The Influence of Game-Enhanced Communication on EFL Learners’ Pragmatic Competence in Compliment Responses

IF 3.6 1区文学 Q1 LINGUISTICS Applied Linguistics Pub Date : 2023-12-02 DOI:10.1093/applin/amad082

Ying Zhang

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Abstract

A small number of studies have explored the effects of digital gaming on second/foreign language (L2) pragmatic competence. However, the effectiveness of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) germane to L2 pragmatic development remains unclear because most game-mediated pragmatics studies have focused on educational games. Adopting the interactionist approach, this pretest-immediate-posttest-delayed-posttest study investigated the influence of an MMORPG on L2 learners’ pragmatic competence in compliment responses. Specifically, 105 English-as-a-foreign-language learners from a university in China interacted with L1-English-speaking players in World of Warcraft for four weeks. Unlike most studies that have conducted discourse completion tasks for data collection, compliment responses were gathered through computer-mediated communication with L1-English-speaking interlocutors on WeChat. Results showed that the learners tended to deny compliments on the pretest, whereas they preferred to accept praise on the immediate and delayed posttests. Implications for language policy-making and teaching are discussed regarding the usefulness of MMORPGs for learners who are not immersed in the environment of the target language or have few opportunities to go abroad to experience various social contexts in an L2.

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游戏强化交际对英语学习者称赞语语用能力的影响

少数研究探讨了数字游戏对第二语言/外语(L2)语用能力的影响。然而，大型多人在线角色扮演游戏(mmorpg)对第二语言语用发展的影响尚不清楚，因为大多数游戏介导的语用学研究都集中在教育游戏上。本研究采用互动研究方法，考察了MMORPG对二语学习者恭维语语用能力的影响。具体来说，来自中国一所大学的105名英语作为外语的学习者在《魔兽世界》中与母语为l1的玩家进行了为期四周的互动。与大多数研究为收集数据而进行语篇补全任务不同，我们通过微信上与英语水平为l1的对话者进行计算机媒介的交流来收集赞美回应。结果表明，学习者在前测中倾向于拒绝表扬，而在即时和延迟后测中倾向于接受表扬。本文讨论了mmorpg对那些没有沉浸在目标语言环境中或很少有机会出国体验第二语言各种社会环境的学习者的有用性对语言决策和教学的影响。

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来源期刊

Applied Linguistics LINGUISTICS-

CiteScore

7.60

自引率

8.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Applied Linguistics publishes research into language with relevance to real-world problems. The journal is keen to help make connections between fields, theories, research methods, and scholarly discourses, and welcomes contributions which critically reflect on current practices in applied linguistic research. It promotes scholarly and scientific discussion of issues that unite or divide scholars in applied linguistics. It is less interested in the ad hoc solution of particular problems and more interested in the handling of problems in a principled way by reference to theoretical studies.