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English acquisition playing Mass Effect : a study in video games, cognitive psychology and the Swedish upper secondary school curriculum

This essay researches video games and learning. The academic interest in video games is steadily growing and this teacher‟s degree unifies interactive game play with the learning possibilities of the media. The study compares the Swedish upper secondary school curriculum Lpf94 with Gee‟s educational theory. The correlations are analyzed for compatibility, and Bioware‟s 2007 video game Mass Effect is applied to see what elements are capable to teach playing students English. A qualitative methodology is used according to Malterud‟s template analysis style and follows a top-down fashion. The material is analyzed through a triangulation system where each piece is read as a text and is compared and interpreted. The results show that Lpf94 and Gee‟s theory has a generally high compatibility. English learning is viable since Mass Effect provides the player with a language simulator that puts the language in a logical environment. Although the game script is static, the study shows that Mass Effect includes vocabulary training, a pragmatic understanding of language, and a tool for class room teaching.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-148309
Date January 2010
CreatorsNorman, Fredrik
PublisherUppsala universitet, Institutionen för utbildning, kultur och medier, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för informatik och media
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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