Abstract

There has been increasing attention on the educational power of video games in recent years (Gee, 2003, 2005; Prensky 2001, 2006; Thorne, 2008; Purushotma, 2005). This study aims to investigate World of Warcraft as a venue for second language socialization, specifically in the area of pragmatics. In order to explore the potential for second language socialization in World of Warcraft, ethnographic participant observation was used to examine the interlanguage pragmatic development of two focal learners. The analysis focuses on (1) a range of general speech acts such as greetings, leave-takings, requests for help, and suggestions; (2) pragmatic moves that are important for the gaming context in particular such as mass invitations and negotiating the allocation of loot and resources; and (3) especially challenging pragmatic situations that the learners faced, such as refusals, consolations, and gendered interactions. The data reveals that World of Warcraft does indeed offer learners a valuable venue for second language pragmatic socialization and this study offers important implications for pragmatic instruction, independent language learners, and educational game development.