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Word Games the Effects of a Gaming Element on Non-Vocabulary Retention in Adults

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Word Games the Effects of a Gaming Element on Non-Vocabulary Retention in Adults Word games The effects of a gaming element on non-vocabulary retention in adults. Michelle Pigmans ANR: 317075 Bachelor’s Thesis Communication and Information Sciences Specialization: Human Aspects of Information Technology Faculty of Humanities Tilburg University, Tilburg (The Netherlands) Supervisor: Dr. A. Alishahi Second reader: Dr. G. A. Chrupala June, 2014 WORD GAMES: THE EFFECTS OF A GAMING ELEMENT ON NON-WORD RETENTION ON ADULTS. Table of contents Page Abstract 4 1. Introduction 5 1.1 Problem statement 5 1.2 Research questions 6 2. Theoretical background 6 2.1 Vocabulary learning in a new language 6 2.2 Games and learning 7 2.3 Game elements 7 2.4 Research hypotheses 10 3. Game design 10 3.1 Typing game 11 3.2 Pretests 14 4. Main experiment 16 4.1 Participants 16 4.2 Design 17 4.3 Materials 17 4.4 Procedure 18 5. Results 18 5.1 Difference total performance between conditions on vocabulary retention 18 5.2 Effect of word length on vocabulary retention 21 5.3 Experiences of participants on both conditions 22 6. Discussion and conclusion 24 6.1 Discussion 25 6.2 Limitations 26 6.3 Conclusion 26 References 27 Appendix 29 - Appendix A: Word association results (translated into English) 29 - Appendix B: Results picture recognition test (translated into English) 30 - Appendix C: Pre-test 2 transcribed responses (translated into English) 34 2 WORD GAMES: THE EFFECTS OF A GAMING ELEMENT ON NON-WORD RETENTION ON ADULTS. - Appendix D: The sequences in the main experiment: game and non-game 35 - Appendix E: The survey (for both conditions) 38 - Appendix F: Means & standard deviation of correct four, five and six -letter words by condition 40 3 WORD GAMES: THE EFFECTS OF A GAMING ELEMENT ON NON-WORD RETENTION ON ADULTS. Abstract Learning the vocabulary of a new language is difficult: it takes time and motivation. Adults often do not have the time in their regular work week and their motivation might be lacking. This study focused on the effect of the learning environment on the retention of words and the participants’ enjoyment level by using a game and a non-game condition. It used a between-subjects design of which one group was assigned to the game condition and the other group of participants to the non-game condition of the experiment (which uses a more traditional version of vocabulary learning). The differences between the two conditions do not seem to significantly increase or decrease the performance of participants. Adults also do not seem to learn new words better in a more engaging program: their score is more or less the same. There was also no significance in retention between shorter and longer words. However, an interaction effect on language preference and condition was found. This experiment showed that there is a positive correlation between enjoyment and vocabulary retention. Male and Dutch participants seemed to enjoy the non-game more, while female and English-preferring participants enjoyed the game more. Keywords: vocabulary learning, game-based learning, typing game, second language learning, learn by playing. 4 WORD GAMES: THE EFFECTS OF A GAMING ELEMENT ON NON-WORD RETENTION ON ADULTS. 1. Introduction 1.1 Problem statement Learning a new language is difficult, especially as an adult. There is less time to learn because of other commitments, like work, and it is difficult to stay engaged. Therefore, vocabulary retention is taking a longer time than one would wish. By playing a game it is possible to keep the engagement high and thus learn a new language in a non-boring way (Frank, 2007). There are already many “serious games” designed for children, which have proven to be beneficial (Susi, 2007). Besides the goal of learning a certain school subject, these children could also improve their attention behavior, self-monitoring, problem recognition and developed better short-term and long-term memory and social skills by playing a game. These tests were done by using a between-subjects design: in one group there were children who played games regularly, while the other group rarely played games. These nine to twelve years old children got similar tasks that tested the previously mentioned skills. Even though computer games work great as a learning tool, many learning tools for adults keep using the traditional flashcard method, which is not as engaging as a game. Is it possible to design a game that improves word retention by adults, just like the studies with children have shown? This study will focus on the effects of a game and a non-game on the retention of new words. For this, words from a non-existing language will be used. Previous research used English (Turgut and Irgin, 2009), which caused the