Unpacking FIFA play as text and action in literacy practices in and out of school

Abstract

In this article, we use a model for games and literacy to explore how one FIFA gamer worked across contexts. Previously, this model has been used to address the role of computer and video games in the teaching of literacy in the subject of English. In the current article, we combine this model with a learning lives perspective, which builds on the idea of following the learner across a wide range of contexts. The findings illustrate how one learner is able to research a specific topic, build a convincing argument for it and transfer knowledge from one source to another in a critical way. The knowledge of a game and its culture and the world around the game is prevalent in a gamer’s literacy practices out of school, and this is shown when our participant draws upon this knowledge in literacy practices for specific tasks in school.