Getting the forest for the trees: Situation transcending is massively multiplayer online games

Abstract

There seems to be a dearth in the literature concerning how resources in MMOGs can be appropriated by language learners and the implications appropriation of resources has on their learning both in and outside of the virtual environment. Some work examining MMOGs in terms of their multimodal resources and affordances (Rama, Black, Van Es, & Warschauer, 2012; Zheng, Newgarden, & Young, 2012) has found that the design of these game environments can promote communicative activities and provide opportunities for learning that cannot be easily replicated in a classroom. In a separate study, Zheng (2012) argues that MMOGs can “provide learners with social, historical, and cultural materials to augment action and interaction across space and time” (p. 557). This study differs in that it seeks to examine vocabulary learning in these environments and to answer how language learners appropriate resources in World of Warcraft (WOW).