scholarly journals The semiotic ecology and linguistic complexity of an online game world

ReCALL ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L. Thorne ◽  
Ingrid Fischer ◽  
Xiaofei Lu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Form Complex ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Massively Multiplayer Online Game ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Developmental Opportunities ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractMultiplayer online games form complex semiotic ecologies that include game-generated texts, player-to-player communication and collaboration, and associated websites that support in-game play. This article describes an exploratory study of the massively multiplayer online game (MMO)World of Warcraft(WoW), with specific attention to its qualities as a setting for second language (L2) use and development. This empirical study seeks to answer the following question: What is the nature of the linguistic ecology thatWoWplayers are exposed to? Many studies have described the developmental opportunities presented by commercially available gaming environments (e.g., Gee, 2003, 2007), their value as sites of literacy development (e.g., Squire, 2008a; Steinkuehler, 2008), and their potential as venues for second language (L2) use and learning (e.g., Peterson, 2010; Thorne, Black, & Sykes, 2009; Thorne & Fischer, 2012; Zheng, Young, Wagner & Brewer, 2009). There are, however, numerous outstanding questions regarding the quality and complexity of the linguistic environments associated with online commercially available games. This primarily descriptive research addresses this issue and aims to finely characterize the linguistic complexity of game-presented texts (or ‘quest texts’) as well as player generated game-external informational and strategy websites that form the expansive semiotic ecology ofWoWgame play. Questionnaires and interviews with Dutch and American gamers helped to identify a variety of widely used game-external websites. This information then informed the selection of texts that were analyzed for their linguistic complexity. By analysing the linguistic complexity of the texts that players regularly engage with, this study aims to empirically assess the resources and limitations of a representative and widely played MMO as an environment for L2 development.

scholarly journals Levelling Up: Minors' Play in a Closed-system MMOG

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Jenson ◽  
Suzanne De Castell ◽  
Victoria McArthur ◽  
Stephanie Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Closed System ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Massively Multiplayer Online Game

In this paper, we present a study of 182 youths (ages 9 - 17) playing a closed-system Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG), Guardian Academy. Its purpose was to investigate the online virtual world behaviours of youth under the age of 18 playing in an educational setting. We report on a mixed-methods study of minor players in situ across eight socioeconomically diversified educational communities, focused on characteristics, patterns, and trajectories of development of school-aged youths’ online play. The study has implications for other trajectories of MMOG research, particularly those concerned with distinctive features of minors’ play, the development of game-play expertise, and previous.

Forty years later: Updating the Fossilization Hypothesis

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZhaoHong Han
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Fortieth Anniversary ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Selection Of

A founding concept in second language acquisition (SLA) research, fossilization has been fundamental to understanding second language (L2) development. The Fossilization Hypothesis, introduced in Selinker's seminal text (1972), has thus been one of the most influential theories, guiding a significant bulk of SLA research for four decades; 2012 marks its fortieth anniversary. This article revisits the Fossilization Hypothesis, starting with the earliest set of questions (still the most comprehensive) (Selinker & Lamendella 1978) and using them as a basis for updating the Hypothesis. The current understanding of fossilization is presented by introducing an alternative hypothesis, the Selective Fossilization Hypothesis (Han 2009) and, in the light of that alternative, reviewing a selection of fossilizable structures documented in the recent literature.

L2 Languaging in a Massively Multiplayer Online Game

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinjing Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Massively Multiplayer Online Game ◽  
The Social ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

This paper examines L2 learner variations in the context of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs). MMOGs have gained much attention among CALL researchers because this particular game genre is perceived to promote informal, contextualized interaction in a learner's target language, including interaction with native speakers. However, there is little research on differences between L2 learners in terms of how they engage in language learning and use in the context of gameplay. Drawing on data from questionnaires, interviews, gaming sessions, and gaming journals, this paper argues that affordances of MMOGs must be understood in relation to the learner's history, ability, and preference within the social context of game play; L2 learners engage with various game discourses that align with their preferences of game play and goals of language learning. In closing, the paper discusses procedural challenges in conducting research on MMOGs and similar gaming contexts.

