The Effect of Using a Digital Computer Game (SIMS) on Children's Incidental English Vocabulary Learning

Words are deemed to be the building blocks of any language and the significant role of vocabulary in expressing our thoughts is indisputable. This study was designed to investigate whether the use of digital computer games in the classroom could affect incidental vocabulary learning by children. A quasi-experimental design with the pretest-posttest-control sequence was used in this study. An announcement was made to one hundred and fifty female pre-intermediate English learners about holding classes on vocabulary enhancement at Khane-Zaban institute in Hamadan, Iran. Sixty students registered for the classes. Since they were all pre-intermediate learners, they were randomly assigned to two groups, the comparison group (traditional class, n=30) and the experimental group (SIMS class, n=30). Then Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) test, taken from Wesche and Paribakht’s (1996) study, as the pretest was administered to both groups. After 20 sessions, VKS with different order, as the posttest was given to both groups. After the data collection, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted. The results indicated that the experimental group outperformed the comparison group and that the implementation of games in the classroom could enhance the incidental vocabulary learning.

کلیدواژه ها:

Children Level ، Digital Computer Game ، Incidental Vocabulary Learning