2.1 Sociocultural theory and second language acquisition

A sociocultural approach to learning emphasizes the contextually situated and mediated nature of mental activity (Vygotsky, Reference Vygotsky1978). From this perspective, language development arises from the learner's interactions with other people and the social context, and is mediated by symbolic (e.g., language, image) as well as material tools and technologies. In this article, a sociocultural approach draws attention to the various opportunities for language learning that are afforded by the gaming environment. The notion of affordance, defined as the opportunities for learning or interaction provided by a context in relation to the abilities of the learner (based on van Lier's (Reference van Lier2000) discussion of affordances) is akin to Vygotsky's (Reference Vygotsky1978) Zone of Proximal Development, as both concepts emphasize the interplay between a learner's capabilities and the learning environment. Thus, when we discuss affordances in this article, the unit of analysis is not merely the affordances of the environment or an individual learner's discrete linguistic input or output, but rather the “active learner” (van Lier, Reference van Lier2000: 253) and his or her interactions within the learning context.

2.2 Affordances in games for language learning

Researchers on MMOGs propose that these spaces afford learners opportunities to develop language and literacy skills, as players form game communities and create and develop interpersonal relationships (Peterson, Reference Peterson2010; Steinkuehler, Reference Steinkuehler2007; Thorne, Reference Thorne2008). MMOGs are believed to foster enjoyable, collaborative play between diverse groups of players, motivating language learners to persist in communicative activity (Nardi, Ly & Harris, Reference Nardi, Ly and Harris2007). Peterson (Reference Peterson2010) identifies several advantages of MMOGs for achieving this goal. These include, “access to diverse groups of interlocutors, including native speakers; extensive opportunities for purposeful target language use in an engaging context; opportunities to participate in co-construction, negotiation, and the development of communicative competence; and development of collaborative and social relationships” (op. cit.: 432). For example, Steinkuehler's (2007) study found that during game play in the context of Lineage II, a well-known MMOG, players participated in a variety of language and literacy practices such as letter writing, oral delivery of narratives and poetry, and debate. According to Steinkuehler, participation in these ways served to build interpersonal relationships and community in the online game space. As another example, Thorne's (2008) examination of an intercultural communicative exchange between two WoW gamers illustrates how the goal directed nature of MMOG activity can motivate language learning. The individuals in Thorne's study were not necessarily seeking to learn a language; rather, they sought to work together to accomplish a task, which required commitment, collaboration, and communicative negotiation of meaning. This study also highlights how popular MMOGs like WoW create opportunities for multilingual communication, as players on European game servers come from linguistically diverse backgrounds (see, also, Thorne, Reference Thorne2010).

Several studies have found that participation in MMOGs can help improve learners’ second language vocabulary (Bytheway, Reference Bytheway2011; Rankin et al., Reference Rankin, Gold and Gooch2006; Rankin et al., Reference Rankin, Morrison, McNeal, Gooch and Shute2009). In Bytheway's study (2011) of Non-Native English Speakers (NNES), participants identified full immersion in the English version of WoW as particularly beneficial for their language learning because the game required active negotiation of meaning in the game world with online interactants via the target language. Rankin et al. (Reference Rankin, Gold and Gooch2006) similarly found that English as a Second Language (ESL) students who played the game Ever Quest 2 increased their English vocabulary skills.

It has also been hypothesized that MMOGs afford learners opportunities to build confidence and increase language experimentation. Peterson (Reference Peterson2010) suggests that MMOGs allow for role playing and risk taking by language learners as well as reduce inhibition in target language interaction. This is evident in a study by Reinders and Wattana (Reference Reinders and Wattana2011), who found that ESL learners were not only willing to communicate in the MMOG Ragnarok online, but also demonstrated increased interaction via text and voice chat in successive gaming sessions. In another study (Zheng, Young, Brewer, & Wagner, Reference Zheng, Young, Brewer and Wagner2009), researchers observed that NNESs playing Quest Atlantis exhibited increased confidence in their English language ability and also developed positive attitudes towards English language learning. Zhao and Lai (Reference Zhao and Lai2008) explain that through anonymity in game play, players are less inhibited and more freely experiment with language to accomplish game objectives. The social relationships that are formed and strengthened through collaborative play may also be beneficial for language learning. As an example, Rankin and colleagues (2009) examined interactions between native- and non-native speakers of English in Ever Quest 2, finding that as non-native speakers increased their comfort level with online interactants, they produced more chat in the game and acquired more vocabulary.

