Novel 3D Contextual Interactive Games on a Gamified Virtual Environment Support Cultural Learning Through Collaboration Among Intercultural Students

Abstract

This study aims to help international students learn the language and cultural knowledge of their future study destination by collaborating with local students through coplaying games in online virtual rooms. Therefore, this study explores whether the 3D interactive game with specific contexts on a virtual platform can support intercultural collaboration and improve the students’ language and cultural learning. This study created novel 3D contextual interactive games (3DCIGs) in a gamified virtual environment (GVE), established on a unique virtual platform named Terf®. Terf® enables the observing and recording of data related to the conversations and behaviors of users. To investigate the effects of 3DCIGs on students, a focus group consisting of newly arrived Chinese students and Irish students from an Irish university participated in this study. The study adopted mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis to examine whether 3DCIGs effectively motivate the collaborative learning of intercultural students compared with text-based assignments set in the Game Play Rooms. The findings reveal that the novel 3DCIGs developed in this study have a positive potential to motivate intercultural students to engage in team collaboration and help their cultural and language knowledge exchange.

Telecollaboration Tool Preferences for Online Intercultural Learning in Higher Education: Perspectives of Chinese International Students

“…Xiaolong also stated that apart from the telecollaboration tool itself (technology), the incentives (organization) should also be considered vital to engaging in intercultural learning. The participants understood that by working together to solve the same tasks in a virtual space, they could develop a sense of group presentation, leading to more engaging intercultural interactions (Zhang, Goodman & Gu, 2022;Machado et al, 2016). Some researchers have also suggested that collaborative tasks and tools should be set in a telecollaboration environment to encourage cross-cultural exchange (Lave & Wenger, 1991;Van Lier, 2000).…”

“…Hence, opportunities for increasing the capability of intercultural skills among multicultural students in higher education are urgently needed. In recent years, some universities attempted to use online communication tools to support pre-communication and interaction for their multicultural students to improve incoming international students' intercultural skills (T€ uz€ un & O ¨zdinc x, 2016;Zhang, Goodman & Gu, 2022). Based on appropriate telecommunication tools, this type of online preorientation seems like a good way for multicultural university students to develop their intercultural skills in advance.…”

Research on Classroom Teaching Quality Evaluation of Chinese International Education in Higher-Education Institutions Based on EDAS Method and Euclidean Distance

“…In line with the requirements of the national standard, further strengthen and improve the curriculum, teaching content, practical teaching, teaching conditions, and other aspects. In terms of teaching defciencies, actively seeking solutions and efectively implementing the "National Standard" can truly improve the teaching quality [53].…”