CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview Studies

The two primary overview studies are ‘Current Trends in Online Language Learning,’ by Robert J. Blake (2011), and ‘New technologies to support language learning,’ by Kervin & Derewianka (2011).

In the article ‘Current Trends in Online Language Learning’ (2011), Robert J. Blake serves to provide an overview of studies in online language learning (henceforth: OLL), making very few of his own value judgments or conclusions.  The article covers four areas:  online learning in general, CALL (computer assisted language learning), social computing (ie. social networking sites, blogs), and games for language learning.  It begins by covering online learning in general, dividing OLL into 3 models: web-facilitated, hybrid, and totally virtual.  Blake cites information stating that in the last decade online course growth has been about 19%, while overall enrollments have grown by only 1.5%.  Furthermore, efficacy studies “showed that students who took all or part of their classes online performed better than those in traditional face-to-face learning environments.”  (Blake, 2011, p. 21).  Students in hybrid courses did best. According to studies cited, the greatest value lies in that OLL environments “stimulate students to spend more time engaged with the second language (L2) materials.” (ibid) 

Blake goes on to discuss tutorial CALL, which he states generally consists of ‘drill-and-kill’ type grammar exercises.  The next function of CALL Blake deals with is the use of computers to aid learners in improving both reading ability and lexis acquisition.  He makes two important points here.  The first is that “developing an adequate L2 lexicon will not happen without some form of explicit instruction or graded reading program”, and that the computer can be of help in this regard by “tracking students’ lexical problems and providing them with multiple exposures to new words through graded texts, glossing, or explicit instruction” (ibid, p. 22).  This is very much in line with Vygostsky’s idea of dynamic assessment and its application to C-DA  (computer-aided dynamic assessment), which “would likely follow an interventionist model with mediation offered from a menu of predetermined clues, hints and leading questions selected in a lock-step fashion ...C-DA tracks learners’ errors as well as the precise forms of mediation that prove beneficial” (Lantolf & Poehner, 2010, p. 282) The second point he makes is that, with regard to reading comprehension, “students with access to multimedia glosses (i.e. text plus picture) outperformed all other groups” (Blake, 2011, p. 23).

Even more attuned to the concept of C-DA is Intelligent CALL (iCALL), which is the next topic of Blake’s review.  iCALL utilizes “a modicum of artificial intelligence”, and “seeks to individualize instruction by using a record of students’ previous exchanges to determine further instruction”.   As a result, it “should be designed to anticipate students’ mistakes, offer helpful suggestions, and keep track of their behavior while using the program.” (ibid, p. 24)  Because of the rather technical nature of Blake’s explanation, he fails to convey the excitement of the fact that iCALL is, at heart, interaction with an extremely smart computer that tracks one’s mistakes and the types of clues which help one to overcome them.  Kervin & Derewianka, in their review of similar scope, note that iCALL programs “enable interaction with a ‘patient tutor’,” that they “are generally free or cheap, they engender confidence, they can ‘converse’ on a wide range of topics and engage in lengthy interactions, and they can take on ‘personalities’ and learn as they interact, ensuring novelty.” (Kervin & Derewianka, cited  in Tomlinson, 2011, p. 335)  While Kervin & Derewianka comment on a few such programs for English learning, such as Jabberwock and ‘chatterbot’, according to Blake, there are so far unfortunately no such programs for English.  Accordingly, Blake provides brief reviews of three iCALL programs for other languages:    E-Tutor for German, Tagarela for Portuguese, and Robo-Sensei for Japanese.

Blake continues by outlining developments in the use of Social Computing CALL in language teaching.  This consists of both asynchronous and synchronous CMC (computer-mediated communication).  Asynchronous CMC includes blogs, wikis, email, and forums, while synchronous CMC includes various forms of chat, as well as audio enhanced communication such as Skype.  Blake notes the advantages of CMC - it “gives both the instructors and students the ability to direct the conversational flow ... [and] allows instructors and learners to engage in meaningful negotiations with all of the positive benefits associated with scaffolding” (Blake, 2011, p. 26).  He goes on to explain how it has been used in task-based language learning, through jigsaw tasks, information gap and open ended activities.  Other studies cited demonstrate CMC’s effectiveness in exercises requiring cultural negotiation between native and non-native speakers. 

While Blake provides an overview of games, he seems to offer very little understanding of games, gaming and what actually makes games motivating.  He describes the categories of single-player, 2 player and MMO (massively multiple online) games (such as World of Warcraft, Second Life or Halo).  He outlines some important if obvious points, namely that “games foster agency,” that “games are always task-oriented or focused on play and often are accomplished by working in groups” and that “games let players be producers, not just consumers, by promoting agency, control and ownership.” (Blake, 2011, p. 28) 

Blake provides a cursory review of a number of ‘games’ (the term is used loosely here), including Forgotten World (www.learninggamesnetwork.org), and Languagelab.com’s presence in Second Life (www.secondlife.com) as well as a few others.  However, considering how recent his paper is, it is interesting to see that he makes no mention of the British Council or Avatar English’s more intriguing uses of the Second Life platform as detailed by Kervin and Derewianka in their publication of the same year.  They describe the British Council’s offering as “an island within Teen Second Life which is a self-access centre geared towards the learning of English in an environment that appeals to tech-savvy young people....In this environment students can explore, meet others and participate in individual and group activities”  Even more promising is Avatar English’s combination of  “Second Life with Skype and other online teaching tools which allow learners and the teacher to work together on the same activity.  Classes take place in custom-built virtual classrooms that reflect the theme of the classes, such as airports, markets, banks and cinemas.” (Kervin & Derewianka, cited in Tomlinson, 2011, p. 332[H1] ) 

While Blake’s paper appears to be exhaustive, clearly, it is not.  Furthermore, in comparison to Kervin and Derewianka, who offer rich and insightful detail, Blake’s ‘Current Trends in Online Language Learning’ strikes one as somewhat of a dry compendium of soon-to-be-outdated information.  Nonetheless, it is valuable as a well-written, concise and informative document detailing the dynamics of some of the current trends in online language learning, as its title implies.  Kervin  and  Derewinka’s ‘New technologies to support language learning’ (2011), is written from the perspective of examining “the quality of learning that these resources facilitate and the extent to which their use reflects sound learning theory” (Kervin & Derewinka, 2011, p. 328).  They examine the ways in which VoIP technology, as well as virtual worlds, such as Second Life, as mentioned above, have been put to use in the language classroom.  They also discuss online resources for listening activities, ‘language immersion’ (see ‘Yabla’ and ‘Virtex,’ ibid, p. 340) sites which feature authentic video and television clips, videos, drama, interviews, etc. that have been topically organized for language learning.  They further outline web-based resources for lexical acquisition, speaking and pronunciation, reading, writing, grammar, and corpora usage, but, again, primarily from the standpoint of classroom usefulness.  They finish with a brief section on ‘integrated learning environments,’ such as the teacher-dependent Moodle, and the learner-centered site Livemocha.  While this paper provides a strong overview of CALL media, it is interesting to note that, aside from mention of virtual worlds such as Second Life (which do not meet many of the key criteria defining games), Kervin  and Derewianka make no mention of language learning games or of the implications of commercially available games for language learning.

