AZCALL 2020
Virtual Conference
Quizlet Live! Learning Second Language Vocabulary through Gameplay Modes
Yuchan (Blanche) Gao; Arizona State University
Biography
Blanche is a PhD student and research assistant in Learning, Literacies, and Technologies at Arizona State University. Her research interests lie in the intersection of gameful L2 learning and pedagogy (game-enhanced, game-based, game-informed), technology-mediated language learning, and instructional design. She received her BA degree in Linguistics from Southern Illinois University and MEd degree in Curriculum and Instruction and TESOL Certificate from the University of Virginia. She worked as a secondary school ESOL instructor and curriculum director as well as a university teaching assistant and communication consultant in the US and China.
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Abstract
Although research in digital game-based second language learning (DGBL2) has shown positive results in students’ vocabulary learning, more nuanced differentiation of research design is needed (Tsai & Tsai, 2018). To answer that call, this presentation describes a research proposal on digital gameplay modes and GBL2 vocabulary learning. This study aims to compare the two gameplay modes in Quizlet Live (QL) and examine their affordances for L2 vocabulary learning outcomes. QL is a popular vocabulary game that requires players to match definitions with the vocabulary, and it requires accuracy and speed for winning (Wolff, 2016). Two embedded gameplay modes are individual and collaborative. This present study asks: Which QL gameplay modes (individual and collaborative modes) promote L2 vocabulary learning outcomes? According to Mayer’s (2014a, 2016, 2020) value-added research guidelines, researchers compare learning outcomes between the base version of a game versus one feature added version of the game. In this study, the individual mode of QL is the base version where students play individually against other single-players while the collaborative mode is the value-added version where groups of students play together against other multi-player teams. This experimental research study will incorporate three defining characteristics of game-based learning (Mayer, 2020): experimental control (one control group that does not receive any treatment, one individual group as the comparison group, and one collaborative group as the experimental group), random assignment, and appropriate measurement (Nation’s vocabulary test will be adopted as pretest and posttest measures, 2001). This study is designed to provide insight through empirical evidence for game designers in consideration of adding a choice between individual and collaborative modes in the game. This study also has implications on how particular game designs afford L2 vocabulary learning and how practitioners can utilize QL’s different gameplay modes in designing DGBL2 learning environments.
