This study reports how a digital game-based mobile application was developed for L2 learners of Chinese to enhance their linguistic and cultural competence. As we know, English has been the most dominant lingua franca in the international world, and it is crucial for language learners to experience how form-function-context mapping can be realized in the process of meaning making with people from around the globe. Studying abroad seems to be the best way to gain such experiences, but it may not be applicable for all language learners. Therefore, we used immersive virtual reality (VR) technology to develop a two-level digital game for junior high school students to learn how to make requests, apologies and compliments in English. The background of this game describes an exchange program established by two sister schools in Taiwan and the States. In addition to language learning, cultural enrichment is incorporated in this game. The first level features Kaohsiung, the southern part of Taiwan; while the second level features New York. The game development consists of three production cycles: Pre-Production, Production and Post-production. In the Pre-Production stage, we will report how the development team brainstormed the initial design and game concept. In the Production stage, we will report storyboard production, scoring mechanism and creation of technical and artistic aspects of the game. Finally, in the Post-Production stage, we will report how we identify and fix the bugs through testing to optimize the game for quality assurance.

Authors:
Yuanshan Chen, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taiwan
Kuo-Yu Liu, Providence University, Taiwan
Li-Jung Daphne Huang, Providence University, Taiwan
Ming-Fang Lin, Shih Chien University, Taiwan
Ping Xiang Cheah, Providence University, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Yuanshan Chen is a Distinguished Professor of the Department of Applied English at National Chin-Yi University of Technology in Taiwan.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

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