This is the presentation of my dissertation results. It was presented at the Society of Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) conference in Austin, Texas in 2017.

1. A MASSIVELY, MULTIPLAYER, ONLINE, ROLE-
PLAYING GAME (MMORPG) WITH LANGUAGE
LEARNING STRATEGIC ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE
ENGLISH GRAMMAR, LISTENING, READING &
VOCABULARY
SANDRA A. ROGERS
MIXED-METHOD-COLLECTIVE-CASE-
STUDY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA

2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Dissertation Committee:
•Burke Johnson, Ph.D., Chairperson, University of
South Alabama (USA)
•Jim Van Haneghan, Ph.D., USA
•Susan Martin, Ph.D., USA
•Rick Van Eck, Ph.D., University of North Dakota

3. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
• Adult English language learners (ELLs) need to
improve their English in the US but face various
constraints to obtaining language instruction.
• The 1-year, formal, collegiate, English language
programs are often inadequate.

4. PURPOSE OF STUDY
My goal was to provide extramural learning opportunities
for ELLs to bypass the various constraints and/or
supplement formal ESL instruction to develop their
communicative competence in an effective, efficient, and
entertaining way.

5. EXTENSION OF PREVIOUS STUDY
• Rankin, Gold, & Gooch (2006) found ELLs improved
their English vocabulary by 40% from playing
EverQuest® II for 4-hours a week for a month without
instructional supports.
• I extended their study by examining these additional
variables in addition to vocabulary: ESL skills
(grammar, listening, & reading), attitude toward
gaming for SLA, and prior game experience.

6. OVERVIEW OF STUDY
This was a mixed-methods-collective-case-study with a
nonequivalent comparison group design.
•15 participants attended 25-hours of ESL instruction
weekly.
•Treatment group played EverQuest® II (2016) with SLA
optimizing strategies after school; control group did not.
•Strategies included voice & text chat, forming alliances,
& creating a virtual identity.

7. VARIABLES
Independent Variable Exploratory IVs Dependent Variables (DVs)
Learning Condition
(treatment vs. control)
Prior Gaming
Experience (0 to 2
years = low, 3 to 5 =
medium & 6+ =
high)
ESL Skills DV1 (grammar, listening,
reading & vocabulary)
New Vocabulary Acquisition DV2
(based on frequently occurring
words in game chat logs)
Attitude Toward Gaming for SLA
DV3 (1 = strongly disagree and 5 =
strongly agree)

8. INSTRUMENTATION
Assessments Construct Measured Time Frame
ESL Skills DV1 Instrument:
Cambridge Michigan
Language Assessment
(CaMLA)
Grammar, Listening, Reading
& Vocabulary (combination
score)
Pretest-Posttest
New Vocabulary Acquisition
DV2 Instrument: Gameplay
Vocabulary Test
New Vocabulary acquired
from gameplay based on
frequently occurring words
from chat logs
Pretest-Posttest
Primary Questionnaire Attitude toward Gaming for
SLA DV3
Pretest

9. RESEARCH QUESTION 1
Do college ELLs increase their English skills more after playing a MMORPG
with SLA optimizing gameplay for 4-hours a week for a month than control
group participants in the same ESL class who receive lecture-only?
• Hypothesis: The treatment group will have higher mean gain scores on
the CaMLA than the control group.
• Rationale: Text-heavy MMORPG+SLA strategies provide an effective
afterschool intervention with its narrative structure embedded in quests
for situated learning of English.
• Theory: This is based on the constructivist learning paradigm, Lave and
Wenger’s (1991) situated learning theory, active learning, & Hymes
(1972) communicative approach to language teaching.

10. RESEARCH QUESTION 2
Is prior gaming experience related to participants’ attitude toward gaming as
a SLA tool?
• Hypothesis: There will be a positive correlation between self-reporting of
gaming experience and attitude toward gaming for SLA from the
questionnaire.
• Rationale: Participants who have already benefitted linguistically from
playing a video game or know someone who has will have a positive
attitude toward gaming for SLA.
• Theory: This is based on my previous case study (Rogers & Johnson, 2016)
and Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1975) theory of reasoned action, a positive
attitude toward an uncommon behavior leads to its voluntary use.

