The Essential Components of Game Design in 3D Virtual Worlds: From a Language Learning Perspective

This chapter aims at providing language teachers, game developers, and researchers with a pedagogical view of how game-based learning can be implemented in 3D virtual worlds to enhance foreign language (FL) learners’ second language acquisition (SLA). The chapter starts with a general introduction of the usage of games in traditional language teaching and learning. The benefits and challenges in the application of language games will be also addressed. Next, in the second section, the features of 3D virtual worlds are introduced in depth in three parts to demonstrate the potential of using 3D virtual worlds to deal with the challenges faced in traditional FL classrooms: (1) beginning with the general features of online language games, (2) bridging general online language games and what’s in 3D virtual worlds based on the perspectives of SLA, and (3) discussing the recent related research on game-based language learning in 3D virtual worlds. In the third section, some application guidelines for practitioners, system developers, and researchers to design effective and adapted 3D language games are provided. Finally, a brief summary with suggestions for future research concludes this chapter.