Abstract
The aim of this article is to discuss the effectiveness of computer games in foreign language learning and highlights its advantages and disadvantages. The authors searched for available studies on this topic in the world’s databases Web of Science, Scopus, and Science Direct in the period of 2010–2017. The findings indicate that computer game-based foreign language learning seems to be especially effective in the vocabulary acquisition. They obviously generate a lot of advantages, for example, contact with foreign language environment, higher motivation for foreign language learning, or increased engagement in foreign language communication. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages of using technological devices in students’ learning, for instance, a lack of students’ concentration on the vocabulary acquisition and learning, inappropriate choice of the games which are not relevant for foreign language learning, unfamiliarity of computer games among teachers, or their unwillingness and anxiety to use them. Thus, in order to prove the effectiveness of the exploitation of computer games in foreign language learning, more research studies with larger subject samples should be conducted in this area.
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Acknowledgments
This article is supported by SPEV project 2018, run at the Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. The authors especially thank Josef Toman for his help with data processing.
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Klimova, B., Kacetl, J. (2018). Computer Game-Based Foreign Language Learning: Its Benefits and Limitations. In: Cheung, S., Lam, J., Li, K., Au, O., Ma, W., Ho, W. (eds) Technology in Education. Innovative Solutions and Practices. ICTE 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 843. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0008-0_3
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