Arena: Designing an Adventure Video Game for Second Language Engagement and Acquisition

Abstract

In this poster abstract we describe an ongoing design science project: the implementation and study of a story-based language learning game called Arena. We adopt the view that games can be a powerful mechanism for motivating learning through informal mechanisms. However, our design process has revealed a number of deep challenges that we continue to contend with. In this poster we reflect particularly on the fatigue players feel when engaging with stories and play in an unfamiliar language, as well as the difficulty of connecting play interactions to language tasks.