users to already have a slight advantage because the participants already had at least a basic knowledge of the language. Earlier studies also used children instead of adults and a regular game instead of a serious game. The goal of a serious game is to teach the user something specific like a language, while the goal of a regular game is mainly to entertain the user. In the following section, the research question and subquestions will be presented. Then, chapter two will present the theoretical background which includes vocabulary learning in a new language, games and learning and the elements that create a good game. This chapter will be concluded by the research hypotheses. Chapter three will present the design of the conditions and chapter four will present the main experiment. The results will be shown in chapter five and chapter six will conclude this research by discussing these results, describing its limitations and present a conclusion. 5 WORD GAMES: THE EFFECTS OF A GAMING ELEMENT ON NON-WORD RETENTION ON ADULTS. 1.2 Research questions The main research question is: “What are the effects of a gaming element when learning the vocabulary of a new language by adults?” The subquestions will be as follows: 1. Do adults have better vocabulary retention when they are playing a game compared to when they are just reviewing words? 2. Do adults learn better when they are more engaged? 2. Theoretical background In this chapter the theoretical background that shaped this thesis will be discussed. First, section 2.1 will describe how people learn words in a new language. Secondly, section 2.2 will show the link between games and learning. Thirdly, section 2.3 will delve deeper into the specific elements that will improve the retention of words in a learning game. Lastly, the research hypotheses will be presented. 2.1 Vocabulary learning in a new language Vocabulary is an important part of learning a new language: they are the building blocks of a language. Hatch and Brown (1995) formulated 5 steps for vocabulary learning (via Renskers, 2013): 1. Having sources for encountering new words 2. Getting a clear image, either visual, auditory or both, of the forms of the new words 3. Learning the meaning of the words 4. Making a strong memory connection between the forms and the meanings of the words 5. Using the words Rieder (2003) argued that learning a vocabulary can be implicit, but not completely. A word’s form seems to be implicitly learned, but the semantic properties are explicitly learned. Learners also try to infer meaning by any cues they get, which can be both implicit and explicit. Adults seem to have more constraints when learning a new language compared to children (Newport, 1990). Normal language learning begins early in life when the child is 6 WORD GAMES: THE EFFECTS OF A GAMING ELEMENT ON NON-WORD RETENTION ON ADULTS. exposed to other people conversing in that language. When adults are exposed to a new language their performance is worse than when children are exposed to the same new language. One reason for this is that there is a sensitive period effect where people can learn languages easily (early in life). After this period, these abilities weaken the older people get. Another hypothesis for this phenomenon is that the language learning abilities decline over age because the nonlinguistic cognitive abilities naturally increase (because of life experiences). This increase makes it harder for adults to reach the ability to learn a new language. 2.2 Games and learning Games can be helpful for learning a variety of skills and school subjects like a new language or leaning how to pilot a plane (Susi, 2007). Not only school subjects like math and English, but lots of other skills can be taught by a game (for example, games increase attention behavior, self-monitoring, problem recognition and improve short-term and long- term memory and social skills). Turgut and Irgin (2009) researched English vocabulary learning by using a game like Counter Strike or FIFA08. The results showed that playing games improved the English vocabulary of children between the ages of 10-14 years old. They stated that the games motivated them to learn words. Aghlara and Tamjid (2011) compared the effect of a game versus a traditional method of learning on children vocabulary retention. For this, they used 6- 7 year old children and a second language. They found that the children who played digital games scored better than the children that learned by using a more traditional method. Research by Renskers (2013) found that auditory and visual elements play a significant role in vocabulary retention. By using both elements in a game, the retention of words was much higher than when there were less audiovisual cues. This means that the characteristics of a game are helpful for teaching users subjects that allow the use of text, audio and visual elements.
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