2.2 Social media and CMC: Identities and Communities

Turning our focus more specifically towards CMC, we find that it is often examined in tandem with the social networking, blogging and chat room sites which support it.  A common methodological feature of the literature regarding social media and CMC is a focus on the emergence of identity construction and community building which these media engender.  This is one of the specific foci of Steven Thorne and Rebecca Black’s ‘Language and Literacy Development in Computer-Mediated Contexts and Communities,’ published March 2007 in the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics.  This article reviews the research in “three distinct computer-mediated configurations: (1) instructed and institutional intraclass discussion and interclass partnerships, (2) transcultural partnerships and structured participation in “open” Internet environments, and (3) interaction in ongoing Internet-mediated environments that include popular culture blogs and Web sites, fanfiction communities, language and/or culture communities, and online games.”  (Thorne & Black, 2007, p. 133) While still a review as opposed to original research, Thorne & Black provide a great deal of qualitative detail, and are fairly unique in reflecting a great deal on the learner perspective.  They provide several insights into “language development through textually mediated, generally peer-focused, communication,” discussing “a number of pedagogical benefits” which include more overall language production and more authentic discourse. (ibid, p. 134)  Of particular interest is exploration of “non-student identities” emerging from CMC, even within institutional contexts. (ibid, p. 135)  They go on to speak of the prevalent research paradigm of “general preoccupation with the learner, at the expense of other potentially relevant social identities.” (Firth & Wagner, 1997, p. 228, as cited in Thorne & Black, 2007, p. 136)  This point highlights the trap of focusing on the learner, even that of focusing on the learner from the learner’s perspective, if the individual is still conceptualized as a learner.  Furthermore it indicates a gap in the research, one documenting the overall experiences an individual person (as opposed to learner) encounters when navigating through mediated environments in an L2, regardless of whether their language acquisition is purposeful or incidental. 

Other advantages of CMC over classroom discourse mentioned are “multidirectional interaction” (Thorne & Black, 2007, p. 135), “decreased anxieties” (ibid, p. 137), and students’ possibility to “occupy the structural role of an expert.” (ibid, p. 138)  This last point is one discussed in relation to games, by Jane McGonigal in Reality is Broken.  She uses the Yiddish word naches to describe “the bursting pride we feel when someone we’ve taught or mentored succeeds,” and states:  “It’s no surprise that mentoring our friends and family in gameplay makes us happy and brings us closer together.  Paul Ekman, a pioneering emotions researcher and an expert on the phenomenon of naches, explains that this particular emotion is also likely an evolved mechanism, designed to enhance group survival.” (Mc Gonigal, 2011, p. 87)  This point brings up the twin elements of emotion and motivation, yielding another gap in the literature, one arguably best explored from an emic perspective, namely, which mediated L2 experiences result in positive motivation, i.e., do learners find motivating?  This problem can ideally be examined not only from a subjective, experiential perspective, but additionally, through emotions research as it relates to evolutionary theory, as McGonigal has in this case done.

In discussion of community building, Thorne  and Black first examine what they call ICL2E, or internet-mediated intercultural second language education, in which groups of learners from (usually two) different countries and cultures are paired in order to learn both language and culture collaboratively (Thorne & Black, 2007, p. 138).  The key point they make is that of the likelihood of “discursive gaps” or cultural misunderstandings, thus necessitating multiple instructor roles including “consciousness raising” and modeling an “intercultural stance” (ibid, p. 140) in order to help learners negotiate meaning.  This stands in contrast to their later review of Lam’s study of another learner, Almon, who, through participation in a more static web-based media, that of “a Web site devoted to the Japanese pop (J-pop) singer Ryoko” had a very different experience, one which “bolstered Almon’s confidence in communicating with a supportive, transnational group of peers who shared his interests in popular culture.” (ibid, p. 144)  This brings to focus the importance of context and intent, which may be the deciding factors in the appearance or avoidance of cultural misunderstandings, rather than that of synchronous or asynchronous media, or of teacher-moderation or the lack thereof.  Such a consideration begs the question, which particular mediated contexts, and which varieties of learner intent, are most motivating, and in what regards, and yield the least degree of conflict and the greatest degree of inter-user synchrony?  

What does emerge though, in regard to learner motivation, is the instrumentality of relationship development.  Thorne and Black note “when personal relationships matter, academic treatments of grammar and pragmatics attain renewed relevance in the lives of speakers.” (ibid, p. 142) The final point Thorne and Black note in regards to the commonalities they find in much of the research (Black, Lam and Yi) on non-game Internet-mediated transcultural interaction is that “online communities provide ELL youth with new forums for taking on powerful authorial and social roles, even as they learn and develop fluency with multiple forms, languages, and online registers.” (ibid, p. 146)  What seems to be missing, however, from the studies they review, is a learner’s perspective on how this takes place.

Klopfer, Osterwell  and Salen, in their games-focused paper ‘Moving Learning Games Forward – Obstacles, Opportunities & Openness’ (2009) also provide a strong overview of “social networking, blogging, and other forms of user-generated content that fall under the larger banner of participatory culture.” (Klopfer, Osterwell & Salen, 2009, p. 1)  They begin by stating that social media are “clearly not games” (ibid, p. 12).  They differentiate the two in saying that “While networking with friends, colleagues and people of similar interests is in many cases fun, it lacks most of the criteria (rules, goals, fantasy, etc.) that would make it a game.  Certainly social networking, like just about any activity, can be turned into a game.”  While not games, “Social networks themselves may also be powerful learning tools.  There is much research that supports the notion of collaborative learning as an effective means of teaching and learning” (ibid, p. 13).  They comment on one of the (rather predictable) ways that gamers make use of social media “as a way to exchange information about the games, to strengthen or form teams, as well as to provide help for new and struggling players.” (ibid, p. 14)  As McGonigal also notes, the majority of MMO games feature either text based or Skype type communication in order for players to coordinate their efforts.