2.3 Games as affinity spaces for learning

A common thread throughout the literature is that MMOGs encourage experimentation and interaction among players. Through the course of activity in MMOGs, players form interpersonal relationships based on shared interests. Gee (Reference Gee2004) describes this coalescing of individuals around a shared interest as an affinity space. Gee outlines the criteria that define affinity spaces, many of which are abundantly found in video games. These include shared interest, distributed knowledge, nondiscriminatory affiliations between players (of different skill levels, linguistic background, races, gender, and socioeconomic status), and multiple routes for meaningful participation. As we will discuss in the upcoming analysis, MMOGs like WoW are affinity spaces that, through the aforementioned features, have the potential to facilitate L2 development in ways that may complement and extend the learning that goes on in language classrooms.

In summary, research suggests that MMOGs may offer a range of affordances for L2 learning due to the engaging communicative contexts of these environments. Play in these affinity spaces requires collaborative interaction, which in turn is mediated by meaningful target language use. From a sociocultural perspective, these interactions, often with more capable others, may provide opportunities for learners to build on their existing competencies in a supportive and engaging context.

3.1 Study context: World of Warcraft

Modern MMOGs such as WoW are persistent virtual worlds, where players interact in task-based, socially driven gameplay. In WoW, players choose avatars from among different classes and races of characters and play out adventures in a fantasy setting (à la Tolkien). Communication in these games takes place primarily in synchronous chat channels, while some game scenarios encourage the use of third-party voice communication software (see, Chen, Reference Chen2009 for examples of communication in MMOGs). MMOGs encourage cooperative play, where groups of players band together in ‘parties’ to defeat strong enemies. Larger groups of players who share the same interests often form persistent groups (guilds), sharing knowledge and expertise with fellow guild members with whom they become socially invested.

With over 11 million subscribed users, WoW is currently the most popular MMOG available. This expansive user base is a testament to WoW's mass appeal and worldwide commercial success. WoW is constantly updated through patches and expansions that add content and features to the game. For players, this translates into a game narrative that is continually developing, giving incentive to play long after the initial release of the game. Players who have attained the highest levels are able to further advance through these patches and expansions (e.g., in WoW, three subsequent expansions raised the highest level attainable from 60-70-80, and finally to 85).

3.2 Data collection

Data was collected from L2 Spanish learners who were enrolled in Spanish classes during the Spring of 2010 at a four-year university in Southern California. Six participants, four males and two females, of varying levels of Spanish language ability and familiarity with WoW, were recruited for the study. Two of the participants were defined as high-beginner language learners, enrolled in the second quarter of a 1-year language course sequence, two were defined as intermediate language learners, enrolled in the first and second quarter of the second year of the course sequence, and two were defined as high-intermediate and advanced, enrolled in the first quarter of the third year of the course sequence. Three males were experienced WoW players, and one male and two females were new to the game.

At an initial meeting organized by the first author, participants were given a Spanish language copy of WoW, were familiarized with basic game mechanics (i.e., player movement, quests, items, etc.) and were shown how to install the chat log addon Elephant to record game text chat. Participants were also instructed to copy and paste the chat text to a Google document for purposes of later analysis. One participant had difficulty using the add-on for recording in-game chat, so chat data for that participant is limited to recordings from other participants’ logs. During this meeting, participants were asked to play the game over the course of a seven-week period. They were free to play WoW at their discretion, though they were encouraged to play an average of five hours per week. They were also encouraged to write a short journal entry after each game session detailing their experience, though this was not required. In addition, participants met with the first author three times (every two weeks) for semi-structured interviews, each lasting approximately twenty minutes. The purpose of the interviews was to understand their game play experience, how they interacted with other people and challenges they encountered either in the game or while interacting with other players in the space, as well as how they perceived their language proficiency to be developing. These meetings were recorded and transcribed. Thus, data from each participant includes a combination of self-recorded chat logs or chat captured in the logs of other participants, journal entries, and transcribed semi-structured interviews.

The first author, an experienced gamer and advanced Spanish speaker, acted as a participant-observer (Spradley, Reference Spradley1980) throughout the study. During the first weeks of the study, most participants logged on and formed a party, in which the first author, study participants, and players not affiliated with the study would interact online. The first author collected field notes during these interactions. These notes captured the general nature of field interactions with and between players, highlighting the challenges and successes of participants during play. In terms of analysis, as avid WoW players (author 1: Level 80; author 2: Level 60), L2 Spanish speakers, and language and literacy instructors, the authors are uniquely positioned as insiders, understanding the intricacies of participation and interaction within the game space.

3.3 Data analysis

The initial stages of analysis involved a qualitative, inductive process aimed at identifying patterns in participants’ language use and in their interactions in the chat logs (e.g., type of utterances, length of pauses between utterances, and role that participants play in exchanges) and changes over time. This stage of analysis also included identifying themes that emerged in participants’ journal entries and interview transcripts (e.g., aspects of the game that participants perceived as difficult, enjoyable, helpful; references to language ability, and language use). During this process, the notion of affordances for language learning and socialization became salient in the data. Therefore, in subsequent analysis, we took a theoretically-informed, deductive approach to coding and looked for particular examples of, and references to, affordances for language learning in the data. During this stage of analysis, we identified three affordances that build upon and further elaborate those that have been described in the existing literature: World of Warcraft (1) allows for and supports the creation of safe learning and languaging spaces, (2) emphasizes communicative competence, or the ability to communicate meaningfully and effectively within a given context, and (3) promotes goal-directed, collaborative action between experts and novices. We then reviewed the data for examples of participants’ positive, negative, and neutral experiences with these affordances to understand the potential that they might offer in terms of language teaching and learning.

3.4 Focal participants

This article focuses attention on one participant, Emilio, who is a beginning Spanish learner but an expert gamer, and contrasts his experiences with those of Silvania, an advanced Spanish learner but a novice gamer (* all names are pseudonyms). Emilio was selected as a focal participant based on two criteria: language ability and gaming experience. Emilio is in his second quarter of Spanish. Although his placement scores indicate that he is a high-beginner, he feels that his Spanish skills are barely on par with this classification. This level of language ability is sufficient for accessing the basic language of the game (e.g., basic command of pronouns, verb conjugation, sentence structure, prepositions, and introductory vocabulary), while at the same time leaving a great deal of room for the development of communicative competence. In terms of gaming ability, Emilio had experience playing WoW in English before the latest two expansions to the game. During that time, Emilio had a level 60 character (the highest level possible in that version of the game) and participated in large 40-player dungeons known commonly as raids. The selection of an experienced gamer as a focal participant allowed for a focus on the participant's struggles with the L2 rather than the mechanics of the game.

By contrast, Silvania is an advanced Spanish language learner, and completely new to WoW. While not quite a heritage Spanish speaker, Spanish was spoken in her home. As an advanced Spanish learner, Silvania has good oral communication skills, but she describes her writing ability as in need of improvement. While we do not focus in depth on Silvania as a participant, we draw from her interviews and journal excerpts to provide a starting point for understanding how individuals with distinct gaming and language abilities might respond to the affordances discussed in this article, and what the implications of these differing responses might be for MMOGs and language learning. Thus, we chose to focus on these two participants because they present the most marked contrast in terms of their affinity for and experience with video games (Emilio=High affinity, expert vs. Silvania= Low affinity, beginner) as well as their language ability (Emilio=beginner vs. Silvania=Advanced). This is an important aspect of the analysis and discussion, as the affordances of an environment are directly tied to the capacities of the individuals interacting in that environment (Varela, Thompson & Rosch cited in van Lier, Reference van Lier2000).

4.1 Allows for the formation of safe learning and languaging spaces

A key affordance that emerged during analysis was how the WoW environment facilitated the creation of safe learning and languaging spaces. In his review of hypothesized advantages of games for language learning, Peterson (Reference Peterson2010) identifies related affordances of the game, such as “community formation” and the “development of collaborative social relationships” (op. cit.: 432); however, these advantages do not explicitly address the role that the game interface plays in creating these collaborative spaces, nor do they explicitly address the notion of comfort and safety for players. As an illustration of how WoW facilitated the creation of safe learning and languaging spaces, during the first 1.5 weeks of the study, all study participants were members of an introductory guild called Luzsagrada in which they could learn basic game mechanics in a low anxiety setting with other Spanish language learners from the university Spanish classes. To clarify, a guild is a mechanism by which hundreds of players can form a persistent affiliation within WoW (i.e., it persists even after logging off). Guilds (as well as smaller collections of players known as parties or groups) have a private chat channel that is separate from general chat. Because the general chat channel is open to large numbers of players engaged in a wide range of activities, interactions can be somewhat chaotic and difficult to follow. Conversely, guild (and certainly group and party channels) usually have fewer interlocutors at any given time, thereby reducing the number of topics and making the conversational strands easier to follow. The guild chat channel is also beneficial in that it provides a measure of accountability for one's utterances, as a member can be kicked out of a guild for interacting in an offensive manner. Guilds also provide an easy means of locating known others, because the interface automatically provides an aural and textual alert when other members of the guild log on to the game.

Analyzing an excerpt from Emilio's first journal entry illuminates how he and other guild members interacted in the early stages of their gameplay.

JOURNAL EXCERPT 1

Emilio's journal entry at the beginning of the study

It is worth noting that although Emilio is a beginning Spanish speaker and Silvania was categorized as advanced, the game affinity space allows for multiple forms of participation that are not based on language ability. Therefore, Emilio was able to balance his uncertainty as a novice Spanish speaker with his expertise as a gamer and play an important role as a WoW guide for other members of the guild. In the first two lines of his journal entry, Emilio subtly and explicitly indexes his identity as an experienced WoW player. For example, he begins in Line 1 by mentioning that he, Picarico, and Silvania visited many dungeons that day. Dungeons are specialized parts of the game world that feature more powerful adversaries and more lucrative rewards than the general game environment. Because dungeons are more challenging, they often require players to group together and make multiple attempts to complete a given quest. While an inexperienced WoW player might spend a majority of time exploring the general game space and completing less-challenging, introductory quests, Emilio leads the other players in their exploration of the more challenging dungeons. In Line 2, Emilio again is able to establish his expert status when he writes about teaching Silvania to collect plants for the Herbalism and Inscription professions.

Interestingly, the language learning aspects of this activity do not play a prominent role in the excerpt. Instead, each of the lines foregrounds either enjoyable aspects of gameplay, social interaction, and/or positive affect. Emilio's status as a Spanish learner is not mentioned until the final line of the entry, suggesting that in this case, WoW provided an engaging, low-anxiety setting in which Emilio was able to explore the Spanish language version of the game, while still enjoying interaction with others and gameplay. Moreover, the guild provided a safe space in which Silvania, the more proficient Spanish speaker but less experienced gamer, was able to experiment with navigating the game and benefit from another guild member's expertise. According to Silvania, “being in a group makes communication easier and more convenient and also makes the game less lonely” (interview, 2010). Such data indicate that the guild and group functions of the game may afford opportunities for learners of varying levels to collaboratively use language to accomplish tasks and teach and learn from each other in a safe environment.

Data also suggest, however, some challenges associated with this affordance. For example, in her journal, Silvania relates her disappointment at logging onto the game and finding none of her friends online to play with. She also conveys challenges that she had even when playing with other guild members when she writes,”i thought i was getting the hang of the game, until i joined the ‘hermandad’ in what i think were missions. I was confused about 80% of the time. But it was fun. Until the end, when i had no idea what anyone was asking of me” (journal entry, 2010). Thus, while there is evidence to suggest that playing in groups is fun and comfortable for participants, there are also challenges associated with not clearly understanding game objectives even while in groups with native speakers, not understanding requests from native speakers during group tasks, and not being able to find known others with whom to group.

4.2 Emphasizes communicative competence

Another key affordance that emerged in the analysis was how the gaming environment emphasizes communicative competence. Forms of communicative competence emphasized in MMOG play are closely associated with sociolinguistic (i.e., knowing how and what to say to whom, and when) and strategic competence (e.g., repair strategies, turn-taking strategies, etc.) described by Canale and Swain (Reference Canale and Swain1980). Play in MMOGs favors these forms of communicative competence, which places emphasis on contextualized meaning rather than grammatical and lexical correctness of standard language forms. While Peterson's (2010) review identifies similar hypothesized advantages of games for language learning, such as “extensive opportunities for purposeful TL use and reuse in an authentic and engaging communicative context” and “opportunities to engage in co-construction, negotiation, and the development of communicative competence” (op. cit.: 432), our notion of this affordance highlights how the gaming context leads to cultural norms for language use and interaction that contribute to an explicit emphasis on communicative competence. This affordance was particularly salient in Emilio's interactions with other players via chat. To illustrate, in the second week of gameplay, study participants were introduced into Bananeros, a well-known guild on the Spanish server with many guild members from across Latin America who communicate almost exclusively in Spanish. Much of Emilio's early participation in the new guild chat consisted of nondescript bids for interaction through short utterances such as greetings and expressions of appreciation (e.g., “grats”, an abbreviation for congratulations). However, within the context of the shared guild space, these utterances were sufficient for establishing rapport with other members of the guild, which then allowed Emilio to engage in slightly more robust communicative exchanges with these players. The following excerpt, from week 5 of gameplay, highlights how Emilio builds on his early bidding strategy and begins to develop communicative competence and establish his identity within this new context.

GUILD CHAT EXCERPT 1

Emilio begins to participate in guild discussion

Note. [Leather Helm of the Furious Gladiator] in Line A. refers to a powerful piece of armor that players can obtain by defeating other players in ranked battles. It appears in brackets and in English because the text is automatically inserted into the chat window when the player presses a specific combination of keyboard keys and selects the item.

In Line B, Emilio comments on another guild member's recent acquisition of a powerful piece of equipment. It is worth noting that it takes Emilio a full thirteen seconds to decide whether or not to participate in the discussion. In spite of the delay, by expressing his approval of the equipment, Emilio is able to establish his expertise as a gamer through his ability to distinguish between high and low level equipment. Then, he does not re-enter conversation for another eighteen seconds, when he simply uses the acronym “lol” (laugh out loud) to express that he finds the conversation humorous and to demonstrate his active participation and interest in this exchange. Although a great deal of SLA research has likened synchronous chat systems to conversational exchanges (see, e.g., Kern, Reference Kern1995; Pellettieri, Reference Pellettieri2000), it is important to note that communicative competence in the context of WoW guild chat differs from face to face communication in significant ways. First and foremost, because players can participate in guild chat while they are still actively engaged in navigating the game world, interactants generally recognize that chatting is secondary to any game action in which a player might be engaged. Thus, while a significant pause might seem out of place in a face to face conversation or even in another form of synchronous chat, it is a perfectly acceptable aspect of WoW guild chat, as conversations may be interrupted while players battle wayward beasts or stop to gather herbs with healing properties. Along similar lines, even native speaker gamers use abbreviated and orthographically and stylistically non-standard language, in addition to simple typographical errors, often because they are attending to multiple and simultaneous activities within the game. For language learners, this affords valuable leeway for pauses to formulate utterances and inculcates an acceptance of errors, qualities that may facilitate the performance of communicative competence within this context.

In spite of the community emphasis on communicative competence, favoring function over form, our data suggests that not all language learners take advantage of this affordance. For example, observations of Silvania's participation in groups revealed that she made limited contributions to the group chat, and these tended to be in complete, grammatically correct utterances. Her participation via the voice program Ventrilo showed similar patterns. Interestingly, although Silvania's participation in text and voice chat was limited, her journal entries indicate that she perceived communication via these media as opportunity and motivation for improving both her speaking and writing skills. In addition, in the following interview excerpt, she describes how immersion in these media fosters her language use when she writes, “I'm more likely to go on and like, actually go on and still kind of maybe speak Spanish or kinda be thinking in Spanish for awhile afterward” (2010). Thus, even though observations suggest that Silvania's communication was limited within the game, she perceived the various communication channels as an affordance for her language development.

