Serious game for language learning

1. Serious Games on Language
Learning
Martin Sillaots
14.05.2013

2. siLang Summary
• Framework: Life Long Learning
• Start: 1 Dec 2012
• Finish: 30 Now 2014
• Duration: 2 Y
• Budget: ~ € 0.4 M
• Partners: 6

4. siLang Partners
• UTH - University of Thessaly (Greece)
• HCT - HiST Contract Research (Norway)
• CERETETH - Centre for Research and Technology
Thessaly (Greece)
• Università degli Studi “Guglielmo Marconi” (Italy)
• TLU - Tallinn University (Estonia)
• EWF - European Welding Federation (Portugal)

5. siLang Content
• Serious games on language learning
• Used in army to train soldiers rapidly
• Working language - vehicular language - bridge
language - lingua franca - third language
• Cultural issues, non-native speakers, field of
engineering
– e.g Greek use English in Spain - specific
pronunciation, cultural practices that affect
communication, …

6. Who Says
Videogames don’t pay off in real life?
Motifake.com

7. siLang Goal
• Develop serious game for learning vehicular
languages (lingua franca) in the work place
(taking into account cultural aspects)

8. siLang Tasks
• Analyze current status of language learning
• Develop sound game-based didactical framework
• Technical implementation of the game
• Learning activities
• Validation of the game
• Dissemination
• Exploitation

9. siLang Concept Phase
• Game idea – learn language through workplace conversation
– E.g. asking orders or guidelines
• Players' role - interact with environment
– Read, listen, type
• Main gameplay mode – dialogue with NPC’s
• Genre – adventure + puzzle
• Target group –20 – 65 year old engineers
• Platform - Desktop and tablets
• Competition mode – single player, no competition
• Game world - desktop
• Selling point – funny scenarios

10. siLang Scenario Starting Points
• Most common errors Estonians make in English
– Prepositions (in, on, …)
– Articles (the, a)
– Numbers (60, 16)
– Gender (he, she)
– Spelling (A, E, I, …)
– Wrong words (aktuaalne – not actual not but current, …)
• Estonian Cultural aspects
– Gesticulation
– Eye contact
– Personal Space
– Starting the conversation
– Greetings

11. More Information
si-lang.net

12. Game Over