Crystallize: An Immersive, Collaborative Game for Second Language Learning

Learning a second language is challenging. Becoming fluent requires learning contextual information about how language should be used as well as word meanings and grammar. The majority of existing language learning applications provide only thin context around content. In this paper, we present Crystallize, a collaborative 3D game that provides rich context along with scaffolded learning and engaging gameplay mechanics. Players collaborate through joint tasks, or quests. We present a user study with 42 participants that examined the impact of low and high levels of task interdependence on language learning experience and outcomes. We found that requiring players to help each other led to improved collaborative partner interactions, learning outcomes, and gameplay. A detailed analysis of the chat-logs further revealed that changes in task interdependence affected learning behaviors.

学习第二语言具有挑战性。要做到流利，需要学习语言使用的语境信息以及单词的意思和语法。大多数现有的语言学习应用程序在内容周围仅提供少量语境。在本文中，我们介绍《结晶》，这是一款协作式3D游戏，它提供丰富的语境以及支架式学习和引人入胜的游戏机制。玩家通过共同的任务或探索进行协作。我们对42名参与者进行了一项用户研究，考察了任务相互依存程度的高低对语言学习体验和结果的影响。我们发现，要求玩家互相帮助可改善合作伙伴之间的互动、学习成果以及游戏体验。对聊天记录的详细分析进一步表明，任务相互依存程度的变化会影响学习行为。