Other authors, notably Ravi Purushotma, Steven L. Thorne, and Julian Wheatley, in their Web-based, link laden article, ‘Language Learning with New Media and Video Games’ (http://www.lingualgamers.com/thesis/), emphasize the interconnectedness of various media formats, and the fact that ‘Generation Y’ (also called ‘digital natives,’ meaning those who have grown up with the Internet from birth) typically make use of the various media formats available online in very fluid, connected and specialized ways.

2.3 Virtual environments

            Klopfer, Osterwell  and Salen (2009) comment that virtual worlds, of which Second Life is the prime example, “have been call “digital dollhouses”, places where one builds virtual objects or landscapes in which one can play with their digital representations, or “avatars.”” (ibid, p. 14)  They feature “the aesthetic and controls of a game, without building in some of the critical aspects of what make games powerful learning tools – feedback, structure, goals, or paths to progress.”  (ibid, p. 15)  As such, while they may foster interactivity, they leave an independent learner without any framework through which to create a sense of achievement or to motivate action.

‘Action Learning with Second Life – A Pilot Study,’ (2009) by C. Wagner  and R. Ip reports on qualitative research in the use of Second Life “as an action learning environment in a senior course for management information systems students.”  (Wagner & Ip, 2009, p. 249)  While this report is not related to L2 learning per se, it offers a number of observations regarding virtual worlds and the relevant learning possibilities they enable.  Wagner and Ip describe ‘action learning’ as “learning through actions and experiences” (ibid, p. 250), which is relatable to task based learning (TBL) in the modern ESL classroom.  It is further relatable in that “Action learning is based on the relationship between reflection and action.  It usually involves a group of people working together for a concentrated period of time.” (ibid)  Virtual worlds are well-defined as “immersive, three-dimensional (3-D), multimedia, multi-person simulation environments, where each participant adopts an alter ego and interacts with the world in real time.” (ibid, p. 251)  Given that “virtual worlds are in many ways more suitable for the classroom environment [than games], in that the instructor does not have to overlay his or her own objective system over one implemented within a game” (ibid), they are perhaps less suitable for autonomous learning.  The authors discuss the obvious link between simulation and training (e.g. flight simulation), which is essentially the basis for the study.  They state “The value of virtual worlds for student learning can be viewed as triadic,” consisting of a platform for:   1.skills development and interaction with others, 2. the sharing of information and knowledge, and 3. business.” (ibid, p. 252)  Thus, while virtual environments such as Second Life provide very little structure, they may be ideal platforms for learner activity within a class context, or for the context of a classroom within Second Life, as noted above.

2.4 Play

In defining the conditions of play, Klopfer, Osterwell  and Salen (2009) outline the exercise of freedom “along five distinct axes:  1. freedom to fail;  2. freedom to experiment;  3. freedom to fashion identities;  4. freedom of effort; and  5. freedom of interpretation” (Klopfer, Osterwell & Salen, 2009: 4)  These are significant first of all because they are all freedoms, or the absence of any constraint.  While a degree of such freedom is one of the tenets of modern CLT, even in CLT we cannot find the total absence of constraints.  Furthermore, such a condition is the antithesis of traditional education, in which the student (not learner) is in control of virtually no aspect of his or her education.  Furthermore, within these conditions of play, learning becomes a personalized, contextualized, identity-forming and highly interpretive experience.

  In framing these five freedoms in relation to games, they state:  “within the proscribed space of a game, players regularly exhibit all of the freedoms of unstructured play.  Most players undertake games in the knowledge that failure is a possibility.  They show a willingness to experiment in their game-play, and to try on different roles from leader to follower, novice to expert.”  (from Gee, 2003 in Klopfer, Osterwell & Salen, 2009, p. 5)  In relation to the questions I am posing, it was therefore essential that the study undertaken was done so in a manner that was not prescriptive, in order to maintain these various elements of freedom in the interest of play.  Regarding the element of rules in games, Klopfer, Osterwell & Salen make the observation that “it is in the moment when “pushing against” [rules] is transformed into a meta-reflective “questioning about” that learning truly takes place.” (ibid, p. 6)  This is clearly relatable to Vygotsky’s notion of a zone of proximal development (ZPD), in which learners always learn best when working at the outer boundary of their abilities (Lantolf & Poehner), and that learners may approach rules much as they approach their abilities – something to push against in the pursuit of meaning. 

Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi, a seminal researcher in the fields of positive psychology and play, with Stith Bennet, provide some very different interpretations of the meaning of play in their paper ‘An Exploratory Model of Play’ (1971).  Situating play at the midpoint between worry and boredom, they state that “when we can make each action by voluntary fiat, but still do not exhaust possible actions, the necessary conditions for play are established.” (Csíkszentmihályi  & Bennet, 1971, p. 46)  Further characteristics of play are “the actor’s lack of an analytic or “outside” viewpoint on his conduct:  a lack of self-consciousness” (ibid), and “a measure of control over the environment, a balanced state between chaotic worry and stultifying boredom” (ibid, p. 49).

Csíkszentmihályi is also the original author of the concept of flow experience as a key indicator of play.  He describes it as an experience when “Attention is focused on a limited stimulus field.  There is full concentration, complete involvement.”  It is a state in which “Action and awareness merge.” (Csíkszentmihályi , 2007, p. 6)  Furthermore, “There is freedom from worry about failure.” (ibid, p. 8)  Other features of flow experience are the disappearance of self-consciousness and distortion of time. (ibid, p. 12)  Such an experience is described as being auto-telic, meaning that “The experience becomes its own reward.” (ibid, p. 14)  He explains the conditions which foster flow as being “clear goals every step of the way”, “immediate feedback to action”, and “a balance between challenges and skills.”  As will be related below, games, in meeting these conditions exactly, are perfect environments for activating flow experience.  From the perspective of L2 acquisition, can such flow conditions also be met in an Internet-mediated environment with regard to L2 use, and if so, how?

