A Native Video Gamer's Journey Toward Multi-literacy Development: A Narrative Inquiry

ABSTRACT

The continuous growth of production and the development of new video games have influenced many aspects of human lives, particularly the young generation. While video games may tap on the entertainment side, primarily aiming to entertain players, they may profoundly impact multi-literacy development. This qualitative study utilizes narrative inquiry, which involves collecting the data from the experiences of a teenager―a native video gamer―who has spent a significant amount of time since childhood playing video games. The data were collected from diverse sources across time, namely individual interviews, phone calls, verbal protocols, diaries, and WhatsApp texting. In this study, the teenager reveals how the pleasure of video games resulted in developing multi-literacy and learning the English language subconsciously. An analysis of the narrative provides insights into how playing video games results in multi-literacy development and impacts the native video gamer’s cognition, affection, language learning, and cultural knowledge.

KEYWORDS:

• English language learning
• gaming literacy
• multi-literacy
• narrative inquiry
• video games

Acknowledgments

The authors are greatly indebted to Amir who dedicated his invaluable time for months to participate in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Saman Ebadi

Saman Ebadi is an associate professor in Applied Linguistics at Razi University, Iran. His research focuses on CALL, dynamic assessment, qualitative research, and sociocultural theory. He has published extensively in both international journals (e.g., Computer Assisted Language Learning, Interactive Learning Environments, Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Cogent Education, etc.) and local journals.

Reza Ahmadi

Reza Ahmadi is a PhD student of Applied Linguistics at Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. His main research interests are L2 teaching, culture and computer assisted language learning. He has already published papers in internationally acclaimed journals like International Journal for Academic Development and Higher Education Research and Development.