Vocabulary is considered to be one of the most important components for learning a foreign language. Research suggests that educational games could be used for vocabulary learning. In the literature, there are cases of playing Pictionary, a word guessing game, as a classroom activity to learn new vocabulary. Draw Something is an online and collaborative game in English, similar to Pictionary. It is a mobile application which is played in pairs with players trying to guess the word from their partner’s drawings. The purpose of this study is to evaluate Draw Something in an educational games perspective. This research is based on a questionnaire focusing on players’ experiences of vocabulary learning while playing Draw Something. The data is collected from players who are not native English speakers. Results show that 44 out of 52 (85%) players have learned new vocabulary by playing Draw Something. Players use a variety of strategies to learn the meaning of an unknown word; using a dictionary, using a translator, asking someone, and using cheating application developed for Draw Something. With some additions to strengthen the educational features; a vocabulary building game similar to Draw Something could be developed.

1. EVALUATION OF DRAW SOMETHING APP
IN AN EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Selay ARKÜN KOCADERE, Ph. D.
Hacettepe University (Ankara / Turkey)
Departmant of Computer Education and
Instructional Technology

2. Vocabulary Learning
• Vocabulary is one of the most important
components for learning a foreign language.
• Learners perceive vocabulary learning as boring,
especially digital natives who grew up in the
digital age.

3. Educational Games
• Research has shown the games’ affect on
motivation and it’s support on learning.
• Language games can provide competition and
competition enhances effective learning.
• Educational games make language learning
more entertaining.
• Retention of the vocabulary which is learned by
games are longer.

4. Pictionary
• Pictionary is a word guessing game, which is
played with teams with players trying to find
given words from their teammates' drawings.

5. Pictionary is often
highlighted in the
literature as a
classroom activity
for vocabulary.

6. Mobile Applications
• With recent technological developments, the use
of mobile technologies in education has
increased.
• Mobile applications offer many practical ways in
language learning .
• For example; learners retrieve more words in
online vocabulary games than face-to-face
lessons.

7. Draw Something
• Draw Something is an
online and collaborative
game in English, similar
to Pictionary.
• It is a mobile app which is
played in pairs with
players trying to guess the
word from their partner’s
drawings.

8. • Two players take turns
in drawing.
• Players who form
these pairs are not
opponents, they are
team players.

10. • When one guesses the
other’s drawing, they
both earn coins.

11. • Application gives three
random words to
draw, which is ranked
by difficulty.
• Drawer chooses one of
the words and draw.

12. • Then the guesser
views the drawing,
with blank spaces
representing the
number of letters in
the word, and a
selection of scrambled
letters, which include
all the letters of the
word and some extra
letters.

13. • The guesser has
unlimited tries to find
to word.
• Coins allow the players
to buy colors for
drawing or bombs to
eliminate some of the
letters.

14. The purpose of this study
• The purpose of this study is to evaluate the
Draw Something in an educational games
perspective, especially the affects of Draw
Something on vocabulary building.

15. Method
• The data is collected from Draw Something
players who are not native English speakers.
• A total of 52 players, 23 men and 29 women,
have participated to the survey.
• A questionnaire has been developed for
determining the players’ opinions about:
▫ learning vocabulary in English,
▫ mobile applications,
▫ Draw Something game, and
▫ building vocabulary by playing Draw Something.

16. Mobile Applications
• 25 of 52 participants (48%) are using mobile
applications for vocabulary learning.
• 4 types of apps have been identified that players
use for vocabulary learning such as
▫ dictionaries,
▫ translators,
▫ vocabulary building applications,
▫ games.
Findings

17. Draw Something as vocabulary game
• Players defined Draw Something as one of the
vocabulary learning games.
• The other games highlighted were
▫ Scrabble,
▫ Words with Friends
▫ Letter Press

18. Learning games or not?
• Some of the participants play commercial games
as educational games for vocabulary building.
• 46 participants (88%) stated that they prefer
learning vocabulary through games.
prefer learning
vocabulary
through games
88%

19. Average play count
• Participants’ average play count of Draw
Something is 56 times a week.
• It can be interpreted as players spend a lot of
time with Draw Something.
times a week
56

20. Participants defined Draw Something as
entertaining
46 participants (88%)
addictive
18 participants (35%)
instructional
17 participants (33%)
boring / waste of time
5 participants (10%)

21. Vocabulary Building
• 44 participants (85%) stated that they learn new
words while they are playing Draw Something.
• When players face an unknown word in the
game, all of them try to learn the meaning.
learn new words
85%

22. How they learn new words?
• They all have their own strategies, some of them
use more than one strategy;
▫ 43 of them (83%) use search engines like Google;
▫ 42 of them (81%) use dictionaries;
▫ 37 of them (71%) learn from someone;
▫ 7 of them (13%) learn from Draw Something
cheating applications.
• All of the participants use at least one of these
ways to learn the unknown word.

23. Conclusion & Suggestions
• Draw Something seems to be an effective tool
for building vocabulary for learners of English as
a second language.
• In this context, a game, which focuses
vocabulary learning could be developed similar
to Draw Something.

24. Conclusion & Suggestions
• A dictionary could be embedded to this game,
and unknown words could be saved for
repetition.
• There could be themes for words and words
could be chosen from the curriculum.

25. Conclusion & Suggestions
• Commercial games which were mentioned as
vocabulary games, could be analyzed for
understanding the dynamics of learning
vocabulary through games.
• It is important that not to unbalance the
dynamics of the game and to develop
educational game like this commercial game.
• Educational games, just like commercial games,
could be developed to support vocabulary
building.

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