Games and language learning: An international perspective

Abstract

Gee (2003) has posited that successful digital games embody design principles that are based on an
understanding of how people learn. Games have been used for language learning for decades, and
the growing popularity of digital games, coupled with improvements in hardware and software, have
made them common tools in second language acquisition classrooms. Empirical research, however,
on games and language learning is still relatively scarce. In this paper, we explore the existing
evidence on how digital games can be and have been used in language learning, with particular focus
on studies that originate from outside the United States. The paper examines three categories of
studies that focus on different aspects of gameplay: in game-player interactions, in player-player
interactions, and in game-player–online community interactions. Our paper critically presents how
using games can be oversimplified in their application and offers ways that the implementation of
games and game-like activities can be improved.