11. RESEARCH QUESTION 3
Is prior gaming experience related to English skill performance?
• Hypothesis: There will be a positive correlation between gaming
experience and ESL skill performance.
• Rationale: Highly experienced gamers will be able to focus more on
reading and completing the quest at hand than those with less experience,
who may become confused or focused on game mechanics instead of
gameplay.
• Theory: This is based on Sweller’s (Sweller, Van Merriënboer, & Paas,
1998) cognitive load theory and Krashen’s (1982) hypotheses on affective
filter and comprehensible input.

12. RESULTS
RQ1: Do ELLs increase their ESL skills more after playing a MMORPG with
SLA optimizing gameplay for 4-hours a week for a month than control
group participants in the same ESL class who receive lecture-only?
• Analysis: I calculated the ESL Skills DV1 from the posttest minus pretest
mean gain scores for each learning condition on the CaMLA.
• Findings: The control group outperformed (M =3.38, SD = 4.0, n = 9) the
treatment group (M =1.67, SD = 6.9, n = 6) by 1.7 mean gain score units.
The treatment group didn’t use all prescribed strategies; however, they
learned 15 new words. The small size study, nonrandom assignment,
likely measurement error, and lack of strategy use limit the validity of
this finding.

13. RESULTS
RQ2: Is prior gaming experience related to participants’ attitude
toward gaming for SLA?
Analysis: I correlated their attitude toward gaming for SLA with level
of prior gaming experience.
Results: The correlation was not statistically significant ( r = .279, p =
.38, n = 12). Participants had the following amount of prior gaming
experience: high (8%), medium (50%), low (17%), and none (25%).
Seventy-five percent had a positive attitude toward gaming for SLA
while 25% were neutral. The small size study limits the validity of this
finding.

14. EMERGENT THEMES ON GAMING FOR SLA
Gaming
&
Languag
e
Learning
Positive
Attitude
toward
Gaming for
SLA
Learn ESL listening, speaking, & reading skills
No Time for
Video
Games
Afterschool
Homework or program
activities
Errands
Prefer to play at home at night with
friends
Concerns
with SLA
Strategies
Some dislike of headset
use
Text chatting would distract from
game
Lack of information on guilds

15. RESULTS
RQ3: Is prior gaming experience related to ESL skill performance?
Analysis: I correlated the CaMLA mean gain scores with the level of
prior gaming experience.
Results: The correlation was not statistically significant (r = .238,
p = .48, n = 12). Participants’ prior gaming experience mainly consisted
of battle games (e.g., COD) or sports (e.g., FIFA), which are text-light
video games. The small size study and likely measurement error limit
the validity of this finding.

16. CONCLUSIONS
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH:
1. EXAMINE UNANSWERED OR WEAK ASPECTS OF MY STUDY WITH
A LARGER SAMPLE SIZE & RANDOM ASSIGNMENT,
2. EXAMINE EFFICACY OF SLA STRATEGY USE FOR GAMEPLAY,
3. EXAMINE IF MMORPG ADDRESSES THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL
NEEDS OF ELLS, &
4. INVESTIGATE DIGITAL GAME RESEARCH OUTSIDE THE CONTEXT
OF A LAB.

17. QUESTIONS?
SANDRA A. ROGERS
DOCTORAL CANDIDATE
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
SAR1102@JAGMAIL.SOUTHALABAMA.EDU
TWITTER @TEACHERROGERS

18. REFERENCES
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DISTINCTION. IN B. STREET & N. H. HORNBERGER (EDS.), ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION, VOLUME 2: LITERACY (2ND ED., PP. 71-83). NEW
YORK, NY: SPRINGER SCIENCE + BUSINESS MEDIA LLC.
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INTRODUCTION TO THEORY AND RESEARCH. READING, MA: ADDISON-WESLEY.
• HYMES, D. (1972). MODELS ON THE INTERACTION OF LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL LIFE.
IN J. J. GUMPERZ & D. HYMES (EDS.) DIRECTIONS IN SOCIOLINGUISTICS: THE
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• KRASHEN, S. (1982). PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES IN SECOND LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION. OXFORD, ENGLAND: PERGAMON PRESS.
• LAVE, J., & WENGER, E. (1991). SITUATED LEARNING: LEGITIMATE PERIPHERAL

19. REFERENCES
• ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT. (2000).
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