USING EDUCATIONAL ONLINE GAMES TO DEVELOP LINGUISTIC COMPETENCES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

Several studies have indicated that, given the right environment, Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) can improve skills, knowledge and attitudes and may enhance learning motivation, as it reduces learning anxiety and offers a fun-filled learning atmosphere. It is has also been pointed out that digital games can be used in the context of an interdisciplinary approach for FL teaching. This paper focuses on the potential of educational computer games designed for foreign language (FL) teaching and learning to facilitate learners develop their linguistic competences. To this end we have carried out a field research on a sample of 60 educational online games for FL teaching and learning both in English and French. In particular, using the descriptors proposed by the Common European Framework (CEFR), we made an effort towards determining whether these software applications contain activities that might help learners/players develop their linguistic competences. This sample resulted from an original sample of 100 educational online games for FL, which was evaluated on the basis of an assessment model for online language learning computer games. The above model contains fifty criteria. The examined games were distributed following a cluster analysis, based on their score (out of 50), in three groups: weak, medium and very good. The sample of the present research is composed of 60 games (33 in French and 27 in English) that belong to the upper group. Our data suggest that the studied educational online games designed for FL teaching and learning may contribute to the development of most linguistic competences.