2.5 Play and Identity

 Csíkszentmihályi  and Bennet state “As long as a person is playing, his selfless attention to only “his” actions transcends his referential (i.e. social) identity, and the ability for further negotiating breaks down.” Csíkszentmihályi  & Bennet, 1971, p. 56)  If this is so, it has interesting implications for identity in the context of mediated L2 activity.  Julie Beltz has written that identity “resonates with history, culture, biography, and institution and is often conceptualized in terms of typifications (e.g. the European, the Californian, the Midwesterner).”  (Beltz, 2002, p. 18)  First of all, in interactive Internet-mediated activity the individual, relying on (often ‘speech-like’) text communication (CMC), and devoid of any actual physical representation (an avatar or other such character does not have to reveal one’s actual physical characteristics), is able to shed any physical differences (such as race, gender or age) with his or her L2 interlocutors in his or her expression of identity.  For the L2 native interlocutors, such a dualism should also break down, as “the traditional theoretical conflict between individual and society (or monism and dualism) is irrelevant for a man at play.” (Csíkszentmihályi & Bennet , 1971, p. 56).  Furthermore, within the context of a (role-playing) game, the native L2 interlocutors no longer maintain the same degree of cultural authority in relation to the L2 itself, as the players are enmeshed in the culture of the game, to which the L2 now serves primarily as a means for coordinating activity inherent to the game rather than the L2 culture.  For these reasons, it would appear that mediated L2 learning may help to leverage the non-native learner’s agency in ways that do not take place in physical reality.

2.6 A Framework for the Examination of L2 Learning

In his ‘Principles of Instructed Language Learning’ (2005) Rod Ellis presents ten principles, which, while devised for instructed learning, seem to be almost entirely devised from non-instructed learning, or natural acquisition.  Leaving out “Instruction needs to ...”, his first three principles read:  “1. ensure that learners develop both a rich repertoire of formulaic expressions and a rule-based competence”, “2.  ensure that learners  focus predominantly on meaning”, and “3. ensure that learners also focus on form.” (Ellis, 2005, pp. 2-3)  It would appear evident that any learner, instructed or not, if (physically or virtually) immersed in and motivated to learn an L2, would follow all three of these principles.  Principle four mandates “developing implicit knowledge of the L2 while not neglecting explicit knowledge.” (ibid, p. 4)  In natural, uninstructed L2 acquisition it would appear that implicit knowledge would naturally occur, while explicit knowledge would require either instruction or metacognitive analysis on the part of the learner.  Principles five, six, seven and eight also reflect the type of non-instructed learning inherent in acquisition: “5. take into account the learner’s ‘built-in syllabus’”, “6. learning requires extensive L2 input”, “7. learning also requires opportunities for output”, and “8. The opportunity to interact in the L2 is central to developing L2 proficiency.”  (ibid, pp. 5-7)  Principle nine, “take account of individual differences in learners” (ibid, p. 7), like principle five, would become a non-issue in non-instructed learning.  So too would principle ten:  “examine free as well as controlled production” (ibid, p. 8).

While Ellis states his purpose in formulating these principles as meeting a need for “a set of generalisations that might serve as the basis for language teacher education” (ibid, p. 1), these ten principle may additionally, within the context of this review, serve as a framework by which to analyze learning experiences occurring in any mediated environment.  For example, in this experience (e.g. blogging), am I:  focusing predominantly on form or meaning? using formulaic expressions? exercising an opportunity for input, output or interaction?  Indeed, any and all mediated L2 experiences could be analyzed through such a framework, possibly thus providing a more coherent and well-directed learning experience.

2.7 Games

‘Moving Learning Games Forward – Obstacles, Opportunities & Openness,’ (2009) by Klopfer, Osterwell  and  Salen also provides a succinct framework through which to examine the common features and varieties of both games in general and learning games in particular.  In praise of the applicability of the characteristics of gamers to educational pursuit they state “game player’s [sic] regularly exhibit persistence, risk-taking, attention to detail and problem-solving skills, all behaviors that ideally would be regularly demonstrated in school.” (Klopfer, Osterwell & Salen, 2009, p. 1)  They begin by outlining two traditional approaches towards the creation of learning games, the first focusing on games, perhaps at the expense of education, the second focusing on education at the expense of the gaming experience.  (ibid, pp. 1-2)  “Gaming is play across media, time, social spaces, and networks of meaning; it includes engagement with digital FAQs (or Frequently Asked Questions), paper game guides, parents and siblings, the history of games, other players, as well as the games themselves.  It requires players to be fluent in a series of connected literacies that are multi-modal, performative, productive, and participatory in nature.  It requires an attitude oriented toward risk-taking, meaning creation, non-linear navigation, problem-solving, an understanding of rule structures, and an acknowledgement of agency within that structure, to name but a few.” (ibid, p. 5)  While this is an extremely broad definition, it places play at the center of the gaming experience, defining gaming not so much in relation to actual games, but rather in relation to an attitude of play across any mediated or non-mediated experiences.

Klopfer, Osterwell  and  Salen further define “a number of types of gamers based on their playing habits.  These include:  · Power gamers who are the prototypical gamers mentioned above · Social gamers who enjoy gaming as a way to interact with friends. · Leisure gamers mainly play casual titles.  Nevertheless they prefer challenging titles and show high interest in new gaming services.  · Dormant gamers love gaming but spend little time because of family, work, or school.  They like to play with friends and family and prefer complex and challenging games.  · Incidental gamers lack motivation and play games mainly out of boredom.  · Occasional gamers play puzzle, word, and board games almost exclusively.” (ibid, p. 7)

By extension, there are a variety of game genres.  These include:  power games – including MMO role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as WoW, EverQuest and Halo; casual games – such as the card games ubiquitous to most computers and many cell phones; puzzle adventure games – such as Grim Fandango and Sam and Max, in which “players take the role of the protagonist in a story in which they interact with a variety of characters to solve mysteries and puzzles” (Purushtoma, Thorne & Wheatley, 2009, p. 26); simulation games – such as The Sims, in which “players are placed in charge of managing a complex system” (ibid); and social games – such as Facebook’s Farmville or online version of scrabble, Lexulous, both of which leverage the power of social networks and the aspect of interaction with friends and family. (McGonigal, 2011, p. 81)  Such an understanding of gaming habits and genres can serve to frame and direct game experiences.  For example, having an understanding of game genres and play modes might direct an individual playing games in an L2 to begin with simulation and social games, which require only basic lexis, and then move on to power games and puzzle games, thus scaffolding their learning and setting appropriate gaming and learning goals.

