Please join us on Friday, October 18th for a presentation by Dr. Felix Kronenberg from Rhodes College, "Tag, You’re It: Language Learner Motivation, Identities and Agency in Computer Gaming Spaces".
The Logistics:
Friday, October 18th12-1pm
Hellems 145
Light snacks and refreshments will be provided!
The Presenter:
Dr. Felix Kronenberg, Rhodes College
Assistant Professor, Modern Languages & Literatures
Director, Language Learning Center
The Presentation:
"Tag, You’re It: Language Learner Motivation, Identities and Agency in Computer Gaming Spaces" (Presentation available here)
Research on motivation in second language learning is increasingly tied to current notions of identity and identities (Ushioda and Dornyei, 2009). In this presentation, Dr. Felix Kronenberg discusses the related concepts of language learner identities, motivation, and agency in computer gaming spaces.
Computer games allow users to influence and change the medium itself and have been linked to intrinsic motivation, including the experience of flow (cf. Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Wolf (2002) argues that video games’ use of space is unique because of its added elements of navigation and interaction and shares only some properties with those of other media, such as films. This ability to exercise choice and effect change is referred to as agency: “the satisfying power to take meaningful action” and experience the results (Murray, 1997, p. 126). “In games, just as in real life,” Aarseth (2004) argues, “the outcomes (winning, losing) are real and personal to the experiencer, unlike in stories” (p. 366).
Computer games can also be used to create alternate identities, for example individually through the use of avatars, or to foster a group identity among the players/learners and encourage conversations around a shared, genuine interest. The sense of belonging to an in-group may build positive classroom dynamics and lower anxiety and inhibition.
Concrete examples from the classroom and the Language Learning Center at Rhodes College will be given to illustrate the theoretical concepts of identities and agency.
* NOTE: To receive your FLTP workshop credit, please sign up ahead of time at http://altec.colorado.edu/fltp/
Are you guys going to make this available as a webinar? WebEx? AdobeConnect? ; )
ReplyDeleteWe will be recording the event and then will post it to the ALTEC speaker page: http://altec.colorado.edu/speakers/index.shtml Please check it out there!
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