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- PaperLanguage Teaching Research1 Jul 2026
Gamified Language Learning: The Impact of Role-Playing Games on Beginner Japanese Acquisition
Yi-Fan Wang, Mei-Hua Hsu, Max Yue-Feng Wang
Examined the effectiveness of Nihongo Quest, a theory-driven role-playing game for beginner Japanese learners, in an eight-week quasi-experimental study. Game-based learning significantly outperformed textbook instruction on vocabulary and grammar gains, and boosted intrinsic motivation while reducing anxiety. The game's design aligned with SLA frameworks (IIO, SDT, WTC, SCT) and integrated multimodal literacy tasks.
Original abstract
This study examined the effectiveness of Nihongo Quest, a theory-driven role-playing game (RPG) developed for beginner learners of Japanese. Sixty undergraduate students participated in an eight-week quasi-experimental study comparing a game-based learning (GBL) condition with a traditional textbook-based condition. Results indicated that participants in the GBL group demonstrated significantly greater gains in vocabulary ( d = 1.45) and grammar ( d = 1.05) than those in the textbook group. In addition, the GBL group reported higher levels of intrinsic motivation ( η ² = .25) and lower levels of language learning anxiety ( η ² = .16). These outcomes are attributed to the game’s systematic alignment with core second language acquisition (SLA) frameworks, including the input–interaction–output (IIO), self-determination theory (SDT), willingness to communicate (WTC), and sociocultural theory (SCT). Through the integration of multimodal literacy tasks, interactive dialogues, and culturally situated scenarios, Nihongo Quest reduced cognitive load while supporting both linguistic and pragmatic development. The findings suggest that theory-informed RPG-based instruction can effectively enhance beginner-level Japanese language acquisition and offer a transferable instructional design model for other complex-script languages, such as Chinese and Korean.
- PaperTESOL Journal18 Jun 2026
Using Grammar Dimensions to Transform Multilingual Teachers From Rule Repeaters to Reason Givers
Chris Corbel, Julie Choi, David Nunan
This study implemented a 13-week MTESOL subject using Larsen-Freeman and Celce-Murcia's Grammar Dimensions framework (form, meaning, use) to transform multilingual teachers from rule repeaters to reason givers. Focus group data from seven participants revealed epistemic shifts, professional repositioning, and emerging uses of AI as an investigative tool. Contrary to threshold concept theory, participants readily embraced the framework, indicating it fills foundational gaps in traditional grammar teacher preparation.
Original abstract
This study examines a reconceptualized approach to grammar addressing fundamental gaps in multilingual teacher preparation. Traditional rule‐based training has historically prepared teachers to give prescriptive responses that shut down student inquiry rather than to reason about grammatical patterns in context. Drawing on functionalist conceptions of language, in particular, Larsen‐Freeman and Celce‐Murcia's Grammar Dimensions framework of form, meaning, and use (henceforth FMU) (2016), we designed a 13‐week MTESOL subject repositioning FMU as potential transformative knowledge for specialist grammar teachers. The subject integrated theoretical development with practical application through authentic text analysis and systematic engagement with professional grammar resources. Focus group data from seven multilingual participants reveal three patterns of transformation: epistemic shifts from rule‐based to pattern‐focused understanding, professional repositioning toward confident reason‐giving, and emerging approaches to AI as an investigative tool rather than an authoritative replacement. Contrary to Meyer and Land's Threshold Concept theory predictions, participants embraced FMU readily rather than finding it challenging, suggesting it represents essential foundational knowledge and processes absent from traditional programs. The study illustrates how sustained FMU instruction can support multilingual teachers in developing a shared analytical vocabulary for grammatical reasoning, a form of pedagogical expertise that neither native‐speaker intuition nor AI currently supplies.