MindGame

The Korea TESOL Journal Vol. 3, No. 1 Fall/Winter 2000 MindGame Mario Rinvolucri. Clarity Language Consultants Ltd., 1999. Reviewed by David B. Kent The MindGame CD-ROM is suitable for the young learner of 8 as well as the older learner of 80. The package is an enjoyable easy-to-use language game that has appeal to Korean learners, especially since it is based upon the game-play of go, known as ba-duk in Korean. MindGame is available as separate packages for elementary, lower intermediate, intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced learners of English as a Foreign/ Second Language. The program is well suited for the learner engaged in self-study, as they can play against a computer opponent, and for use in a language classroom or self-access center where students can play against each other. Game Play Similar to go, the objective of the game is to trap one of your opponent’s pieces between two of your pieces. After trapping your opponent’s piece, the computer will ask you a language question and if you complete the question correctly you capture that piece. To win you must capture all of your opponent’s pieces. The game itself is easy to master, the language work is a little bit more difficult and is based on the notion of presenting students with one half of a matching pair. For example, America is given as the country half of a pair and students must key in American for the missing nationality half, went is given as past tense so students must key in go for present tense, color is American spelling so students must key in colour for British spelling, and so on. Language Focus Overall the design and language content of the exercises are well suited to each learner level. Content areas covered by each level include standard language areas focusing upon grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening, and spelling. It is good to see a package that deals with less traditional language content such as anagrams (late and tale), animal noises (grunt and pig), boys’ and girls’ Reviewed by David B. Kent 123 The Korea TESOL Journal Vol. 3, No. 1 Fall/Winter 2000 names (Denis and Denise), and collocations (spit and polish). Mainstream course books tend to ignore these areas of language, but they are something that many EFL/ ESL students have an interest in. MindGame is an effective tool for engaging in the learning of finite language areas. In addition correct punctuation is required, and it is easy for a learner to forget to use the shift key, although it must be remembered that this is a language game. So too, a little more functionality could have been provided for correct answers, as the game will only accept one correct answer instead of a range of correct possibilities. Multimedia Presentation MindGame’s use of multimedia allows for rich textures and graphics for the game boards and players’ counters. Students can select between different board backgrounds and counter animations. Background music is a nice touch for entertaining learners when they are stuck on a language problem, there is an option to turn it on and off, although the music ceases as soon as the first question of the game is answered. Audio feedback is also provided for each correct or incorrect answer, although the style of feedback cannot be changed as in some other language learning programs. Another use of multimedia is in the presentation of native-speaker audio. The objective here is to have students listen to a term and then key in the correct spelling. This section may not particularly appeal to Korean students, who are more familiar with an American accent, as the vocabulary is spoken in British-style English. However, this does provide Korean students with the opportunity of getting used to hearing, and understanding, an alternative style of accent. Exploring the possibilities of multimedia further, an option for having each game question spoken by a native-speaker, as well as displayed to the student in text form, could have been provided. The CD format of the game certainly allows enough space for this, and it may be something that could come in a later version of the package. Also, having the ability to turn on and off such a feature would come in handy for students playing by themselves, or when working together in selfaccess centers where the students could ask each other the questions as they play. Adjustable Settings The program contains several flexible game and learning options built-in. One option on offering to students is the ability to select the number of words in play, from a range of 4 to 36 words; the default option is set at “maximum.” Students can also change answer time limits, from 6 to 30 seconds; the default setting is “unlimited.” Students can also alter the game-play skill level of the computer, from beginner, 124 MindGame: Mario Rinvolucri The Korea TESOL Journal Vol. 3, No. 1 Fall/Winter 2000 to intermediate or advanced; the default setting is “beginner.” All of these options allow for user customization of the program, albeit to a limited degree, making the game easier or more challenging for the student. Another option is being able to see the computer answer questions. This is the default setting when playing against the computer. Initially this is a little confusing but is easy enough to get used to. This option also allows students to see the answers to questions they may have to answer later in the game. Depending on your purpose for using the game, this can be both good and bad. Good in that it exposes the learner to the language used in the game before having to produce it, and bad in that it gives the student the answer before the student has attempted to use their current language skills. Grading The games integrate the ability to track the activity of each user, showing the amount of time they have spent playing each game, as well as the user’s language progression and problem areas. There is also an option for viewing “top scores.” In a classroom or language center environment these options are valuable for both teacher and student. Individual performance can be viewed both overall and in relation to other class members. A detailed report lists the score for each game and length of time each game was played. The report also lists the number of games completed, the average score, a performance rating, and a breakdown of how many times each term was answered correctly or incorrectly. This report can be printed, although there is no option to save the report to disk. The “top scores” listing cannot be printed. This is a bit of a shame as a weekly print out of this report posted in a classroom or language center environment could motivate students to become engaged more actively in using and learning from the game. Extending the Language Focus The program comes with an authoring kit that allows teachers, or students, to create exercises specifically tailored to individual learning or teaching needs. The packaged authoring tool allows users to develop games employing a method similar to that of the program, i.e., using any matching pair answer, although it is also possible to ask single response type questions. Furthermore, to accompany each question a user designs, there is functionality for customizing the presentation of graphic files and sentences, and the playing of audio or video files. Reviewed by David B. Kent 125 The Korea TESOL Journal Vol. 3, No. 1 Fall/Winter 2000 Future Possibilities An exciting aspect from the publishers of this game is the future development of a website library of authored games. This site will be a repository into which teachers and students can share the games they have developed for use with the MindGame software. Downloading these files could prove to be an excellent opportunity for students and teachers alike to be able to expand the content of their MindGame learning base, and therefore increase the shelf life of the product. Developer’s Background Clarity has been designing English language teaching software since 1992, and their programs are now in wide use in over 85 countries. Clarity has also customized ELT software for Oxford University Press, the British Council, Richmond Publishing, and Australia’s Adult Multicultural Education Service. Minimum Operating System Requirements Windows 95, 98, or NT operating system with Pentium-class processor, CD-ROM and sound card, display resolution: 256 colors, screen size: 800x600. 126 MindGame: Mario Rinvolucri