Sprechen Sie Videogames?: Gaming for Language Learning

Today I want to talk more about informal learning in videogames, though, and specifically about foreign languages. Videogames are probably not a smart method for learning a foreign language from scratch. But if you’re already studying a foreign language, games can be a great way to supplement traditional study while having fun.

            Videogames have helped me learn and (not forget) both German and Japanese. When I lived in Japan for two years, I wanted to practice my Japanese as much as I could because (spoiler alert) it’s pretty hard to learn for an English speaker. So in addition to all my traditional study methods, I bought a used N64 (this was 2003 or 2004, so it was only a generation old and the price was right compared to the GameCube) and started playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Japanese. With the limited Japanese I knew at the time, I understood maybe 1/4 or 1/3 of the text, but that was fine with me. I knew the game a bit (though I’d never beat it), and the story wasn’t so convoluted that I couldn’t basically keep up even when the Japanese lost me. Meanwhile, I was getting practice in Japanese reading and grammar in what still felt like down time rather than study time. (The copy of Mario Kart 64 that I bought for the system was decidedly less helpful in teaching me language skills…but I knew that going in. One does not buy Mario Kart to study a language.

            When I came back to the States, I started using games to keep in touch with languages I no longer had the chance to use regularly otherwise. For example, when I reviewed Final Fantasy VI Advance, one thing I didn’t mention was that I played the game in German. My German is good enough that I understood most of what was happening, and the bits I was missing were easy enough to pick up from context. That’s actually one of the best educational things about playing a game in a foreign language—it’s a situation that lends itself well to reading/listening to the language without constantly stopping and turning to a dictionary. Using a dictionary to look up new words is often helpful, of course, but it’s also necessary to practice language skills in situations where you don’t stop every five seconds to learn new vocabulary but instead go with the flow and try to make do with what you already know. That’s a skill that’s easier for me to practice in videogames, when stopping to look things up all the time would ruin the flow and make playing less fun.

            My Japanese was never quite as good as my German, so back in the States, I usually practice my Japanese while gaming in games that let you listen in Japanese with English subtitles. Reading the English helps me know what to listen for in the Japanese, so that I can better pick out more of the standard vocab and grammar from amongst the specialized combat and fantasy jargon (etc.) that I never learned while studying the language for practical purposes. Gaming in Japanese in this way provides the same language-learning benefits as watching anime with subtitles. It also provides the additional bonus (as I’ve pointed out elsewhere Do We Need: Subtitles in Foreign Video Games? of hearing voice actors who, unlike a lot of the English-speaking actors brought in during localization, know the cultural context for the lines they’re reading and are working with game designers or directors who know the overall plan that their performances are part of.

            This week, though, I bought my first all-in-Japanese game since I moved back to the U.S. in 2005: Valkyria Chronicles 3 for the PSP. VC3 was never localized to an English-speaking region, but I’m a big fan of the series and don’t want to miss out on the final title just because it’s not in English. A fan-translation patch years in the making was completed this winter, but I think instead of using it I’m just going to bite the bullet and muddle through in Japanese with occasional reference to online story summaries and menu translations so I can get any key info I’m missing. I’ll understand less of the language in the game, of course, but I’ll still get to play the game and practice my Japanese (and won’t have the hassle of dealing with custom firmware required for the fan-translation patch), so all in all, I think it’ll be a nice change of pace in my gaming.

            Have you ever tried to play a game in a foreign language (or with foreign audio and English subtitles)? Why? Was it a language you knew to some degree? When do you think playing a game in a foreign language is helpful for language learning? Do you have to know the language with a certain level of proficiency before it can be fun or worthwhile? When is it too distracting or not worth the trouble? Are some genres better than other for playing in a foreign language?

Written By: Brandon Perton