Innovation in Language Learning

As far as the advancement of digital awareness is spreading the reach of digital games is expanding its horizons as well. In another sense it helps in increasing students’ contribution in the process of language learning. At the same time one has to face certain challenges while introducing gaming technologies in the new learning contexts few questions arise such as how it can be used to captivate learners? How it can be used to encourage and enhance the frontiers of learning? What are the main strengths of games for learning? Etc. The present paper will try to answer all such questions by exploring how digital gaming have been associated with motivation, engagement of students, acceleration in learning, targeting of specific groups and most specifically targeting of otherwise very-difficult-to reach social groups. Certain plausible and probable reasons behind serious and educational games such as The Sims (For English as Second Language ESL), Second Life and Active World (provides participation in virtual reality environment), games such as Dafur is Dying and Aiyiti: The Cost of Life helps students to stay informed about the contemporary issues, whereas games like Setting: Not Just Time and Place, Lord Of The Flies, Surviving Charles Dickens’ London, In Search of Shakespeare: The Playwright Game and Who Killed the Very Reverend Toby Spoon? Illuminates students about classical works of literature. To bring back the era of the Renaissance alive from economic, religious and social point of view games such as, Renaissance Florence: The Time Machine Adventure caters significant information about the artist and advancements of the period. The proper study of their impact can be of immense help to expand the horizon of language teaching along with the active participation of the students in the process of edification. It becomes necessary for a teacher here that he should share information about the media literacy amongst the students. Here games like Ad Decoder: Decipher The Media plays important role in making student aware about the fundamental difference between real and ideal images. Similarly, it becomes necessary to spread awareness regarding ethics and values of the internet amongst the students. Games like Cybersence and Nonsense and Allies and Aliens is must to guides students to examine the values and the impact of one’s activities on the others.

Keywords: Digital Awareness, Gaming Technology, Target Group, ESL, Active Participation.

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