Pola Bimbingan Orang Tua Asuh dalam Menumbuhkan Kecerdasan Emosional Remaja

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-330
Author(s):  
Iva Faridha Azahro ◽  
Nanih Machendrawaty ◽  
Hajir Tajiri
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Selection Of

Tujuan dari peneliti ini yaitu untuk mengetahui (1) karakteristik kecerdasan emosional remaja di RPSAA Ciumbuleuit Bandung; (2) pola bimbingan orang tua asuh dalam menumbuhkan kecerdasan emosional remaja di RPSAA Ciumbuleuit Bandung; (3) hasil pola bimbingan orang tua asuh dalam menumbuhkan kecerdasan emosional remaja di RPSAA Ciumbuleuit Bandung. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan metode penelitian deskriptif, pemilihan subjek dan informan dengan cara acak dan teknik pengumpulan datanya melalui observasi, dokumentasi dan wawancara terhadap enam orang anak asuh dan tiga orang tua asuh. Hasil penelitian yang diperoleh peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa anak sebelum memperoleh pengasuhan dari orang tua asuh di RPSAA memiliki karakteristik kecerdasan emosional rendah. Pola pengasuhan yang diterapkan di RPSAA kepada anak asuh adalah pola asuh demokratis. Sedangkan hasil pengasuhan dalam menumbuhkan kecerdasan emosional remaja di RPSAA Ciumbuleuit Bandung menyimpulkan bahwa anak asuh usia remaja telah memiliki kecerdasan emosional yang cukup baik, yaitu terlihat dari bagaimana cara mereka mampu mengendalikan segala perasaan yang pada dirinya, meskipun ada remaja yang belum sepenuhnya memenuhi aspek kecerdasan emosional.   The goal of these researchers is to figure out (1) characteristics of the emotional intelligence of teenagers in RPSAA Ciumbuleuit Bandung; (2) foster parents guidance pattern in fostering emotional intelligence RPSAA Ciumbuleuit Bandung in adolescents; (3) results foster parents guidance pattern in fostering emotional intelligence RPSAA Ciumbuleuit Bandung in teens. This research used the qualitative approach with descriptive research method, the selection of subjects and informants by means of random and data gathering techniques through observation, interview and documentation against six people and three foster care parents foster care. The research results obtained by researchers concluded that child before obtaining care of foster parents in RPSAA has the characteristic of low emotional intelligence. Parenting patterns are applied in the RPSAA to foster care parenting is democratic. While parenting results in fostering emotional intelligence RPSAA Ciumbuleuit Bandung teenager in concluding that foster care teens have had a pretty good emotional intelligence, that is visible from how they are able to control all the feelings on him, even though there are teenagers who do not yet fully meet aspects of emotional intelligence.

Case morphology and word order in second language Turkish: Evidence from Greek learners

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Despina Papadopoulou ◽  
Spyridoula Varlokosta ◽  
Vassilios Spyropoulos ◽  
Hasan Kaili ◽  
Sophia Prokou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Case Morphology ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Order Constraints ◽  
On Line

The optional use of morphology attested in second language learners has been attributed either to a representational deficit or to a ‘surface’ problem with respect to the realization of inflectional affixes. In this article we contribute to this issue by providing empirical data from the early interlanguage of Greek learners of Turkish. Three experiments have been conducted, a cloze task, a sentence picture matching task and an on-line grammaticality judgement task, in order to investigate case morphology and its interaction with word order constraints. The findings of all three experiments point towards a variable use of case morphology, which is also observed in previous studies of Turkish as a second language (L2). Moreover, they show clearly that the learners face difficulties with non-canonical word orders as well as with the interaction of word order constraints and Case. On the other hand, the learners performed well on verbal inflections. On the basis of these findings, we argue that the developmental patterns in the early stages of L2 acquisition cannot be attributed to a global lack of functional categories but rather to more localized difficulties, which seem to be related to (a) whether the features in the L2 are grammaticalized in the first language and (b) the way these features are encoded in the morphosyntax of the first language. Moreover, we claim that processing factors and the specific properties of the morphological paradigms affect L2 development.

