Gamification in Foreign Language Education
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Gamification in Foreign Language Education: Fundamentals for a Gamified Design of Institutional Programs for Chinese as a Foreign Language Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Cong Li, M.A. Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2018 Dissertation Committee: Galal Walker, Advisor Mari Noda Charles Quinn Copyright by Cong Li 2018 Abstract Gamification is an increasingly popular strategy applied to many aspects of our lives to optimize our experiences—including language learning. However, current educational applications of gamification are mostly directed to the surface level. There, people try to motivate learners by piling up various game elements. Although game elements can enhance short-term motivation, they are not effective in sustaining the motivation of adult learners if not appropriately integrated into the curriculum. The chapters in this dissertation discuss the fundamentals of applying gamification to the context of foreign language learning with a focus on Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) programs in post-secondary institutions. Chapter one revisits the concept of game because it requires a clear understanding of the connection between learning a language and playing a game to determine which game elements can synergize with CFL programs to optimize the learning process. The definition of gamification and noteworthy problems of CFL programs are also addressed in Chapter one. Chapter two to Chapter five each focuses on one problem, respectively. Chapter two discusses the relationship between language, culture, and game. The concept of game is viewed as a psychological reality that organizes human behaviors, because i we attach different value or meaning to the same behavior in different games. Therefore, we can conceptualize the action of using language as recognizing the game being played and playing by its rules, which should be the core content of CFL programs. Chapter three focuses on the program goals and proposes to attach more importance to encouraging learners to pursue their individual goals, provided program directors expect to increase learners who can reach advanced levels. Chapter four explores how emotions can be elicited to enhance the learning experience based on examples from electronic games where emotion has been demonstrated to be an influential factor in the formation of memory. Chapter five revisits the challenges arising from the discussion in previous chapters and uses two sample designs to illustrate how gamified learning tools can help overcome challenges. The last section of Chapter five touches upon the learning environment and visualizes how the technology of virtual reality (VR) can be exploited to build a second-language learning environment for CFL programs. ii Dedication Dedicated to my supportive parents, Bing Li and Jing Xia iii Acknowledgments The life as a graduate student at the Ohio State University is an absolutely fantastic experience for me. I want to thank all the people who have helped, supported and inspired me. Without them, writing a dissertation would have been an impossible mission. I owe my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Professor Galal Walker, who has taught me that scholarship is about discussion rather than persuasion. It is never easy to propose new theories, which almost certainly entails controversy, but talking with people who have different opinions can often help us make progress. Despite the fact that Professor Walker is not a fan of games, he still encourages me to follow my passion and write a dissertation on the idea of game; otherwise, the writing of dissertation would not be as enjoyable for certain. I am also sincerely grateful to my other committee members for their generous sharing of knowledge and eye-opening insights. Professor Mari Noda helped me establish an overall structure for my dissertation. Professor Charles Quinn seems to have an endless list of references in his mind. Most importantly, they both gave me very detailed and insightful comments which are extremely valuable to my revision. iv Besides my committee members, I have also received tremendous help from many professors, instructors, and graduate students in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures. I am indebted to our program coordinator, Debbie Knicely, who helped me solve so many problems regarding visa, registration, and future plans. I learned a lot from the Japanese senior lecturer Yuko Kuwai and Chinese senior lecturer Steve Knicely, who not only have abundant experience in language teaching, but also encourage me to explore new methods in my own classes. A group of close friends I met in the graduate program will always have a special place in my life. Zhini Zeng and Junqing Jia contributed a lot of ideas to my writing of dissertation. Their research topics, domain expertise and motivation, are very inspiring and become crucial components in my dissertation. Hui Yao shared her precious writing experience and techniques with me, helped me consolidate the overall structure of my dissertation, and reviewed my first chapter for unclear places, which turned out to be extremely beneficial when I wrote the following chapters. Crista Cornelius gave me constructive feedback when I rehearsed a job interview which is based on the content of my dissertation. I would also like to thank Sha Huan, Qianqian Zhang, Qingyang Lin, Yang Yang, Mengling Wang, and Wenting Zhao for all the enjoyable and productive time at our lounge during my last year in DEALL. Finally, I must thank my wife, Xin Zhang, for her unconditional love, immense contribution to this dissertation, and companionship at every stage of my life in the past ten years. v Vita July 19, 1988...........................Born - Nanjing, P.R. China 2006-2010...............................B.A. Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, Shanghai International Studies University 2010-2012................................M.A. Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, Shanghai International Studies University 2013 to present ........................Graduate Teaching Associate Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures Area of Specialization: Chinese Language Pedagogy vi Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................................... i Dedication......................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................ iv Vita.....................................................................................................................................................vi Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................vii List of Tables...................................................................................................................................... x List of Figures................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter One: Introducing Gamification to Chinese as a Foreign Language Programs........... 1 1.1 Dual Senses of the Concept of Game............................................................................................4 1.1.1 The Playing Field Provides an Exclusive Zone for a Game..............................................7 1.1.2 The Scoring System Provides a Measurement of Performance........................................ 9 1.1.3 Rules Regulate Players’ Behaviors while Encouraging Creativity................................. 10 1.1.4 Game is a Psychological Reality......................................................................................12 1.2 Application of Game Elements and Mechanics in Gamification............................................... 13 1.2.1 Gamification is a Strategy................................................................................................13 1.2.2 Gamification is not Game-Based Learning..................................................................... 15 1.2.3 Gamification Requires an Evaluation of the Purpose......................................................18 1.3 Gamification in Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) Programs............................................ 21 1.3.1 Institutional Programs as Distinguished from Digital Programs.....................................21 1.3.2 Using CFL Programs as the Target of Gamification........................................................24 1.3.2.1 Accounting for the Difficulty of Learning Chinese..............................................24 1.3.2.2 CFL and CSL distinction under scrutiny.............................................................. 27 1.3.3 Five Areas for Gamification in a CFL Program.............................................................. 30 1.3.3.1 Content as Situating Language in the Culture......................................................30 1.3.3.2 Goal as Guiding Students to Discover their Domains..........................................31 1.3.3.3 Teaching Format as Individualized and Customized............................................31