| dc.description.abstract | Is there a positive correlation between English proficiency and gaming, as well as game culture, among Norwegian learners? The aim of the present study is to answer that question. Previous studies in other countries have revealed that there might be a positive correlation between language proficiency and gaming, but no such study has hitherto been undertaken in Norway. In the present study, which is made up of one quantitative and one qualitative component, data from a group of Norwegian tenth graders (N = 40, ages 15–16) was collected. The quantitative component is a partial replication of Sylvén and Sundqvist’s (2012) Swedish study, and consists of data from a questionnaire, a language diary, two vocabulary tests, and one grammaticality judgement test. Surprisingly, the results show that there is indeed a correlation between English proficiency and time spent gaming, but it is negative rather than positive. Non-gamers (0 h/week) outperform moderate gamers (> 0 h/week, < 5 h/week) and frequent gamers (≥ 5 h/week) in terms of vocabulary and grammar. If we take game culture into account, however, frequent gamers who spend moderate time (> 0 h/week, < 5 h/week) on beyond-game activities are found to have the highest vocabulary scores in the study. Gender was also found to be an interesting variable in that the boys scored higher than the girls on the vocabulary tests. The qualitative component consists of interviews which explore four gamers’ language learning experiences. These interviews show that dedicated gamers tend to see gaming and game culture as an integrated activity, and that they believe this activity is very effective in terms of language acquisition. However, gaming does not necessarily motivate players to improve their English. | eng |