differing perspectives of language learning and gaming for each participant, and that activity levels and outcomes are in many ways unpredictable in this unique environment. While MMORPG gaming may not be the most efficient way of learning for everyone, it still positively influenced each learner.