Telecollaborative games for youngsters: impact on motivation

Abstract

The present paper describes a case study on the effects of telecollaborative games on learners’ motivation. 12 learners from a Dutch and a British secondary school participated in the study. Different games, which included gamification elements, were developed on OpenSim. The overall educational goals of the games were to enhance cultural awareness and intercultural communication of German as a foreign language. Three different cross-cultural groups played the telecollaborative games in two different sessions. Data from pre- and post-surveys were gathered for measuring the impact of telecollaborative games on learners’ motivation. At the end of the game sessions, focus group discussions were organised for evaluating the experience. The results indicate that telecollaborative games have a positive impact on learners’ motivation.