SECOND LANGUAGE SYNTAX: A GENERATIVE INTRODUCTION. Roger Hawkins. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. Pp. xviii + 386. $41.95 paper.

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-494
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Specific System ◽  
Modulated Structure ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Introductory Textbook ◽  
Syntactic Knowledge ◽  
Structure Building ◽  
L2 Development

This book is intended as an introduction both to the principles and parameters framework (Chomsky, 1981) and to the second language (L2) acquisition of syntactic representations. Hawkins's basic aim is to present evidence for the view that L2 learners progressively build subconscious mental grammars (i.e., a syntactic system) guided by Universal Grammar—an innate, language-specific system. However, this volume is not just an introductory textbook presenting and summarizing the work of other researchers in this particular field. Indeed, the book has another major aim: Within the context of the most current debates on the L2 acquisition of syntactic knowledge, Hawkins introduces his own theory of L2 development, which he terms Modulated Structure Building.

scholarly journals La ética en la investigación de posgrado

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Piña-Osorio ◽  
Hilda Berenice Aguayo-Rousell
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Logical Structure ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Formal Presentation ◽  
Lack Of Commitment ◽  
Minimum Quality ◽  
Selection Of

This article presents the results of an exploratory-descriptive research with empirical referents. The objective was to document, systematize and evaluate some features of 15 postgraduate theses in education, with the intention to make visible some recurring dishonest practices of students and teachers. The postgraduate programs from which the theses were obtained are located in the metropolitan area of Mexico City. The selection of documents was carried out between July and November 2015. Two Likert scales were used to assess two dimensions separately: 1) content, in which originality, congruence, dominance and relevance of authors, findings and relevant conclusions were considered; and 2) presentation, which examined style, logical structure, spelling and punctuation, citations, references and sources of information. Each indicator was assigned a numerical value and this one was given an evaluative characteristic: 5: excellent, 3: regular and 1: deficient. Subsequently, percentages were obtained. The results indicated that only a third of the theses could be classified as excellent for the quality of the content and the impeccable presentation; a similar percentage were works that fulfilled the necessary but didn’t count with the rigor and originality of the first ones. The remaining papers had serious deficiencies, both in content and in the formal presentation of the document, without achieving the minimum quality demanded by a postgraduate thesis. The analysis of these investigations made it possible to visualize some of the dishonest practices of people graduating from various educational programs and the lack of commitment to their research. The results about the quality of the research in various doctoral programs indicate that there is little responsibility in students, personal tutor and the reviewer. The results allow the authorities of each program to observe the problem and seek practical solutions to solve it.

The effects of time in the development of complexity and accuracy during study abroad

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 31-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Jensen ◽  
Martin Howard
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Linear Pattern ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Final Interview ◽  
Considerable Individual Variation

Reflecting the current age of mammoth globalisation and the desirability of having a second language in today’s world, study abroad (SA) is becoming increasingly popular amongst university students across many disciplines. Moreover, with the EU identifying a target of 20% participation in SA in 2010, the value of this activity is also being recognised on an intergovernmental level. Participants in SA programmes stand to gain not only invaluable experiences, in terms of expanding their social and cultural knowledge, but also in developing their second language (L2). While there now exists a multitude of SLA studies situated within this unique learning context, such studies vary enormously in the duration of their learner-participants’ stay in the target language community. Indeed, a review of the current literature indicates that the duration of SA in the existing research ranges from a couple of weeks to a full year. Given such diversity, it is difficult to draw substantive conclusions on the effect of duration of SA on L2 development, although a limited number of important studies have explored the issue (e.g. Davidson, 2010; Dwyer, 2004; Llanes & Muñoz, 2009; Serrano et al., 2012). Against this background, the current paper reports on a longitudinal study of French and Chinese learners of English over a nine month SA period. Initial, medial and final interview data were analysed in terms of Complexity and Accuracy which are considered two important, and often rivalrous, features of language performance (Ellis & Barkhuizen, 2005). The results of the study point to considerable individual variation, both within individuals (variation across observations) and between individuals (variation across participants) in scope of development, making it difficult to capture language gains in terms of a neat, linear pattern over time.

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