Did gaming help you learn English?

[retr0_gl1tch]

Hi, I know this isn't a typical post here but this community is one of the only places where I, as a researcher, can ask people to share their experiences. I would greatly appreciate if this was allowed to be posted

I'm a BA student and writing my research paper on how video games can impact English acquisition. Right now, I'm interested in experiences of people who think gaming was the major factor behind their English ability. If you think video games have helped you learn English, I would be really interested in your experience, I created a questionnaire and would be grateful if you could contribute to the research. It should take about 10 minutes to complete it.

The Role of Video Games in the Acquisition of English

forms.gle

 

[Pixelbit94]

no

 

[Alm]

I'm a native English speaker but I hope you get participants.

 

[retr0_gl1tch]

I'm a native English speaker but I hope you get participants.

Thank you

 

[Igor Kadan]

how video games can impact English acquisition

I'm not a native English speaker, so I'll answer from this perspective.

In my experience, watching movies or playing games in English does not help one learn English in terms of grammar, syntax, orthography, and general understanding of how the language works – this is something you can only do with a teacher or tutor.

The best thing games or movies can do with your English is enhance your accent and pronunciation a little, because you can hear how to say things correctly. But it's not "learning English", imho. Even if you learn a couple of new words or phrases when playing, it's not "learning language".

So, if you are not a native English speaker and want to learn English, don't rely on games. Get yourself a good tutor.

 

[Zed Clampet]

@Pifanjr How did you learn English? Other than translating Urban Dictionary into German.

 

[Pifanjr]

I filled out the survey.

@Pifanjr How did you learn English? Other than translating Urban Dictionary into German.

I probably learned most of my English through video games, either directly or indirectly. Though I think it helped that I had an older brother who had already learned English who could help me if I didn't understand something.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I think at best games can teach people common English slang or cuss words, but for learning English in general, the Sesame Street kid's TV show is still probably the number one place to learn the English language from entertainment media. And despite being a kid's TV show, Sesame Street can also help even adults learn English, because it's one of the three hardest languages to learn.

 

[Pifanjr]

I think at best games can teach people common English slang or cuss words, but for learning English in general, the Sesame Street kid's TV show is still probably the number one place to learn the English language from entertainment media. And despite being a kid's TV show, Sesame Street can also help even adults learn English, because it's one of the three hardest languages to learn.

I think you underestimate how much kids can pick up from media they're interacting with for multiple hours a day, even if it's "just" video games.

Of course it depends on the type of video game, in particular how much text it has and whether it has voice acting, but as long as you play a wide variety of games you'll pick up quite a lot.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I think you underestimate how much kids can pick up from media they're interacting with for multiple hours a day, even if it's "just" video games.

Of course it depends on the type of video game, in particular how much text it has and whether it has voice acting, but as long as you play a wide variety of games you'll pick up quite a lot.

Not saying it can't be done, it's just way easier for them on Sesame Street, because they literally teach it via easy to understand methods. There have been countless testimonials of foreign immigrants learning English on Sesame Street, and I've met a few of them and they are quite good at speaking English and have jobs that definitely require them to be fluent in it. I've been an avid video gamer for many years, but I've never seen it as an end all be all format for learning, especially a language as complex as English.

 

[DXCHASE]

Gaming helped me learn made-up languages to use while speaking english

 

[Pifanjr]

Gaming helped me learn made-up languages to use while speaking english

Do you just throw in Simlish words every so often?