Sandra Rogers: MMORGs for Language Learning

Room MERLIN

Livestream

World Clock at 4:30pm GMT 5:30pm London, 6:30pm Paris, 1:30am Tokyo, 12:30pm New York

What empirical evidence exists as to the efficacy of gaming as an instructional strategy? More specifically, how can massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORGs) be used to learn a second language? Gaming provides situated learning of content in a problem-based learning (PBL) format (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989). Commercial games are generally created with an adventure, problem-solving scenario. PBL in simulated environments offers a variety of language-based scenarios with nonplaying characters providing model language support for vocabulary and grammar development. In this presentation, I will present the findings of five research studies that involved the use of MMORGs for language learning.

Sandra Rogers has been an educator for 20 years in a variety of educational settings from a rural hut in Honduras, to a laboratory school at UCLA, and public classrooms in the US. Sandra attends a doctorate program in instructional design at the University of South Alabama and works in their Innovation in Learning Center. She has a master of arts in TESOL, as well as the TESOL certificate in the Principles and Practices of Online Teaching. Her areas of expertise are accessibility, bilingual education, computer-assisted language learning, instructional design, e-learning, developmental reading, and quality assurance.