Innovation in Language Learning

The European Community is a diverse ensemble of regions, cultures and languages. This is an advantage as it introduces a variance of views and approaches for common problems and issues - however it is also a barrier for companies trying to internationalize or establish joint ventures in the European market or outside of it. The use of an intermediary language, like English or German is an incomplete solution as good commercial relations always depend on full understanding and confidence between the parts. In particular, this can be a problem for Micro Enterprises (start-ups) and SMEs that do not have dedicated staff for this purpose. As a consequence, these companies still depend largely on their domestic markets despite the opportunities made available by the enlarged single market and by globalization at large. Business to Business (B to B) e-commerce and e-marketing possibilities are not being effectively exploited by these companies.

It is consensually accepted that ICT supports the development of innovative learning environments, particularly at the VET system . Thus, the development of innovative ICT-based content available by a mixed of online and mobile platform access and based on a Serious Games approach means an innovative practice for SME development. Serious Games focus on specific design of the learning process, creating real scenarios in professional contexts, in predefined ways through interactive, and immersive graphical environments (2D/3D graphics, sound, and animation) . Every Serious Game has a back-story, or a real-based situation, and a professional context line that it follows, even if inferred. In addition, the interactivity makes possible to know the impact of the player's actions, through answers to questions or situations in virtual scenario.

Serious Games are especially useful for training. Rather than offering traditional paper-based or online static courses, games can offer an incredibly immersive and engaging environment where users 'learn by doing'. Users make and learn from their own mistakes in a controlled environment. This trial and error based approach supports well learning and is able also to improve teamwork, social skills, leadership and collaboration.

The most striking effect in the use of Serious Games is an increased motivation and engagement. This was seen in the three main sectors that used currently Serious Games, education, military and medicine. There are a few cases of Serious Games for Management (e.g., the IBM Service Management Virtual Simulator [6], the Houthoff Buruma Game [7], the Novicraft HRD game [8]) but they are still very specific and only for particular contexts.

This article presents an innovative solution for self-based learning, related with identified needs of the target groups at international contexts. The solution will be implemented through an extensible, online, multi-language, multi-player, collaborative and social game platform. The proposal is very innovative because: 1) it addresses a target group (Micro and SME's Managers) for whom training is essentially still class based or static internet delivery based; 2) it introduces a systematic approach to the use of Serious Games for SME's.