Effectiveness of educational video games in English vocabulary acquisition: One case in China classroom context

Abstract

AbstractRote memory (RM) has become the primary method of learning vocabulary for decades in China. However, RM is tedious, leading to reduced motivation and concentration. In contrast, Educational Video Games (EVGs) are attractive and fun, which could be an alternative to RM. Although most studies have investigated EVGs’ effectiveness, empirical research in China’s classrooms is still scarce. Besides, the combination of EVGs and traditional classrooms is constrained by the school bell, English syllabus, hardware, etc. Consequently, their results cannot be directly applied to China’s environment. Therefore, our research compares the learning performance between RM and our Snake Game (SG) in pronunciation, spelling, and recognition. 30 junior high school students tried to remember 20 words through RM (the control group); after days, they managed to learn an additional 20 words presented through the SG (the experimental group). It was found that (1) the SG outperforms the RM in pronunciation; (2) the SG is as effective as the RM in recognition; and (3) although the RM is slightly better than the SG in spelling, the shortfall can be redeemed by the continued enjoyment and motivation of the SG. In summary, students are satisfied with the effectiveness and enjoyment of the SG.

Keywords

• rote memory
• vocabulary
• educational video games
• effectiveness
• traditional classrooms
• John Lee, Editor-in-Chief, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong