Digital and game-based language learning

centered and engaging” and they “should be based on action-oriented and exploratory learning”

(Finnish National Agency for Education 2020, 29).

2.3. Digital and game-based language learning

As Moomin Language School offers a digital platform, the most central concepts in the field of digital game-based language learning must be addressed. There is plenty of research in the field of digital learning, and the evidence suggests that digital teaching has positive effects on students’ learning, creativity, motivation, engagement, and skills (Mukundan, Seyed and Naghipour 2014, 19;

Anyaegbu, Ting and Li 2012, 154). These results have attracted many teachers and students and have only made e-learning more appealing to education specialists (Mukundan, Seyed, and Naghipour 2014, 19). Games and play intertwine and can help build a fruitful environment for learning. Game worlds can function as a stress-free platform for experimentation and making mistakes, just like playfulness (Whitton 2014, 6). Especially for children who are learning new skills, a game world can be extremely enticing. Games can help build playful learning if the digital platform creates a safe and fun environment for young learners to experiment with language and develop their skills. However, digital game-based learning targeted specifically to young English learners has not been widely researched (Butler 2019, 312). Indeed, many of the new digital and game-based teaching and learning methods are yet to be discovered and refined.

Mobile learning via different applications has become popular in recent years. McQuiggan et al. (2015, 7) present the potential of mobile learning in an extremely optimistic light and claim that it offers “a new paradigm in connectivity, communication, and collaboration in our everyday lives”.

However, the presence of information and communication technology (ICT) has not changed teaching methods in a significant way, which means that mobile learning has not yet reached its full potential.

McQuiggan et al. (2015, 40) further suggest that in order to take into consideration the personal differences between individuals, mobile learning should provide “several levels of the same lesson to

accommodate individual differences in knowledge and ability”. Also, it is recommended that the material should “provide multiple, interesting ways to practice the same skill so as not to compromise motivation” (McQuiggan et al. 2015, 41). In the best-case scenario, a computer game designed to teach English combines learning through play, and this increases the learners’ motivation towards language learning through interaction (Adisti 2016, 138). As noted earlier in the paper, interaction plays an important role in language learning. McQuiggan et al. (2015, 264) also state that the most important characteristic in a good mobile learning application for preschoolers is, that it is above all else engaging and the learning is play-based. Hence, enabling interaction and communication in digital learning environments can engage the learners with language in a fundamental and beneficial way.

Also, one important aspect to consider when designing appropriate and efficient digital and game-based learning environments, is that the focus should be on the characteristics and needs of the learner (Butler 2019, 314). Beatty (2012, 17) claims that “language teachers increasingly aim to increase learner-centeredness—moving the locus of control away from the teacher and towards the learner”. Chapelle (2008, 588) introduces four components, which need to be taken into consideration when aiming “to achieve a good learner fit” to suit the needs of the learner better. These are as follows:

detecting potential difficulties of different learners, selecting language content that is relevant to the learner, presenting material in an interactive manner, and assessing the learner’s skills to indicate which areas they should focus on to improve their knowledge. As mentioned earlier, young learners are easily distracted, and their concentration span is very short. Therefore, digital learning environments that require autonomy and distance learning from the learner can create issues. Chapelle (2008, 587) claims that most learners do not have the skills to work autonomously in the most efficient way possible, and thus they require instruction and guidance. This is especially true with young learners, to whom autonomous learning can be extremely challenging. However, apparently with appropriately designed digital materials that deliver guidance and attention to the learner, this issue

can be diminished. Chapelle (2008, 587) further claims that designing such material has been one of the most prominent goals in software development. McQuiggan et al. (2015, 179) explain that even if a mobile learning application would be pedagogically eligible if its design is not “engaging or satisfying, the app will likely fall flat”. The importance of the visual layout is extremely crucial when the users are young children, in that the application is interesting and attractive enough for them to maintain their focus. It was noted that young users found “hunting for things to click” or “animation and sound effects” pleasant whereas older users disliked them, meaning that the methods for learning need to be properly tailored to meet the needs of the learner (McQuiggan et al. 2015, 186). Preliteracy of young children needs to be considered in the visual elements of the design to provide enough visual clues for the learner, as well (McQuiggan et al. 2015, 185-186). In addition to the app’s visual aspect, immediate feedback should be provided to engage the learner (McQuiggan et al. 2015, 183).

Consequently, it is claimed that digital and game-based learning materials should first and foremost raise the language learner’s awareness of their acquisition progress and motivate as well as to encourage the learner (Soleimani and Esmaili 2016, 140). Faravani and Zeraatpishe (2016, 54) add that “following a learner-centered approach, learners’ needs turn out to be the primary focus of materials developers”. This can be done by assisting the learner to become aware of the aims of learning, the means to achieve them, and finally evaluation of their development (Soleimani and Esmaili 2016, 140). However, it is difficult to create a learning environment that would benefit all learners in the same way, since “learners are different in terms of aptitude, maturity, stage of language development, motivation, personal experience, and a host of other factors” (Maley 2016, 12). Indeed, very young English learners may not yet be able to assess or be aware of their progress in language acquisition. He further suggests that learners have different interests and progress at different paces.

Although it is impossible to design a software that would suit all types of learners in all contexts and situations, learner-centered focus in digital and game-based language learning development is still a goal that cannot be dismissed (Soleimani and Esmaili 2016, 142-143). Technology is and will be a

central part of language teaching and learning practices, and so far many software programs have played the role of “a virtual teacher, a teacher’s helper, a guide, an instrument, a teaching tool and a learning tool” (Soleimani and Esmaili 2016, 142). New pedagogical approaches are needed to utilize the potential of technology to create more ways in which ICT can be used in supporting early language learning and teaching.