UC Irvine

This dissertation examines college-age Spanish learners' experiences participating in the Spanish language version of the massively multi-player online game World of Warcraft (WoW). A two-study design is used, first examining play from volunteer participants, and then incorporating WoW into a 1-credit Spanish course. The experiences of 5 key representative participants are reported here. Using data culled from participant observation, interviews, logs of in-game chat, student journal entries, and course activities, I describe how MMOGs like WoW create affordances for language learning. Specifically, address how the virtual environment (game features) of MMOGs like WoW mediate language learning, how social interaction with other players in WoW affects language learning, and how L2 Spanish proficiency and MMOG gaming proficiency shape the language learning experience.