Video game play as a meaningful online social activity – a virtual zone for integrative L2 learning and practice

Abstract

The video game play provides meaningful social interactions through which the participants’ vocabulary can frequently benefit because it utilizes both implicit and explicit learning occasions. The play carries phrases, necessity of communication and task completion where there is an emerging opportunity of integrative learning. Grammar may be deduced from practicing sentence patterns which thus can be anchored into one’s lexicon. Following the latest research data, we attempt to find an answer to which type of video game presents an effective environment for vocabulary acquisition. In our study, we compared 646 video gamer students from five Hungarian secondary schools who completed a receptive vocabulary levels test. It was proven that the action video games have the most significant effect on the participant’s lexical advancement.