Computer games give a boost to English

News: Jul 08, 2014

If you want to make a mark in the world of computer games you had better have a
good English vocabulary. It has now also been scientifically proven that someone
who is good at computer games has a larger English vocabulary. This is revealed
by a study at the University of Gothenburg and Karlstad University.
The study confirms what many parents and teachers already suspected: young people
who play a lot of interactive English computer games gain an advantage in terms of
their English vocabulary compared with those who do not play or only play a little.
The study involved 76 young people aged 10-11. Data was collected via questionnaires
and a so-called language diary. This was used to list all encounters with the English
language outside school, such as using the computer and playing digital games. Among
other things, the study investigated whether there was any correlation between playing
digital games and motivation to learn English, self-assessed English linguistic ability and
strategies used to speak English.

Major difference between the genders

The results indicate that there is a major difference between the genders when it comes
to computer gaming. Boys spend an average of 11.5 hours a week playing, while girls
spent less than half that time, 5.1 hours. Girls instead spent far more time (11.5 hours)
than boys (8 hours) on language-related activities online, primarily on Facebook.
The computer games that appear to be most effective for the development of English
vocabulary are those known as Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
(MMORPG), a genre of role-playing computer games in which a large number of
players interact with one another in a virtual world.
As a player you simply have to be able to understand whats being said, to read
English and to interact yourself by both writing and speaking English, says Liss Kerstin
Sylvn, Associate Professor at the University of Gothenburg, who conducted the study
together with Pia Sundqvist, Senior Lecturer in English at Karlstad University.

English outside school important

The results from the study underline the results from other studies conducted by both
researchers. Regular gamers have a significantly better English vocabulary than others.
The importance of coming into contact with English outside school, for example by
reading English or, as in this case, by playing computer games, means a lot in terms of

young peoples English vocabulary. It also has positive effects on what happens at
school in the classroom. The subject of English at school and the English that the young
people encounter and use in their leisure time are not two separate worlds, says Liss
Kerstin Sylvn.
The article entitled Language-related computer use: Focus on young L2 English
learners in Sweden has been published in the journal ReCall.
Link to the article
For further information:
Liss Kerstin Sylvn, Associate Professor in Subject Didactics specialising in Languages,
University of Gothenburg, tel.: +46 (0)31-786 2388, +46 (0)706-94 62 63, email:
lisskerstin.sylven@ped.gu.se
Pia Sundqvist, Senior Lecturer in English, Karlstad University, tel.: +46 (0)54-700 1508,
+46 (0)768-496226, email: pia.sundqvist@kau.se
BY: Torsten Arpi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Research Article
Language-related computer use: Focus on young L2 English learners in Sweden *
Pia Sundqvista1 and Liss Kerstin Sylvna2
a1 Karlstad University, Sweden (email: pia.sundqvist@kau.se)
a2 University of Gothenburg, Sweden (email: lisskerstin.sylven@ped.gu.se)
Abstract
This paper presents findings from a study investigating young English language
learners (YELLs) in Sweden in 4th grade (N = 76, aged 1011). Data were collected
with the help of a questionnaire and a one-week language diary. The main purpose was
to examine the learners L2 English language-related activities outside of school in
general, and their use of computers and engagement in playing digital games in
particular. A comparison is made between language-related activities in English,
Swedish, and other languages. Another purpose was to see whether there is a
relationship between playing digital games and (a) gender, (b) L1, (c) motivation for
learning English, (d) self-assessed English ability, and (e) self-reported strategies for
speaking English. In order to do so, the sample was divided into three digital game
groups, (1) non-gamers, (2) moderate, and (3) frequent gamers (4 hours/week), based
on diary data (using self-reported times for playing digital games in English). Results

showed that YELLs are extensively involved in extramural English (EE) activities (M =
7.2 hrs/w). There are statistically significant gender differences, boys (11.5 hrs/w) and
girls (5.1 hrs/w; p < .01), the reason being boys greater time investment in digital
gaming and watching films. The girls, on the other hand, spent significantly more time
on pastime language-related activities in Swedish (11.5 hrs/w) than the boys (8.0 hrs/w;
p < .05), the reason being girls greater time investment in facebooking. Investigation of
the digital game groups revealed that group (1) was predominantly female, (2) a mix,
and (3) predominantly male. YELLs with an L1 other than Swedish were
overrepresented in group (3). Motivation and self-assessed English ability were high
across all groups. Finally, regarding the self-reported strategies, code-switching to one's
L1 was more commonly reported by non- and moderate gamers than frequent gamers.