Designing games for learning English as a second
language
Ali A Altalbe
King AbdulAziz University- Deanship of e-Learning and
Distance Education
Jeddah- Saudi Arabia
aaltalbi@kau.edu.sa
Abstract
This paper describes the various techniques used in teaching in
the form of games and presents an approach for teaching
English as a second language by means of games. A detailed
study of existing game is carried out to make English learning
by means of games effective and fruitful.
The wide technology spread of the gaming industry and its
effect on teaching is an amalgamation of all the various games
developed on the varied platforms. A detailed study of a
several of these games spread over various technological
platforms is carried out. Games ranging from cellular devices
such as iOS, Android; to desktop computers, web-based games,
and games designed for dedicated gaming consoles such as
XBOX, Sony Play Station and many more; are all taken into
consideration as part of this study.
A part of the study also shows how technology facilitates better
learning and makes these games more effective. The design of
games in accordance with inherent capabilities of the device on
which they execute, and the importance of appropriate and
extensive use of device features is also presented. Well
designed games that are mapped to the requirements of the
course, and which make use of the technological advanced are
observed to be effective teaching tools as compared to
classroom teaching strategies.
Schools and Universities all across the globe, including but not
limited to UK, Japan and many more; are as an experiment
employing games as teaching tools in their regular curriculum.
The findings of a few surveys carried out in these schools,
stand in support of the new techniques of teaching employed.
With advancing technology and the need to deliver better,
faster and enjoyable courseware, games are the future of the
education industry.
Keywords: Games; E-learning; English; designing; develop;
language
Brett Wilkinson
Flinders University- School of Computer Science,
Engineering and Mathematics
Adelaide- Australia
brett.wilkinson@flinders.edu.au
I. INTRUDUCTION
Writing, reading, speaking and listening are the basic and most
important skills which require communication. Mastering only
one of these skills does not help in effective communication.
There are various ways in which education can be imparted to
one and all. The way that is employed to educate depends on
several factors, such as geographical locations, culture, how
people interact, relocations and adapting to a new place or
region, etc. The various curriculum types that are available and
practiced all over the world can be categorized into the
following types (Harnad, Lancaster, & Steklis, 1976)
Alignment: Teaching does not in itself help in knowledge
building, it is important to align the knowledge in a proper way
for effective understanding and to be used in the correct way
and to improve test scores.
Conceptual-learning: Concept-based learning concerns teachers
introducing examples that help students understand the subject
matter based on the application of concepts.
Team-based: Team-based learning is a type of curriculum in
which teaching stresses more group effort rather than
individual understanding and individual growth.
Classroom-approach: The classroom approach is the most
widely used and an ancient form of education. It’s the
traditional type.
Test-based curriculum: This type of curriculum emphasizes the
fact that tests are a correct approach for judging a person’s
understanding of a subject. This curriculum type is score-based
and tests the student’s intellect on the basis of scores obtained
in various tests.
Digital-curriculum: With the advent of cheap computers and
handheld devices, the digital media now incorporates many
methods that can lead to faster and better means of
communication and education.
978-1-4673-5285-7/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE
Game and digital simulations are being used widely to take
education to the next level. For all age groups and the
handicapped the digital world has been positive and
productive; in that new techniques can help make education
more fun and enjoyable, so games and other audio-video
enhancements have largely gained momentum in teaching
people of all ages and also become a medium through which
people can now enjoy learning.
II. IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGES IN EDUCATION
The main aim of education is to impart knowledge that can be
used effectively in one’s life and make it more manageable,
and keep learning from those experiences and working for a
better future. The basic structure of education should be such
that an individual not only gains the ability to communicate
well but is also able to put forward his ideas and knowledge
for better both work and life. Linguists believe that English
has gained momentum as an internationally recognized
language and it is now taught as a second language in many
countries where the mother tongue is not English.
Oral communication is one of the strongest methods of
communication particularly in a face-to-face
Multilingual communication is now a means
communication widely used in tourism, education, business
and in many aspects of work. Work cultures are now adapting
methods that allow transfer and sharing of knowledge across
countries, nation, states and regions. International business
now requires people irrespective of their background, culture
and native language to contribute to commercial success
irrespective of the problems experienced due to many
languages being used (Thomas Williams Bicknell, 1992).
Any language that we might consider as spoken speech,
consists of sound patterns that have various meanings attached
to it which are mainly agreed upon by the group or community
using that spoken language. In order to record various parts of
these spoken words into written form and then convert them
back into the spoken form, there needs to be an agreement on
the set of symbols that serve this purpose and record the
specific sounds.
