CALL-EJ, 20(2), 101-127 Classroom Intervention for Integrating Simulation Games into Language Classrooms: An Exploratory Study with the SIMs 4 Judy (Qiao) Wang (
[email protected]) Kyoto University, Japan Abstract This study explored three forms of classroom intervention: teacher instruction, peer interaction and in-class activities, for the purpose of integrating simulation games into a vocabulary-focused English classroom. The aim was to establish which intervention is most effective, as well as what improvements should be made for future application. The study took the form of a controlled experiment and evaluation of the interventions was based on concurrently collected quantitative and qualitative data. The researcher concluded that while quantitative data failed to confirm any statistical significance between the two groups, qualitative data suggested two forms of intervention, teacher instruction and in-class activities, were effective. Peer interaction, however, did little to promote vocabulary acquisition. The researcher proposes implementing more diversified in-class activities and game quests relating to curriculum goals in existing classroom interventions. The discussion concludes by highlighting promising areas for future research. Keywords: game-based learning; language classroom; computer simulation games; classroom intervention; vocabulary acquisition; Sims 4 Introduction In his book What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, Gee (2007), one of the best recognized researchers in video games, presented 36 principles of learning applied in video games and discussed how cognitive science-supported games enhanced learning. Current studies on computer game-based learning (GBL) in language acquisition, an emerging stratum in computer-assisted language learning, also base themselves on learning theories and draw on psycholinguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural rationales.