 ‘The Sopranos Meets EverQuest – Social Networking in Massively Multiplayer Online Games’ (2003), by Mikael Jakobsson and T.L. Taylor, examines socialization patterns within one particular MMO role-playing game (MMORPG) titled EverQuest (EQ).  Like most games in this genre, EQ relies on both formal and informal grouping in order for players to accomplish tasks.  This is the primary mechanism by which MMORPGs become interactive and communicative, thereby potentially rich environments for L2 learning.  Jakobsson and Taylor state:  “By creating a group out of characters specializing in different but complementary skills, members can collectively take on and defeat opponents who are equal or even mightier than the individual characters in the group.  It is only through working with other players that individual gamers achieve maximum results.” (Jakobsson & Taylor, 2003, p. 83) This happens both informally, and formally, through what are called guilds.  The gist of their argument is that socialization within EQ appears to occur through many of the same patterns evident in Mafia culture, as based on a representation of such culture in the popular television program The Sopranos.  They discuss not only “the implicit construction of social hierarchy” (ibid, p. 86), but also the implications of ‘real (offline) friend’ status within the game, the phenomenon of gamer groups migrating together from one MMO to another, the degree of time commitment which some guilds require of members, and the degree to which “physical or cultural proximity and previous shared gaming experiences” serve to connect players (ibid, p. 84).  Jakobsson and Taylor conclude by giving credit to gamers themselves for managing and creating the large part played by social experience within the game:  “While they are not the designers of EQ they can be seen as the creators of their gaming experience,” one in which all players act as “co-constructors of the game world that they, and future players, are part of.” (ibid, p. 89)  Their work, while not related to L2 acquisition, serves to vividly illustrate the social structures of the MMORPG experience in a new context, one in which “friendships between the players could be considered to be the ultimate exploit of the game.” (ibid, p. 81)  In doing so, they provide a greater appreciation for the high degree of socialization such games engender, as well as establishing the degree to which such games create experiential micro-universes, formed through and informed by player interaction.

In ‘Structuring Narrative in 3D Digital Game-Based Learning Environments to Support Second Language Acquisition’ (2010), David Neville examines L2 acquisition within MMORPGs (which he calls ‘3D Digital Game-Based Learning Environments,’ or 3D-DGBL) from the perspective of examining how narrative “serves as a vehicle for situating the self within a new community of practice.”  (Neville, 2010, p. 452)  Neville also comments on how MMORPG environments differ from virtual environments in that only the former support the emergence of distinct cultures and meaning, even narrative itself, which arise specifically from participant interaction. (ibid, p. 447)  His stated purpose is twofold: firstly, to discuss the common characteristics of narrative as described from a number of theoretical perspectives (situated cognition, SLA and game studies) as “a means of developing meaningful, engaging, and instructional gameplay in 3D-DGBL environments”; secondly, to provide design suggestions for performance-based learning in such environments. (ibid) 

Neville states at the outset that he uses “the term narrative broadly in the essay to describe the dialogue that emerges between a learner and a more capable peer, the sociocultural settings that contextualize language production and nuance its various manifestations, and the stories created by player interaction with a game.” (ibid)  Of interest here are many possibilities hinted at, ones we have seen in other authors’ work.  First is the phenomenon of mentoring; second, ‘sociocultural settings’ which may be, rather than language specific, specific to the culture of the game; and lastly, the fact that the story itself, or narrative, exists not so much in the game as in the interactions and individual character decisions which take place in its setting.  With regard to this last point and its implications for L2 acquisition, the author remarks that “language acquisition is not only an intra-mental process, or one that occurs solely in the head of the language learner, but is also inter-mental in the sense that it is situated within communities that share and shape a common linguistic system.” (ibid, p. 452)  In this regard, narrative is a shared process through which L2 acquisition takes place.  Narrative, furthermore “serves as a vehicle for situating the self with a new community of practice, although it can also function in reverse as a means of making this community meaningful on a personal level.” (ibid)  Neville mentions other game genres (such as ‘twitch,’ or first person shooter games), which do not afford such narrative experiences, and focuses on MMORPGs as platforms “designed to support narrative gestalt,” and which require negotiation of various emotional and thematic interactions, thereby serving as a basis for both transitory player identity formation and permanent learning. (ibid, pp. 455-7)

In seeking to develop a “Design Rubric for Developing Performance Objectives in 3D-DGBL Environments” (ibid, pp. 464-5) the author discusses some of the features common to MMORPGs, such as ‘cutscenes,’ which include “noninteractive scripted sequences” in order to advance the story and move players up to a higher level, and serving as a “loop through which the various traces of player interactivity are threaded, lending an overall structure to the game experience.” (ibid, p. 459)  He also provides illustrations of how MMORPGs offer players multiple pathways towards the solution of problems, based on players own personal personalities and styles. (ibid, pp. 460-1)  In discussing learning outcomes, he presents an interesting problem:  “the conundrum persists:  How does one design efficient and effective instruction in 3D-DGBL environments when everything is a potential learning situation, when it is impossible to predict which path the learner will take, and when every path is a valid course of study?” (ibid, p. 462)  While the purposes of this study do not include the design of effective instruction in Internet-mediated environments such as MMORPGs (or 3D-DGBL environments), Neville’s rubric as presented on pages 464-5 includes a set of questions regarding resource objectives, behaviors, conditions, criteria, language, society, culture and connections, almost all of which can serve well to shape and refine any study of L2 acquisition experience within an MMORPG environment.  The primary weakness of Neville’s study is that, while quite thorough from the perspective of narrative, it actually offers very little analysis of the mechanisms for L2 acquisition aside from the rather stand-alone rubric.

2.8 Games, Play and Positive Emotions

Jane McGonigal, in her insightful and original opus on games, Reality is Broken (2011) provides a far better and more complete understanding of games, gamers and gaming, than any other publication to date.  In it, she outlines fourteen ways in which games are more motivating than (traditional) reality, primarily focusing on the capacity games have to activate peak positive emotions.

