Em ah EkmE kçi Game ul Second and Fo eign Language Teaching...
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Game ul Second and Fo eign Language Teaching and Lea ning: Theo y,
Resea ch, and P ac ice. Jona hon Reinha d (2019). Tucson ( he USA):
Palg a e Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-030-04729-0 (eBook), pages XIX-311.
Em ah EkmEkçi
Ondokuz Mayıs Uni e si y (Tu key)
Todays’ s uden s who a e labelled as
‘digi al na i es’ by P ensky (2001) a e su-
ounded by mobile phones, able s, digi al
ex books, sma pens, i ual keyboa ds,
ech backpacks, lap ops, digi al music pla-
ye s, e c. These ools o he digi al age a e
assumed o be he mos impo an p ope y
o he s uden s o his gene a ion. I will
no be w ong o say ha one o he p ima y
easons o using hese digi al ools is playing
digi al games. Acco ding o he esea ch by
Limeligh ne wo ks (2009), people who play
ideo games spend an a e age o se en hou s
se en minu es each week playing. S a is a
(2009) also epo s ha 10.5 pe cen o
game s aged be ween 18 and 25 spen mo e
han 20 hou s a week on a e age playing
ideo games. This g ea in e es in digi al
games makes i possible o conside hem
as bene icial ools ha can be exploi ed o
educa ional pu poses. Game ul Second and
Fo eign Language Teaching and Lea ning:
Theo y, Resea ch, and P ac ice se es as a
b idge o unde s anding how digi al games can be used o second and o eign language
lea ning p ocess.
The book s a s wi h an in oduc ion which ocuses on ela ionships be ween heo ies
and p ac ices in digi al gaming. The po en ial o digi al gaming abou os e ing lea ne
engagemen s du ing second/ o eign language lea ning p ocess is he ocus o his pa . The
in oduc ion, he i s chap e , also p esen s he main pu poses o he book and he ou line
o eigh chap e s in he book. All chap e s in he book s a wi h p e iew ques ions which
aim o make eade s b ains o m he con en and end wi h ques ions o discussion.
Chap e 2 discusses he ad an ages and disad an ages o digi al gaming ocusing on
some p ac ices. The chap e also p esen s in o ma ion abou he games designed in o he
languages in he wo ld. Hyb id hemes o games make hem a li le bi challenging o in-
eg a ing in o educa ion. The chap e also discusses games o in o mal lea ning.
Chap e 3 explains di e en heo ies o play. In he i s sec ion o he chap e , he
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Po a Lingua um Nº 34, junio 2020
au ho p o ides se e al de ini ions o play. The e m ‘language play’ is explica ed and i s
ela ions wi h language lea ning and awa eness a e discussed in his chap e . The chap e
also e e s o Roge Caillois’s) Man, Play, and Games (1958) (see pp. 54-55) which su-
gges s ou basic ypes o play. The chap e also explo es how di e en games co espond
o di e en lea ning s yles.
Focusing on he de ini ions and ypes o game Chap e 4 explo es he aces o in e ac-
ion, engagemen , and mo i a ion ha games p o ide. The chap e unco e s he ela ionships
be ween games and language lea ning expe iences. Game o ma s, mechanics and gen es (p.
88) a e also explained emphasizing hei coun e pa s in second/ o eign language lea ning.
Game ulness and dynamics associa ed wi h game ul language lea ning a e o he issues
ouched in he chap e .
Chap e 5 ocuses on he simila i ies be ween language lea ning and game ul second o
o eign language lea ning p ocesses. The au ho explains some ways o how game designs
and pedagogical app oaches can suppo game ul language lea ning as well. S uc u al-
beha iou is , cogni i e, and ecological pe spec i es and how hey concep ualize game ul
language lea ning a e also co e ed in he chap e .
Unco e ing he ideas behind how e nacula digi al games can be u ilized in second
o o eign language lea ning chap e 6 p esen s h ee app oaches ha can be applied when
e alua ing and selec ing hese games o second o o eign language lea ning use. Gaming
li e acies, game discou ses and unc ions, game dynamics, na a i iza ion, expe ien ial lea -
ning, and b idging ac i i ies a e also p esen ed unde he heading o six amewo ks o he
design o pedagogical media ion.
Chap e 7 deals wi h he s eps o how gami ying can be conduc ed o o mal second
o o eign language ins uc ion. The chap e explo es he concep s game-in o med and ga-
mi ica ion ocusing on some implica ions om esea ch ela ed o game-in o med second o
o eign language lea ning. The au ho explica es poin s, challenges, ques s, ewa ds, badges,
ophies, le els, and boa ds as gami ied lea ning ac i i ies in a clea way (p. 187). A guide o
gami ica ion by desc ibing some ea u es is also p esen ed in he las sec ion o he chap e .
Chap e 8 ies o ind answe s o how digi al games can be de eloped o second
o o eign language lea ning. S a ing om analog game design such as monopoly, hang
man, bingo, he au ho desc ibes he ways o designing simple p o o ypes. S o y- ocused
and s uc u e- ocused second o o eign language lea ning game designs a e in oduced in
he chap e as well. This chap e also p esen s use ul planning ac i i ies ha can be u ilized
p io o designing o mal games.
Chap e 9, which is he las pa o he book, is based on conduc ing esea ch on game ul
second o o eign language lea ning. In his chap e , he au ho p o ides some undamen-
al ools o e alua ing, designing, and implemen ing esea ch along wi h heo e ical and
me hodological amewo ks. Each sec ion o a possible s udy on game ul language lea ning
is clea ly explained, which is e y bene icial o all esea che s who a e eage o conduc
esea ch abou he issue.
The book includes a lis o he games men ioned h oughou he chap e and sugges ed
eading sou ces o esea che s as well. All aspec s o he in eg a ion o digi al games and
language lea ning and eaching p ocess a e a ailable in he book. I can be ega ded as a
g ea esou ce o hose who wan o exploi digi al games o language lea ning. The au ho
p o ides each iny de ail in a p incipled way o a success ul in eg a ion o games in o
Em ah EkmE kçi Game ul Second and Fo eign Language Teaching...
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language lea ning p ocess. In addi ion, he book can be a good sou ce o hose who deal
wi h echnology-enhanced language lea ning, educa ional and mobile echnology.
Re eRences
Limeligh ne wo ks (2009). The S a e o online gaming. Re ie ed om h ps://www.limeligh .
com/ esou ces/whi e-pape /s a e-o -online-gaming-2019/#o e iew
P ensky, M. (2001). Digi al na i es, digi al immig an s: Pa 1. On he Ho izon, 9(5), 1-6. Re ie-
ed om h ps://www.ma cp ensky.com/w i ing/P ensky%20-%20Digi al%20Na i es,%20
Digi al%20Immig an s%20-%20Pa 1.pd
Reinha d , J. (2019). Game ul Second and Fo eign Language Teaching and Lea ning: Theo y,
Resea ch, and P ac ice. Tucson ( he USA): Palg a e Macmillan.
S a is a (2009). Time spen playing ideo games wo ldwide in 2019. Re ie ed om h ps://
www.s a is a.com/s a is ics/261264/ ime-spen -playing-online-games-wo ldwide-by- egion/