Serious Games for Initial Foreign Language Learning

This three-year project, which was led by a UK Primary School, targeted young and learners of English, French, German, Italian and Portuguese and involved partners from those countries. It also targeted teachers who may be lacking in confidence about their foreign language skills.The project has developed 7 set of Serious Games challenges for young learners in the Primary sector covering seven sets of topics:Greetings and AppearanceNumbers and ColoursFamily and FriendsFood and DrinksGames and ActivitiesSchoolTravel and TransportThe original plan was to align the games with CEFR levels A0-A1, but the final outputs have gone beyond that and into level A2. The games were developed as a set of progressive challenges in the different language versions, and trialed and tested in the different countries of the partnership. The games use a 3D set of models and each topic is structured in three levels each more or less aligned to CEFR levels. Each level is then subdivided into three scenarios, each with an introduction and then three sets of challenges. This means that each topic has 27 tasks using progressive language content. The focus is on speaking and listening and all topics and tasks have sound files recorded by native speakers to help with both comprehension and pronunciation. Each game also has speech bubbles with a text version but the game was designed with a focus on listening, so that it can be used by pupils with poor literacy or who are not used to a Roman script. Each speech bubble has an icon to listen again and the game will not progress until the pupil chooses a correct answer. This focus on both 3D and listening is the key innovative element of the project.The Games were evaluated in all partner countries with a range of pupils. The outputs of the project are:- a project platform https://www.blabolingo.com/ which hosts the main resources of the project and provides access to the games- the Blabolingo games which are downloadable in both Windows and Mac versions- two instructional videos on how to use the games- a Teachers' Guide which covers how to use the games, sample lesson plans, the language, content, scripts for the scenarios and some case studiesThe impact has demonstrated improved language learning and motivation for Primary aged pupils of a foreign language. It has also demonstrated a range of different uses in the classroom from introducing new language, to reinforcement and assessment. The project has also shown how the use of the games can be embedded into other language learning approaches such as drama. The use of native speakers has had the added value of supporting teachers whose own language skills are underdeveloped and has helped them with their own pronunciation.