The first section of her book, “Why Games Make Us Happy” is very much rooted in the work of Csíkszentmihályi and other pioneers of positive psychology, as well as more recent studies in neurochemistry, and outlines traits and features of games in general and video games in particular.  She discusses the ways in which games ‘provoke positive emotion’ through: the voluntary undertaking of satisfying work (McGonigal, 2011, p. 28); what she calls ‘fiero,’ meaning the emotional rush players experience when triumphing over adversity in games (ibid, p. 33); the way video games make “it possible to experience flow almost immediately” resulting in “a much faster cycle of learning and reward” (ibid, p. 41); and the ways in which they can foster social connection and meaning (ibid, p. 49).  McGonigal refers to game designers as ‘happiness engineers,’ and in discussing the “rush of “interest” biochemicals also known as “internal opiates,”” states that while “few of us set out intentionally to trigger these systems,” (ibid, p. 48) good games, basically, are platforms designed specifically for this purpose:

This extreme emotional activation is the primary reason why today’s most successful computer games are so addictive and mood-boosting.  When we’re in a concentrated state of optimistic engagement, it suddenly becomes biologically more possible for us to think positive thoughts, to make social connections, and to build personal strengths.  We are actively conditioning our minds and bodies to be happier. (ibid, p. 28)

She provides greater detail concerning all of these points.  With regard to satisfying work, she states “Satisfying work always starts with two things:  a clear goal and actionable next steps toward achieving that goal.” (ibid, p. 55, original author’s bold and italics)  In discussing “fun failure” she states “the right kind of failure feedback is a reward.  It makes us more engaged and more optimistic about our odds of success.  Positive failure feedback reinforces our sense of control over the game’s outcome.  And a feeling of control in a goal-oriented environment can create a powerful drive to succeed.” (ibid, p. 67)  Effective failure feedback as McGonigal describes it is often amusing, creating a lighthearted feeling.  Klopfer, Osterwell & Salen also discuss this aspect of game design, referring to it as a silly aesthetic:  “This somewhat silly aesthetic invites play, and it has appealed to a large number of fans.  Players can enjoy themselves casually without feeling pressure to perform perfectly in the game.” (Klopfer, Osterwell & Salen, 2009, p.10) 

In her discussion of the social aspects of games, McGonigal describes the two phenomena of “happy embarrassment” and “vicarious pride.” She illustrates the first of these concepts by discussing the ways players (and NPCs) may sometimes “trash talk” or tease each other, and discusses the psychological mechanism behind it as “a social vaccine”:  “We mostly tease and let ourselves be teased because it feels good.  But the reason why it feels good is that it builds trust and makes us more likable.  Most of us might not realize exactly why it enhances our social connection, but we definitely feel the emotional net positive after a teasing.” (ibid, p. 85)  “Vicarious pride” is the emotion we feel when we have successfully mentored someone of lower ability level.  While often not a designed feature of games, it has been frequently noted as a primary cultural aspect of many MMO gaming communities.  It is also very much related to identity and the concept of role-play, or taking on the roles of expert and novice.  Thus, both these phenomena can be recognized as elements of play.  An additional social phenomenon she discusses is the degree of emotional investment, in the form of care and concern, people can develop for avatars or characters whose development they must nurture.

McGonigal further illustrates how MMO environments foster what she calls “ambient sociability” (ibid, p. 89) and provide meaning by allowing us “to connect our daily actions to something bigger than ourselves” (ibid, p. 97, original author’s italics)  She describes two requirements for such “epic context” as, first, a shared game story which works as a “collective context for action,” and second, the player’s experience of personal action as a kind of service in which “every effort by one player must ultimately benefit all the other players.” (ibid, p. 101)  By framing game experiences in such a manner it begins to become evident that video games are in so many senses not virtual experiences, as they have traditionally been viewed, but rather unique mediated worlds, very different in some ways, and in other ways not so different from classrooms or work environments, in which people work together for a collective good.

With regard to means of measuring progress, McGonigal discusses how “leveling up,” the standard game mechanism for entering more advanced levels of play, is, however, so fundamentally different from, and more motivating than the standard educational mechanism of tests and grades.  And the continuous feedback gamers receive regarding their ability is far more immediate, instructive and motivating than any form of feedback found in traditional education.  “Real-time data and quantitative benchmarks are the reason why gamers get consistently better at virtually any game they play:  their performance is consistently measured and reflected back to them, with advancing progress bars, points, levels, and achievements.” (ibid, p. 157)  In an MMO environment, synchronous CMC may provide similar “real time data” to the L2 player, as the effectiveness of their communication in the pursuit of a common game-related goal serves as a direct measure of their communicative competence. 

Much of the remainder of Reality is Broken discusses means of using games (not only computer games) as various “reality fixes.”  McGonigal’s work is very well-supported, and her theories are illustrated with multiple examples from existing gaming realities.  McGonigal is very hopeful about the power of games to change reality, and her enthusiasm for the subject is infectious.  Her work, in relation to this review, can help to provide an additional framework by which to examine not only aspects of play within a mediated L2 experience, but also to evaluate the emotional texture of various mediated experiences, and to point towards their underlying reasons.  The implications of such peak positive emotions for learning remain yet unexamined by McGonigal.  While numerous authors have discussed the desirability of positive affect within learning experiences, very few have produced any conclusive results.  While McGonigal also has not done so, her work is instrumental in examining the mechanisms by which games create emotionally positive experiences.

2.9 Games and (L2) Learning

Thorn and Black (2007), in their review as introduced above, also address games.  They begin with a brief discussion of Purushotma’s (2005) review of The Sims 2 as an L2 learning tool, which “found that the vocabulary and tasks the game comprises were highly aligned with the content of conventional foreign language course content,” and that “exposure to the target language is always linked to carrying out tasks and social actions, which concomitantly embeds vocabulary and grammatical constructions in rich associative contexts.”  (Thorne & Black, 2007, p. 146)  They also discuss MMORPGs, noting research that documents the development of “strong “projective” identities” (Gee), and the prevalence of game cultures which promote assistance through scaffolding to novice players.  (ibid, p. 147)  Like Purushotma, Thorne, and Wheatley, they mention the “overlapping use of multiple information and communication tools,” which they align with the concept of polyfocality.  (ibid)  Thorne & Black conclude by stating that further research is required in order to “help to highlight the evolving contours of possibility for language development in the transcultural spaces of noninstitutional online environments and associated cultures-of-use.” (ibid)  It is interesting to note here their choice of the word development, which connotes the kind of non-intentionality we find in the term acquisition, as opposed to the intentional activities of teaching or learning.  Such a study might take the form of a ‘play’-centered exploration, documenting emic perspectives on enjoyment, adventure, meaning and identity formation and the actual process of language acquisition through interactive and productive media usage across multiple Internet modalities.