III. THE PROBLEM AND THE QUESTION
Q: What is the effectiveness of using video games as an
educational tool for teaching English to students from
different cultures?
The purpose of the paper was to develop a methodology to
identify suitable practices and measure the effectiveness of
using video game for teaching English language to different
cultures. An initial survey of existing application was
conducted. Key issues addressed were the use of video games
in teaching a second language, what game are currently being
used, development process for these games and analyse of use
of various game platforms.
Also, this paper focus on a survey of existing researches and
the construction of an example game for English language
education. It would be very hard or nearly impossible to
support all the languages in the world in one game so it will be
assumed that the player has a basic understanding of English.
context.
Exhaustive repetition of learning tasks are required to learn
of
language concepts, however, a focus on playing a “fun” game
may distract the user from the learning process.
IV. MAKING EDUCATION ENJOYABLE AND ITS
IMPORTANC:
Learning can be made fun and effective by using good
graphics and the right tools. To enjoy learning a new language
requires patient effort and tools make the learning experience
enjoyable:
1. Reading material: A book or any written material can
be a good reference point for reading and learning in
a new language.
2. Audio-video: Audio-video tutorials are one of the
best ways to start learning a new language; in that
dialect and pronunciation can best be explained. New
technologies and virtual classrooms could provide a
 good way for teaching, through the acts of rewind
and play, start, pause and play.
3. Ask around: Language learning can be more fun
when done in a group. The group can always help
with correct pronunciation and also the mind trains
itself properly when collective learning is done.
4. New ideas and outlooks: Broaden the horizon of
understanding and embrace new beliefs, teachings
and understandings. Our interpretations maybe wrong
and with time they may be influenced by certain
factors. Adapting newer ways of learning can make
learning new concepts fun.
V. VARIOUS GAMING PLATFORMS, THEIR ADVANCES AND
USE IN EDUCATION
Technology has touched all walks of life and cellular devices
are flooding the market on a daily basis. Every device comes
with better hardware and software features that make these
more productive and allow for the development of complex
applications that could never be imagined a few years ago.
The revolution in cell phone applications started when Apple
launched its first generation of iPod Touch in 2007. The
launch of iPod Touch along with Apple’s App Store, followed
by the immediate popularity of such devices; encouraged by
this developers shifted their focus to applications for cellular
platforms (Hayles, 2008)
By looking at the tremendous sales and popularity of iPod
Touch and mobile application store, Apple continued
upgrading hardware as well as software for its devices. Apple
immediately launched an iPhone that was very similar to the
iPod Touch, other than the fact that it could be used as a
proper cellular device for making calls. By providing wireless
Internet on cellular devices at affordable rates, Apple managed
to increase the popularity of its App Store. Along with an
accelerometer that has been included in their first generation
devices, Apple’s engineers added a camera, compass, GPS and
gyroscope; these inventions gave developers the power to
develop highly engaging and entertaining cellular games and
applications (Warschauer, 2006).
Other companies such as Google and Microsoft followed this
trend. Google created its Android devices by linking to several
cell phone device manufacturers, thus offering purchasers a
choice and an affordable range of prices. Google supported its
developments with the Java platform, which had a much lower
learning curve than Objective-C for the iOS platform. This
encouraged all J2ME application developers to shift to the
Google Android platform. Furthermore the Google application
acceptance time was nil and the application would go online
for sale as soon as the developer submitted it. This was
contrary to Apple’s strict application review and quality check
procedures where it would take a minimum of 2 weeks of
review time, before the application would go online for sale.
Apple has strict guidelines on what functionality the
applications can offer. This in some cases is discouraging for
developers while Android on the other hand offered no such
restrictions, thus encouraging Android development. Because
of these benefits, Google’s market share increased rapidly.
Microsoft entered the cell phone market by launching and
application store for its Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5, which
they later phased out and completely upgraded to Windows
Phone 7. Windows Phone 7 was designed for high graphics
and games. The same XNA gaming framework that is used for
developing applications on the XBOX 360 platform was
supported on Windows Phone 7. Developers of XBOX and
other Microsoft platforms were immediately encouraged to
develop the Windows Phone 7 platform, which resulted in
immediate improvement in Microsoft’s new technology.
However the Windows Phone 7 marketplace has not
succeeded as significantly as Apple and Google, who control
most of the Smartphone cellular market.
