Innovation in Language Learning
When Does a Role Matter? Perceived Role Enjoyment and Impact in an ELT Simulation
Filip Dobiáš, Masaryk University (Czech Republic)
Abstract
Roles can give participants distinct functions in collaborative language-learning simulations, but their value depends on whether they contribute meaningfully to the activity and whether participants recognise their effects. This paper examines role enjoyment, perceived role impact and suggestions for improving roles in The Dying Embers, a branching digital survival simulation used in a university ELT teacher-training programme. Each participant assumed one of six roles with different abilities suited to particular playstyles. The study presents a standalone analysis of role-related items from 62 individual reflective journals. Responses to two required ten-point rating items were analysed descriptively as ordinal data, while 39 responses to an optional open-ended question about roles were segmented and coded using inductive qualitative content analysis. Ratings of role enjoyment and perceived impact were high overall, with medians of 10 and 9.5, respectively (IQR = 2 for both). Higher perceived impact was associated with greater enjoyment (Spearman's ρ = .70). In the open-ended responses, participants described how their role's abilities helped the group survive, for example by obtaining extra supplies or providing information to guide decisions. Some, however, were unsure how their role had affected the activity or reported few opportunities to utilise its expertise. Notably, the fighter role received lower and more varied impact ratings than the other roles. Some respondents linked its limited impact to the absence of combat or their group's decision to avoid it. Suggested changes included expanding what individual roles could do and giving participants greater responsibility for decisions affecting the group.
Keywords: simulation, ELT, role design, interactive digital narrative, learner perceptions, tertiary education
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