Among the enormous MMORPGs player population, kids account for a significant percentage. In the meantime, more and more non-native English players are joining the English MMO servers for various reasons. For them, playing MMORPGs is an efficient way to improve their language skill.
Compared to other genres, like ACT and RTS, MMORPGs contain much greater quest dialogue and lore. To progress in the game, players have to constantly read and understand the content. By this way, players can unconsciously improve their vocabulary and reading skill.
Moreover, as a highly interactive game genre, MMORPGs can also provide players with an engaging platform to communicate with others. In a MMORPG, you have to team up for quests, join guilds, trade and etc. All of these require you to interact with other people in the game. Usually we can find out that new players not only suck at PK, but also suck in typing out coherent sentences. While playing the game, players’ communication and typing skills improve greatly.
To hook more players onto the game, developers usually provide forums and blogs, where players can chat with others and compose their in-game stories. Conquer Online has once hosted a fan story competition to let players share their sweet and bitter experience in the game and with the whole community. In this fashion, MMORPGs can enhance players’ writing skill.
Obviously players can learn the basics of a language from schools. But schools can’t force you to master something that you have no interest in, especially a foreign language. For those non-native English players, MMOs can provide a platform where they can be exposed to a real English environment, and contact with native English speakers. Compare this to the traditional study method; MMOs create a positive and efficient environment to learn a language.
Take Conquer Online for example, significant non-native English players from Middle East and European countries have joined the Chinese style, free MMO’s English version servers, which makes for a quite multicultural game community. Aside from the immersive gameplay, many of these players admit that Conquer is a good channel for them to improve their English. Undoubtedly, the vivid game world is much more acceptable and attractive than the traditional classroom teaching.
You should also point out that MMOs can also have an extremely negative effect on language skills as well.
U no wot i mean?
Fri Oct 24 2008 4:52AMFor surz lookz wot i L2type.
Fri Oct 24 2008 7:17AMisnt it totally obvious that ppl can improve their knowledge of a language in any medium that requires communication?
besides that i still see enough ppl who speak engrish (or broken english) and dont need to improve on that since its good enough for any mmo
Fri Oct 24 2008 7:23AMWTB FBSS u snd pm kthxbye, lvl18 nrc spc dth lfg!
Fri Oct 24 2008 11:00AMedit: sorry forgot to add:
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Fri Oct 24 2008 11:02AMUnfortunately, if the game is not a game developed by the company of a native-English speaking nation, then you run the risk of the game being poorly translated.
Even then, there's a ton of typoes in quests and character dialogues that could lead people to misuse words, or prevent them from understanding their real meaning.
Fri Oct 24 2008 2:48PMI totaly agree actually i get great grade in english because i play lots of mmorpgs that imporved A LOT my vocabulary.Now i just have to care about grammar =P
Portuguese
Fri Oct 24 2008 4:35PMI totaly agree actually i get great grade in english because i play lots of mmorpgs that imporved A LOT my vocabulary.Now i just have to care about grammar =P
Portuguese Average
Fri Oct 24 2008 4:35PMI totaly agree actually i get great grade in english because i play lots of mmorpgs that imporved A LOT my vocabulary.Now i just have to care about grammar =P
Portuguese Average Player
Fri Oct 24 2008 4:35PMWow Nemal. One buttonpress on 'Save Comments' is enough :P Anyway, the language skill thingie go both ways. You pick up alot of bad habits playing mmo's when it come to typing, reading and speaking english.
Fri Oct 24 2008 6:45PMI would say a better source to read proper english is reading some good books. Even though if you aint a booky type, there's bound to be books out there you like. I love the Discworld series for one, and Morgan Kane.
Fri Oct 24 2008 6:47PMim of the opinion that most ppl never read the quest and lore part. the quest givers mostly want you find somesort of item either by killing something or by finding someone.
Sat Oct 25 2008 5:57AMi dont think the negative effects of mmo's undo the positive effects,usually if ur unconciously typing or writing txt then you can catch it by previewing your work
Sat Oct 25 2008 6:13AMTyping in abbreiviation doesn't have a negative effect on communication skills as far as talking. It simply helps you spell badly. Spelling correctly won't get you to the local taco stand in mexico... speaking something correctly will.
Sat Oct 25 2008 9:44AMMMORPG.com writes:
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