4.3 Promotes goal-directed, collaborative action between experts and novices

A third affordance that emerged in the data was how the WoW context promotes goal-directed, collaborative action between experts and novices. This refers to both expert and novice Spanish speakers, as well as expert and novice gamers. Peterson's (2010) review identifies a related affordance in how games provide “access to diverse groups of interlocutors, including native speakers” (op. cit.: 432); however, our analysis suggests that there may be an important affordance for language learning that goes beyond access to varied interlocutors to include how the game space provides multiple contexts in which experts and novices interact, which opens up opportunities for collaboration between less and more experienced gamers and language users. Moreover, our data suggest that this affordance had distinct implications for participants’ identities both as Spanish speakers and as gamers. As an illustration, at this point in the study, Emilio's communicative competence has improved somewhat, and he has achieved significant success in the game, as evidenced by the level of his character (80, which was the highest level possible) and his membership in a highly competitive and high status raiding guild. A raid is a large group (usually ten or more) of players grouped together to defeat a particularly powerful creature in the game. Emilio's membership in such a guild is significant because raiding requires not only skill with the game mechanics, but also with using language to coordinate a great deal of fast-paced activity during the raid.

In the following excerpt, we see further evidence of Emilio's success within the game, as another player seeks him out to help with “the daily,” or repeatable quests that guild members complete each day to gather supplies and money that the guild needs for raiding.

GUILD CHAT EXCERPT 3

Emilio's communicative competence

It is worth noting here that Emilio's journal entries suggest that his enjoyment of WoW is mediated by his social interactions and subsequent success within the game. Although he has not made drastic improvements in his Spanish ability since the beginning of the study, this exchange highlights advancements in his communicative competence and strategies that he uses to maintain rapport. For example, Emilio quickly and affirmatively responds to Jodal's request to do the daily. Moreover, he indexes his status as an experienced and knowledgeable member of the group by qualifying his agreement with the addition of “lol,” which serves as a humorous way of marking the tedious nature of these daily quests. In order to keep conversation flowing, Emilio uses simple utterances, such as “hahaha.” This strategy also allows Emilio to take a little more time to respond with a joke in line G when he suggests that Jodal will likely fall asleep before he is able to complete the daily. Notice that Jodal, a native Spanish speaker, continues conversation at a much more natural pace, with pauses no longer than the time it takes to type his responses. However, Emilio has developed strategies that allow him to maintain normal conversation patterns, while also creating time for him to come up with meaningful contributions to conversation. This excerpt is an apt illustration of how the focus on goal-directed, collaborative action (in this case, working together to complete the daily for the good of the guild) affords opportunity for Emilio to interact with a native Spanish speaker, not only in this chat exchange, but also when they or their avatars head out together to complete the daily.

In Excerpt 4, we see another illustration of how the guild space provides a point of connection and a shared purpose that promotes interactions between Emilio and a native Spanish speaker who is a less experienced gamer. In spite of his limited language skills, Emilio is able to take on a mentorship role in this exchange. To provide some context for the excerpt, when guild members appear online, other players are alerted to this fact by a user-interface pop up announcing that the guild member has logged onto the game. Draliana, a player who has just logged on, is greeted by Emilio in the guild chat channel, and they proceed to have a conversation about a specific quest.

GUILD CHAT EXCERPT 4

Emilio displays expertise

This excerpt reveals Emilio's growing familiarity with vocabulary, expressions, and phrases that facilitate effective communication in this space. For example, he uses brief phrases, such as “que pasa?/ What's up?” and “lo siento/ I'm sorry” to engage Draliana in conversation, as well as terms that are relevant to gameplay, such as “mision/ quest” to convey meaningful information. In lines L and N, this exchange also provides an opportunity for Emilio to ask for and receive clarification of a Spanish abbreviation (5ta for quinta) that he does not understand.

In Lines CC-EE, Emilio offers a solution to Draliana's problem. Not only does he accomplish this rather fluidly, with a maximum of five seconds between each utterance, but he also contributes valuable information to the conversation. Thus, rather than merely making bids for interaction or using brief and formulaic utterances to establish rapport or respond to requests, he is now a primary participant in exchanges, and in spite of his status as a novice Spanish user, he asserts his position as an expert gamer and a knowledgeable resource in the guild.