In ‘Personalised Learning for Casual Games: The ‘Language Trap’ Online Language Learning Game’ (2010), authors Neil Peirce and Vincent Wade provide a case study detailing the mechanism of an online game for the learning of German, along with “results of an authentic evaluation of the Language Trap game” (Pierce & Wade, 2010, p. 306), and an explanation and demonstration of the efficacy of the ALIGN (Adaptive Learning In Games through Non-invasion) system.  Beginning from an historical perspective, they, as do many other authors (Klopfer, Osterwell & Salen, 2009; Purushotma, Thorne & Wheatley, 2012) bemoan early attempts at ‘edutainment’ games and their failure due to lack of integration of learning and gaming content, thus disrupting (or ‘invading’) the flow experience described by Csíkszentmihály, and move forward to state that successful learning games “must seamlessly integrate learning content to present a game that blurs the boundary between where the game stops and the learning content begins.” (Pierce & Wade, 2010, p. 307)  They also mention that while “games can present many of the constituents of a flow experience such as clear goals, immediate feedback, task feasibility, and self-governance, the most important factor, that of balanced skills and challenges, is determined not only by the difficulty of the game but also by the player’s abilities.” (ibid, p. 308)

Overall, the significance of their study in relation to this literature review is in the emphasis of the importance of non-invasion of play experience in the learning and gaming process.  The ALIGN system is described as a type of iCALL system providing dynamic assessment by continuously modeling the learner, providing motivation, guidance, and meta-cognitive feedback through a companion NPC (non-player character).   (ibid, pp. 310-12)  Overall, reported student response and learning progression was “very positive” and, in line with Csíkszentmihály’s theory of flow in that “they didn’t recognise how time went by whilst playing” (ibid, p. 314)

            In ‘Learning Conversations in World of Warcraft’ (2007), authors Bonnie A. Nardi, Stella Ly, and Justin Harris state that within the framework of the Vygotskian notion of zone of proximal development (ZPD), their goal is “to describe learning activity that is devoid of curriculum.” (Nardi, Ly & Harris, 2007, p. 1) Their paper describes ongoing ethnographic fieldwork comprised primarily of first-person game-playing, and examines “three kinds of learning:  fact finding, devising tactics/strategy, and acquiring game ethos” (ibid) as occurs through in-game CMC (chat).  Within the context of WoW, they describe chat as “a community resource for learning as well as enabling learning by those actually chatting.” (ibid, p. 2)  Like natural L1 language acquisition, “In World of Warcraft, learning in conversation is event-driven with no planned curriculum.  It is spontaneous, erratic, serendipitous, and contextual.” (ibid, p. 3)  However, as with properly scaffolded learning “the situated curriculum comprises a sequence of tasks for students to complete with appropriate instruction.” (ibid)  In commenting on a chat exchange in WoW, they state:  “The information Drollnar [an in-game character name] received was tailored to his level of knowledge, it occurred in a social context, offered an action for him to take to further his own ends, and took meaning from the participation of other players.” (ibid, p. 4)  While these descriptions occur with reference to fact-finding, they make similar observations with regard to the additional two types of learning mentioned.  These descriptions are significant in that this type of scaffolded, highly contextualized, meaning-driven, action-oriented, and social interaction matches perfectly with the ideal learning situations described in the literature on L2 acquisition.  One additional element the authors touch upon is the emotive quality of CMC exchanges.   Here they suggest a need for further research into the impact of emotion on learning, stating “We believe it is likely that such emotion provides salience to the learned facts, heightens attention, and adds interest.” (ibid)  Again, such an observation matches much of the literature on ideal conditions for L2 acquisition (Dörnyei, 2001), emphasizing the need for affective as well as cognitive engagement, in addition to the need for a relaxed, supportive learning environment.  Such an understanding of emotions, from the perspective of this study, will ideally be related to formalized understanding of play as well as the triggers and features of peak emotional experience as described by McGonigal.  Online gaming, or at least WoW, appears to provide many of the ideal conditions for learning as mentioned in the body of literature on L2 acquisition.  While this is a valuable study offering many interesting observations for consideration, as its stated aim is to offer a sort of Vygotskian analysis, it would benefit from more focused, in-depth discussion of the reported situated learning from the Vygotskian perspective.

In ‘Learning by Design: Games as learning machines (2004), and ‘Good Video Games and Good Learning’ (2005), James Paul Gee outlines a number of “good learning principles, principles supported by current research in Cognitive Science” (Gee, 2005, p. 34) inherent in good video games.  While there are a number of differences between the two articles, there is also a great deal of overlap.  The 2004 article introduces thirteen principles, while the 2005 article outlines sixteen.  Principles which overlap both include:  identity (games provide gamers an identity in which they invest), production (or ‘codesign,’ by which players are not merely consumers but also producers or creators of the game), customization (gamers decide how they play, which meets not only differing playing but also learning styles), well-ordered problems (earlier problems scaffold knowledge required for later problems), challenge and consolidation (or ‘cycles of expertise,’ in which new information once learned is called for repeatedly in order to consolidate it), information just-in-time and on demand (new knowledge, especially text-heavy knowledge, appears only when it is needed or when the gamer asks for it), situated meanings (or ‘meaning as action image,’ i.e. meaning that is contextualized in the game), pleasantly frustrating (meaning that gamers are constantly challenged by tasks at the boundary of their ZPD), manipulation (or ‘smart tools and distributed knowledge,’ by which gamers can manipulate their environment, and by which individual gamers have differing knowledge) and system thinking (knowledge fits into an overarching system).  The 2004 article also outlines what Gee calls “fishtanks”(p. 20) and “sandboxes” (p. 21), both referring to tutorial level activities or environments which allow novice gamers opportunities “to understand the game as a whole system” through a “stripped down version” ( 2004: 21) (the former), or a metaphorical “safe haven” (ibid) where learners can act without dire repercussions (the latter).   The 2005 article adds a number of principles:  interaction (by which players interact with the game, other players, and NPC), risk-taking (achieved through both” lowering the consequences of failure”(2005, p. 35) and allowing players to use previous failures as ways of gaining feedback and determining patterns (ibid)), agency (a “real sense of ownership over what they are doing” (ibid, p. 36)), and exploration (a non-linear attitude to knowledge acquisition which encourages “players to explore thoroughly before moving on too fast, to think laterally and not just linearly” (ibid)).  The value of these articles to this study is their ability not only to justify the learning potentials engendered by video games, but also to provide a framework through which to analyze all Internet-mediated L2 experiences.

