DIGITAL GAME-MEDIATED SECOND LANGUAGE EDUCATION FOR CHINESE YOUNG LEARNERS

With the development of information and computer technology (ICT), digital game-mediated teaching is becoming an increasingly popular trend in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). The interactive design of digital games has been reported to have a positive effect learner motivation and many games have been developed in recent years with an educational purpose. This presentation reports on a project being conducted with The University of Edinburgh and Nosebleed Interactive Ltd, which forms part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) funded by Innovate UK. The grant was awarded to fund the development of a novel web based entertainment platform as an innovative method for teaching English to Chinese children. KTPs are a three-way partnership between supervising academic(s), a recent graduate and a company. The graduate, Sihan Zhou, will provide an overview of the materials that have been designed to date and the academics, Dr. Nicola Galloway and Ruby Rennie, will outline how the game development is informed by academic expertise. The presenters will also provide a brief summary of the main research findings from various research projects conducted by MSc Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) students at The University of Edinburgh. These research projects, which mainly focused on teachers’ and parents' attitudes towards game-mediated second language education, form part of a large-scale needs analysis to inform the game development. This presentation will be of interest to those interested in the field of digital game-mediated learning, TESOL, and also curriculum innovation. The presentation will explore the various contextual constraints to incorporating the materials into the Chinese primary school context, offering insights for those working in similar contexts.