Evaluation activities in Swirtzerland
An additional evaluation activity took place in Switzerland exploiting existing ties that the University of Thessaly has with adults (former students) that work in in-ternational environments. 10 teachers from Geneva were involved in evaluation activities. They were all active in international schools; given the challenges they usually face in their working environment, they developed an interest in the si-Lang bid and were willing to participate in the evaluation activities. The partici-pant teachers agreed in providing their opinion on the usefulness and relevance of the siLang serious game as well as in offering us an insight into the way they en-gaged in the siLang serious game.
The teachers were ideal candidates for this evaluation activity due to their current position and their experience in an international working environment. Initially, the official siLang software manual was used to provide them with some back-ground information about the application. The test-use was intended to last about 30 minutes and to cover Chapter 1 “Getting hired” of the scenario of the Si-Lang application. The learning sheets – those pertaining to Chapter 1 “Getting hired” – were used to explain the scenario of the application as well as to give an indication of how one can navigate through the application. The users were in control of the navigation through the application and were advised to take notes of complicated information. Help was offered when needed. Afer this encounter with the game, the users were asked to express ther opinion. There was an agreement that the application seemed very engaging and well de-signed. Instead of covering only Chapter 1 some users continued to play the game until the end and spent about an hour.
Among the spontaneous reactions while playing the game, the users made the fol-lowing – unsolicited – statements regarding technical issues, ease of use, quality of the scenario and so forth: Nice design – easy to understand with which items one can react. Participant 1 The scenario for Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 was thought through and allowed for great interaction. Participant 2
The mini-games were very interesting and compelling.
Participant 1
The participants were then asked to answer to specific questions such as the one about their perception of the value of the software as a complementary learning tool. The participants in the study seemed to recognise that the game can be integrated in the teaching and learning process but not in secondary schools. As they explained the game would be very useful for players that have accomplished a certain mastery of the English language, while it may be a little more challenging for novice users. This was a reasonable comment as the game does not target secondary education and has not been designed based on the needs of that particular group.
The software is well designed and easy to use. It very engaging and I be-lieve that students would enjoy the high level of interaction that the appli-cation is offering, while the teachers could use it as a springboard to dive into some specialised vocabulary. However, I think that the level of English is too sophisticated for the students at the level that I'm teaching but could be very helpful at a higher level.
The comments on the value of the game as a complementary learning tool outside an academic environment were very positive. The participants in the study con-sider that the game can be used to practice communication in English in interna-tional environments. The siLang serious game is also considered ideal for entry-level employees training.
Suggestions included the addition of chapters that allow basic language training as well as the addition of chapters that focus on the language and communication needs in specific business sectors, such as HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, and cafes).
It could be a useful tool for companies that work in an international en-vironment and would like to offer some basic language training to their entry-level employees. Industry-specific versions – for example a version targeting HoReCa (Hotel/Restaurant/Café) businesses in countries that don't have a tradition in learning foreign languages (Italy, Spain, etc.) – could be wonderful learning tools, even as a self-study method.
Some technical issues (mis-placement of the dialogue balloons, synchronization issues) were identified by the participants in this study. The implementation team proceeded in the necessary updates in order to ensure that these bugs do not ap-pear in the final version of the siLang serious game.
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