 ‘Warcraft Teaches Spanish’ is an informal blog by Dan Roy (2007), in which he discusses reasons for choosing WoW in particular as a platform for Spanish learning, and comments on his learning experiences within the game.  He mentions reasons for his choice as being “it’s immersive and social and it elicits lots of playing time.” (Roy, 2007)  Also, “it has a highly customizable interface.”  He mentions his methods of exposure to Spanish in the game as arising through text-heavy ‘cutscenes,’ chatting, and frequent exposure to keywords.  These include:  words related “to my character’s primary actions ...my character’s traits ...all the parts of my character’s body ...names of all the creatures I encounter ... the different professions players can adopt in the game ...[and] the names of the fantasy races”  He states that he learns these words easily, and “without any extra effort.”  However, he does mention that reading cutscene text often “slows down play,” and when in a group this can cause other players to become impatient with him.  When reading such text he often makes use of the online translation tool Ultralingua, and suggests that “this functionality could be built into the game’s interface as a tool-tip pop—up, eliminating the need to type the unknown word.”  (Ultralingua features a scroll-over function).  He states that “Chatting with other players in Spanish is perhaps the most compelling way to become more comfortable with the language.”  He also mentions the possibility and hope of setting up “a guild which incorporates voice chat as well.”  He says, however, that overall his “initial impressions of WoW as a language learning tool are mixed.”  This is because of long playing periods which do not require language, and the inclusion of “very little spoken word.”  For someone such as myself, who has yet to experience MMORPGs first hand, this short blog cuts right to the chase in providing very direct information regarding the practicalities of L2 use in such environments.

Dionne Soares PhD. (Linguistics) dissertation, ‘Second Language Pragmatic Socialization in World of Warcraft’ (2010) is a tangentially relevant ethnographic study. [H2] The stated purpose of the author:  “The overall goal of this dissertation is to explore the social environment of World of Warcraft as a venue for second language socialization, the process through which “persons become competent members of social groups” (Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986, p. 167) by using language in ways deemed appropriate by the community.  Specifically, this study examines how the learners became socialized to the pragmatic norms of a virtual community of Spanish speaking gamers in World of Warcraft.” (Soares, 2010, p. 2)

2.10 Conclusion

In summary, a number of major contributions to a better understanding of L2 learning within Internet-mediated environments have been presented here.  Robert Blake, and also Lisa Kervin with Beverly Derewianka provide broad overview studies revealing the breadth of Internet-mediated experiences within which L2 learning can take place, particularly from the teacher’s perspective.  Steven Thorne and Rebecca Black discuss the emergence of distinct communities and identities, as well as the importance of relationship development, through CMC enabled activities.  Klopfer, Osterwell and Salen also discuss CMC technology in relation to L2 learning.  In their broad study they additionally provide insight into social networks and virtual worlds, as well as offering very informative discussion on play, freedoms and games.  Wagner and Ip discuss the use of the virtual world Second Life as a platform for ‘action learning.’  Csíkszentmihályi  and Bennet add greatly to the discussion on play, touching on the relation between play and identity, as well as defining and outlining the experience of flow.  Rod Ellis provides a set of language learning principles which can serve as a means by which to interpret L2 learning within mediated environments.  Klopfer, Osterwell and Salen discuss different types of gamers, while Purushtoma, Thorne and Wheatley, along with Jane McGonigal, elaborate on different game genres.  Jakobsson and Taylor examine the importance of socialization patterns in one MMORPG, EverQuest, and the means by which CMC enables this.  David Neville examines L2 acquisition within MMORPGs through the vehicle of narrative.  McGonigal discusses the mechanisms by which games create positive emotions.  Peirce and Wade discuss the mechanisms for L2 learning in a specific game devised for the purpose, The ‘Language Trap,’ and highlight the importance of integrating learning in a non-intrusive manner in order to maintain flow.  Nardi, Ly  and Harris discuss the contextualized learning which takes place through CMC conversations in WoW as “learning activity that is devoid of curriculum.” (2007, p.1)  James Gee provides a compendium of mechanisms by which games engender learning.  And finally, Dan Roy discusses his personal experiences using WoW as a platform for learning Spanish.  Purushtoma, Thorne and Wheatley offer two additional articles which deserve review in this paper at a later point, as does Dianne Soares’ PhD. dissertation.

This literature review is significant to the field of TESOL as a whole primarily for the greater understanding of how Internet-mediated experiences can lead to L2 acquisition, both with and without the supervision of a teacher.  It also sheds light on the related processes of emerging identity formation and community building engendered by such experiences.  Finally, it points towards likely future directions for the field of TESOL as a whole, which, as part of a global system, is being transformed by the Internet much as every other realm of life is being transformed.

More specifically, in relation to this study, this review has identified a number of frameworks that are instrumental in framing both the collection and analysis of data.  These include:  Ellis’s ten principle of instructed learning, by which to analyze learning experiences occurring in any mediated environment;  an understanding of game genres and play modes; Csíkszentmihályi  and Bennet’s theories of play; McGonigal’s work, which provides a framework by which to examine not only aspects of play within a mediated L2 experience, but also to evaluate the emotional texture of various mediated experiences, and point towards their underlying reasons; and Gee’s work, which serves as a framework for examining learning mechanisms within game play.

Nonetheless, while all of these studies circle around and answer aspects of my original question, none of them get to the heart of the matter:  From the emic perspective, in the process of non-instructed, Internet-mediated L2 activity, what activities best encapsulate the elements of both play and positive affect while leading to L2 acquisition?  Some authors come closer to others in arriving at an emic perspective, but by and large the point of view taken is an etic one, one which looks at various mediated experiences with the learner in mind, but not from the perspective of an individual (not specifically a learner), immersed in various Internet-mediated L2 experiences.  This is the primary weakness I have encountered in the literature in consideration of the question I am posing.  Soares’ dissertation (2010) may come closest to the perspective I wish to discover.  However, her focus is on socialization and pragmatics, while mine is concerned with the intersection of play, positive emotion and L2 acquisition.

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