When Apple launched the iPad and iPad2 this marked the
announcement of a completely new generation of portable
devices and encouraged better application development. The
advent of TabletPC and the recent interesting yet failed
experiment of HP’s Web-OS devices have encouraged
developers to create more applications for the marketplace.
Intel App-Up is a growing market that is targeted mostly to
Tablet PC users worldwide. The advantages of these devices
are that, these devices have better screen area, better graphics
accelerators and faster processors. They allow for developing
highly complex and processing/graphic intensive applications
which would not otherwise run on low performing mobile
devices. The Tablet PC market has significantly widened due
the advent of such devices, thus making the way for games
and encouraging learning by gaming. Many universities today
offer students iPads as education devices that can help with
better teaching and effective communication in classrooms.
These concepts can lead us to develop such applications where
technology can assist to make learning English more fun and
entertaining. Listening, reading, writing and speaking are the
basic and most important skills required to communicate.
Mastering only one of these skills does not help in effective
communication. Using technology in learning a new language
would definitely be of great help and also the audio-visual
effects used in such an application would make learning
through technology a good experience.
VI. 1.6 GAMES FOR LEARNING ENGLISH
Learning literature is most effective when it is taught through
the medium of games. Regular exposure to such languages is
required in order to learn and master them. The player not
only enjoys playing such games frequently, but does benefit
by being regularly exposed to the language.
Various organizations have produced games and websites that
present English learning in the form of games and make it fun.
One such website offering several flash-based web games is
Vocaulary.co.il. This website aims to teach English
vocabulary by way of several games. All these games are very
interesting and unique in themselves. From teaching the
meaning of words, spelling, antonyms and analogies, they
have games that have been designed for everything
(Warschauer, 2006). Although the games are mainly targeted
at the younger generation, they can be enjoyed by all age
groups.
Another website with games is 2flashgames.com and its game
is called Memory: Weather & Misc, which is one of the top-
rated games. Based on a simple concept of finding the right
pair for words, the game aims to improve vocabulary memory
and retention power, while at the same time testing how well
the player is able to map between various images, words,
speech, and pictorial representation of meanings. This game
checks the user’s skills from all angles. Each level of the game
tests the mastering of a particular skill. The first level of the
game tests the user’s reading ability and general memory
retention by keeping in mind where various words in a given
figure occur. The second level focuses on associating various
words with their meanings by pictorially representing each
word. The next level then goes on to use the same words with
pictures and asking the user to associate the picture with the
written word, by using their pronunciation as a guide. In this
way the game keeps on building with a set of words, thereby
encouraging the user to master those words and perfecting the
user’s skills in all aspects of reading, vocabulary, listening and
proper pronunciations.
There are many more websites based on similar concepts of
making English learning fun and enjoyable. Another website
to mention is offered by the British Council Institute at
learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org. This is a service offered
by British Council and it is targeted at children to learn
English. The council’s website offers several games that cover
many aspects of English vocabulary. Several of these games
make use of testing complex sentence structures that may be
hard even for professionals to guess correctly. This website is
offered free by the British Council and is open to the public.
With a very good variety and excellent choice of coverage of
words and literature, this website is probably the most
authentic source for learning English correctly.

VII. GAMES AS EFFECTIVE TEACHING TOOLS
2.1 CLASSROOM USE IN UK SCHOOLS & FUTURELABS SURVEY
Various surveys conducted across the world signify the
importance and influence that games have on education
and how they develop quick learning. One such study,
Teaching with Games was conducted in 2005 across the
United Kingdom in order to evaluate the effectiveness of
using commercial games in the classroom. The study was
sponsored by Electronic Arts and was supported by
Microsoft, Take-Two Interactive Software, as well as the
Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and
FutureLabs, The project aimed to find the implications for
mainstream commercial computer games in schools, and
provide evidence that this is a valid educational concept.
The main activities that were a part of the study involved
surveys for teachers and school children, preparing case
studies, and 10 teachers’ approaches to introduce games
for learning. The games that were put to test were The
Sims 2, Knights of Honor and RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.
There were various publications and findings from this
survey. A few findings from the survey are as follows:
• Students and teachers agreed that games do encourage
and engage the students and teachers alike in learning.
• Games provide motivation to the students for two
important categories:
1. When the students played games that were more
realistic and that connected them to their home
environment, and
2.When the students were able to get some degree of
auton my in playing the games.
