Developing Language and Cross-Cultural Communication Skills via Movie Read-Throughs and MMORPGs

Abstract

In this practical education report, we introduce and discuss the World of Warcraft Educational Project and Integrated Curriculum (WoW-EPIC), an innovative ongoing L2 English education project at the University of Shiga Prefecture, that engages participants in language and cross-cultural communication skill development through a combination of a movie script read-through and task- and project-based learning activities in both a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and in real life. Building on our presentation at the 20th ATEM National Convention in August 2014, this report describes the results of this project after a semester-long pilot study involving 8 students. Our principal goals in this project were to (a) inspire students to have fun with English, (b) enable students to communicate and connect with people from other cultures, and (c) improve students’ English abilities and develop a range of other “21st-century skills” (skills that are generally regarded as being important in the information age). We find our goals were well met through the movie read-through, in the game, and in face-to-face classroom activities, and are looking forward to continuing the project.