L2 WRITING PRACTICE: GAME ENJOYMENT AS A KEY TO ENGAGEMENT Agata Guskaroska Engl 510 Iowa State University 2017

Laura K. Allen Assistant Professor in the Psychology (Cognitive Science) Department at Mississippi State University. The overarching aim of her research is to better understand the cognitive and affective processes involved in language comprehension, writing, and knowledge acquisition, and to apply that understanding to educational practice by developing and testing educational technologies.

Scott Crossley Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at Georgia State University. Professor Crossley’s primary research focus is on natural language processing and the application of computational tools and machine learning algorithms in language learning, writing, and text comprehensibility. His main interest area is the development and use of natural language processing tools in assessing writing quality and text difficulty. He is also interested in the development of second language learner lexicons and the potential to examine lexical growth and lexical proficiency using computational algorithms

Erica L. Snow Arizona State University, Learning Sciences Institute Department of Psychology Interdisciplinary researcher with expertise in cognitive psychology, human-computer interactions, data mining and learning analytics Her research examines how patterns of behavior can be extracted from digital environments to better understand and ultimately support user’s cognitive, metacognitive and regulatory processes. (web-based social media to games)

Why did I choose to present this topic?

The Writing Pal (W-Pal) is an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) designed to provide students with explicit writing strategy instruction and practice. W-Pal includes a suite of educational games developed to increase writing engagement and provide opportunities to practice writing strategies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKovhZ-6mNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKovhZ-6mNY

https://www. superteachertools. us/millionaire/millionaire. php  https://www.superteachertools.us/millionaire/millionaire.php?gamefile=34197

Your attitude towards games Anton ‘Overall—positive. I think games indeed can enhance a student’s engagement and motivation that are important in developing writing production skills.’ Tom ‘I'm very interested in the possibilities of incorporating some game-based learning into my classes.’ Tamara ‘As a learner, I liked the spirit of competition that games provided and the lure of a prize at the end was good motivation’ Nergis: ‘teachers thought that language instruction should have been more "serious“’ Tim ‘I adore the use of gamification in the classroom to a certain extent. Games can become a distraction if the teacher doesn't incorporate the learning outcomes into the activities, so students simply think it's 'recess time'.

Your experience with games Long ‘When I was studying Spanish, the instructor used Kahoot to help us review vocabulary’ William ‘I use Quizlet for Spanish vocabulary acquisition purposes. Quizlet offers a game feature on a small scale’ Nergis "Quizizz", "Quizalize", "Socrative", and "Quizlet.“ Tim ‘MakeyMakey, and Dash and Dot’ Digital badging, if done right and in a longitudinal sense, can really help students to utilize areas where they are strongest, and focus in on areas where they need development. 

Jenifer https://conjuguemos.com/verb/frog_game/112

Bremen - college writing classes - students play and discuss World of Warcraft. http://bremenvance.com/puzzlerjustified/

Limitation/Weakness Erik ‘I think a weakness of any game (regardless if it is on a computer or not) is the risk of losing focus on the purpose of the activity.  I have witnessed many an "educational" game in which the participants had fun but didn't really learn anything’ Anton ‘I think that “learning-focused” games can still be functionally similar to conventional games, which primary function is to entertain, regardless of where they’re integrated. So, how do you ensure that the learning process is not crippled by using games in a classroom?’ Jenifer ‘From both a language learner and instructor perspective I believe games can engage and motivate learners, especially at the beginning-intermediate level’ Fatemeh ‘I think games should be fit to the age and proficiency level of the language learners. I have not had any games with my adult students since I was not aware of such games’ Tom ‘Students' access to technology, since some may not own smartphones or laptops, but that is likely to be a minor issue’

Conclusion/Discussion Would you use W-Pal in your classroom? Native speakers, would you enjoy using this game and do you think (everyone) that this game should only be used for L2 learners? Do you think that only young learners enjoy games and that you shouldn’t use them with teenagers and adults?

Stay motivated!