• It is relevant to English, media studies and drama.
• Historically situated real time strategy games lend
themselves well to lesson-based learning. This is
partly due to the game play being related to the
students’ curriculum and subjects concerned, so it is
straightforward to relate game activities to lesson
plans, thus making learning effective.(Sandford &
other,2005).
2.2 TOKYO – NINTENDO DS TIE UP FOR ENGLISH EDUCATION
Tokyo’s Joshi Gakuen, an all-female junior high school
has adapted a new way of teaching its students the English
language. It has made learning fun and enjoyable, by
allowing students to learn while playing games on a
Nintendo DS. The portable gaming console, which is not
used as a primary teaching tool, is a step forward that
ignores traditional Japanese methods of teaching. The
school has presented its 7th grade students with these
devices to help them master English vocabulary. An
electronic voice incorporated into the machine follows the
user’s activity on the screen. The application that the
students play is a type of high-tech spelling bee. When the
student spells a word correctly, the word ‘good’ will pop
up on their screen and the student moves on to the next
exercise.
Introduction of such an innovative concept were a part of
the drills that the schools of Japan adapted to ensure that
the students follow, learn and understand the
conversational skills.
Figure 1: A School introducing the concept of Nintendo DS for the
learners. [Sloan, D ,2008]
The studies suggest that parents seem to be encouraged
that this new means of teaching and are supportive of the
experiment. The impact of this experiment in the long-term
and on a wider scale is not yet fully measurable but it is
definitely possible that such games can be a means for
effective teaching if introduced in the school curriculum.
2.3 EFFECTIVENESS OF INSTRUCTIONAL GAMES.
A study of instructional games tells us that learning by
games can be a very effective way of imparting
knowledge. A study of over 125 games gets us to the
conclusion (Hayes), that while some teachings are done
best by means of instructional games only, other teachings
are not equally effective or sometimes damaging when
making use of games. In general it is highly impossible to
predict the effectiveness of an instructional game before its
development. The best way to find out the true
effectiveness is by putting it in to practice and observing
the improvements it brings forth in an instructional sense.
With these issues in mind a prototype game was developed
to allow the researchers to explore deployment issues with
such a game.
2.4 PERSONAL INTERVIEW
We interviewed Tom Anderson, currently a PhD student at
Flinders University – Australia , to review his work on the
design of an English vocabulary acquisition system with mini-
games for elementary school students when he was in Taiwan.
In Taiwan, he taught English to all ages, from kindergarten
kids to graduate students in university. He did his Master’s
degree in Taiwan in the area of Game-Based Learning at the
Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology. He
believes that games are a good way to promote learning
among people of all ages. He said that the usual way that
game–based learning is done is to take a small slice of a
curriculum and implement it in games form. The main
advantage of game-based learning is that it may be less
expensive than other methods such as paying for teachers or
tutors, but it isn’t always easy to show that it is better to learn
with games.
The research conducted by Tom was to analyse the culture and
to promote learning of a second language (specifically
English) by means of fun and mini- games. The goal was to
create and come up with a teaching system. An internal survey
within this research revealed that 50% of the students took
English classes after their school classes. The goal of the
research was to build an English Vocabulary Acquisition
System (EVAS) designed to help beginners and others alike to
be able to learn vocabulary by engaging themselves in lively
and fun game activities. The various means of activities that
were proposed by the research included teaching nouns
through images, mother-tongue voice recordings, and also in
English texts. This type of a system is built with the intension
to relieve teachers of their monotonous ways of classroom
teaching to activity-based teaching.
It was found that students did not feel the student- teacher
bond missing even when the teacher here in question is a game
rather than a physical teacher giving lessons in front of the
class. All the students who played the games improved their
vocabulary.
VIII. CONCLUSION
The game industry is currently booming and increasing day by
day. Companies are investing in huge amounts to move into
the gaming sectors and to come out with their own gaming
applications. This shift has deeply encouraged the educational
sector to slowly make use of games for purpose of teaching.
The industry of educational games was studied and an analysis
of over 125 games was completed, looking at their
effectiveness in inculcating instructional values to its
candidates. The results of this study to a certain extent are
highly astounding. There can be no inference drawn on how
effective a particular strategy can be or which strategy works
well in which scenario.
As mentioned earlier the best way to make the best possible
educational games is to study by experiment and keep
improving depending on the feedback received from the users.
Overall, the experience over the time has been a rewarding
process and has invigorated our interest in pursuing further
research.
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