Video games no ensino de língua inglesa

Abstract

This essay is a bibliographical research that aims to understand what are possible benefits of electronic games, whether educational or not, when incorporated into English language teaching through gamification and multimodal approach methodologies. To this end, it briefly discusses the history of video games from the arcade to the personal computers, the domestic consoles and the internet and, subsequently, seeks to find a definition for what video games are, what characteristics define this digital medium and how these characteristics could benefit English language teaching. Finally, examples of research carried out in English classrooms in Brazil are presented in order to understand, through these real examples, how electronic games were incorporated into classroom activities, what were the objectives that led to the use of these means and what were the results obtained by the use of these games as a teaching tool.