Abstract

The present study aims to investigate incidental vocabulary acquisition in massive online multiplayer role-playing games in a non-instructional setting. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of young adult Egyptian online video-gamers of their vocabulary acquisition through game-play. Furthermore, the study aims to discover some of the learning and interaction strategies that these gamers employ in their online discussions and to analyze their potential in promoting vocabulary acquisition. Findings from the analysis of the data gathered from an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews with some of the participants, and ongoing observations of gamers’ online interactions on game-related discussion forums confirmed the merit of online video-games in encouraging incidental acquisition of vocabulary items in the game. The majority of participants were in consensus regarding their perceptions of their L2 vocabulary acquisition through game involvement. Instances of dual coding, elaborations, error corrections, and questioning provided evidence of some learning strategies and interaction strategies utilized by gamers of online role-playing video-games in learning L2 vocabulary items.

Department

Applied Linguistics Department

Degree Name

MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Graduation Date

Spring 5-20-2019

Submission Date

5-20-2019

First Advisor

Agameya, Amira

Committee Member 1

Gebril, Atta

Committee Member 2

Bassiouney, Reem

Committee Member 3

NA

Extent

84 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

Comments

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Amira Agameya, my research supervisor, for her kindness, support, patience, and continuous guidance to me during the course of this research project. Her constant encouragement, enthusiasm, clear and detailed feedback has allowed me to improve and develop this research which I could not otherwise have accomplished. She was not only my supervisor, but she was also my godmother who was always there for me whenever I needed her and has helped me with several challenges that I have faced on both personal and academic levels. I would also like to thank Dr. Atta Gebril for his guidance to me during the thesis writing course from which I have learned how to develop a research and I am also grateful for his valuable suggestions which have greatly helped me in making the right decisions regarding my topic – decisions I am now most grateful to have made and I can see now how his genuine advice has offered me the opportunities to stay focused and save time and effort. I am also deeply grateful for Dr. Reem Bassiouney who has encouraged me to unlock my researching potentials by constantly reminding me to work on a topic that I love in order for me to enjoy my research journey and give it my best. She also offered me a learning opportunity by selecting me as her assistant as part of my fellowship tasks which allowed me to hone my researching skills and exposed me to various literature readings that all eventually contributed to developing and improving my own thesis project. I would also like to thank Dr. Nagwa Kassabgy for her genuine kindness and support to me both academically and personally. I have learned a lot from her and has offered me the chance to improve and develop myself as a student in the MA TESOL and also as a teacher of English. Finally, I want to thank my parents for their unconditional support and for believing in me even at my worst times, and my sister Gihan for showing me the way and taking care of my son when I needed to work and study, and I am utterly grateful for my colleagues Kesmat, Sarah, and Salah for being my support system, and reminding me with important deadlines whenever I lost track of time, and for also getting out of their way to help me in distributing my questionnaire and recruiting participants.

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