Nalans (Sep 2021)
Harnessing the Engagement of Commercial Digital Games for L2 Learning
Abstract
Recent research on pre-service L2 teacher education highlights the importance of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) training, and various studies in CALL research demonstrate the second Language (L2) learning potentials of digital games as engaging and immersive learning environments; however, digital game-based L2 learning (DGBLL) is yet to be integrated in pre-service L2 teacher education programs. A potential cause of this limitation is a lack of a custom-designed pedagogical framework of DGBLL that could account for the dynamic and multidimensional nature of digital gaming activities and frame the L2 learning potentials of digital gaming in familiar terms of L2 pedagogy. To address this problem, the present study proposes a theoretical pedagogical framework of digital game-based L2 learning that could guide instructional practice in pre-service L2 teachers’ training practicums. Informed by the literature on DGBLL and framed in a multiliteracies’ pedagogy (New London Group, 1996), the proposed framework underlines the potentials of digital games to promote task-based L2 communication and meaning-making activities. Implications of the framework for pre-service L2 teacher training are discussed.
