Beyond the Controller: Spectators as Linguistic Mediators in Game-Enhanced L2 Interaction

Caron, Joffrey

doi:10.22049/jalda.2026.31880.2049

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Joffrey Caron

PhD in Applied Linguistics, Adjunct Professor, Department of Modern Philology, Faculty of Letters, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain

https://doi.org/10.22049/jalda.2026.31880.2049

Abstract

This study examines how non-controlling participants mediate access to and use of French as an L2 during classroom-based gameplay with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) video games. It specifically investigates how spectators’ contributions shape shared understanding, collective decision-making, and subsequent in-game action. The data comprise 13 video-recorded gameplay sessions, totaling 8 hours and 40 minutes, involving 24 Spanish university students with French proficiency levels ranging from A1 to B1+. The corpus included cooperative and solo gameplay, with the analysis focusing primarily on episodes from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Using a collection-based multimodal conversation-analytic approach, 60 episodes of peer linguistic and communicative assistance were identified and compared. The analysis shows that spectators participate by providing access to written text, translating or reformulating game language, converting interpretations into action, and temporarily assuming interactional leadership. Through these practices, non-controlling participants transform written, spoken, and visual game resources into actionable knowledge for the player and the wider group. The findings distinguish technical control from interactional agency: controller possession determines who can execute an in-game action, but not who organizes interpretation, decision-making, or strategic guidance. The study therefore shows how pedagogically organized solo gameplay can create situated opportunities for collaborative meaning-making and language-focused interaction.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Technology in language learning and teaching

Article Title [Persian]

فراتر از دستۀ بازی: تماشاگران به مثابه میانجی‌های زبانی در تعاملات زبان دوم با محوریت بازی

Author [Persian]

دکتر جوفری کارون

دکترای زبان‌شناسی کاربردی، استاد مدعو، گروه زبان‌شناسی و ادبیات مدرن، دانشکده ادبیات، دانشگاه کاستیا-لا مانچا، سیوداد رئال، اسپانیا

Abstract [Persian]

پژوهش جاضر بررسی می‌کند که چگونه شرکت‌کنندگان غیرکنترل‌کننده، قادر می شوند دسترسی و استفاده از زبان فرانسه را به عنوان زبان دوم در طول گیم‌پلی مبتنی بر کلاس درس با بازی‌های ویدیویی تجاری آماده (COTS) میانجی‌گری کنند. این مطالعه به طور خاص بررسی می‌کند که چگونه مشارکت تماشاگران، درک مشترک، تصمیم‌گیری جمعی و اقدامات بعدی در بازی را شکل می‌دهد. داده‌ها شامل ۱۳ جلسه گیم‌پلی ضبط‌شده ویدیویی، در مجموع ۸ ساعت و ۴۰ دقیقه، شامل ۲۴ دانشجوی دانشگاهی در اسپانیا با سطوح مهارت فرانسوی از A1 تا B1+ است. این مجموعه شامل گیم‌پلی مشارکتی و انفرادی بود و تجزیه و تحلیل آن عمدتاً بر قسمت‌هایی از بازی «افسانه زلدا: نفسِ وحش» متمرکز بود. با استفاده از یک رویکرد چندوجهی مبتنی بر مجموعه، ۶۰ قسمت از کمک زبانی و ارتباطی همسالان شناسایی و مقایسه گردید. این تجزیه و تحلیل نشان می‌دهد که زبان آموزان تماشاگر با فراهم کردن دسترسی به متن نوشتاری، ترجمه یا اصلاح زبان بازی، تبدیل تفاسیر به عمل و به عهده گرفتن موقت رهبری تعاملی، مشارکت می‌کنند. از طریق این شیوه‌ها، شرکت‌کنندگان غیرکنترل‌کننده، منابع بازی نوشتاری، گفتاری و بصری را به دانش عملی برای بازیکن و گروه گسترده‌تر تبدیل می‌کنند. یافته‌ها، کنترل فنی را از عاملیت تعاملی متمایز می‌کنند: مالکیت کنترل‌کننده تعیین می‌کند چه کسی می‌تواند یک عمل درون بازی را اجرا کند، و نه اینکه چه کسی تفسیر، تصمیم‌گیری یا هدایت استراتژیک را سازماندهی می‌کند. بنابراین، این مطالعه نشان می‌دهد که چگونه گیم‌پلی انفرادی سازمان‌یافته از نظر آموزشی می‌تواند فرصت‌های موقعیتی برای معناسازی مشارکتی و تعامل متمرکز بر زبان ایجاد نماید.

Keywords [Persian]

: یادگیری زبان مبتنی بر بازی
بازی‌های ویدیویی تجاری آماده‌مصرف
افسانه زلدا: نفسِ وحش
میانجی‌گری زبانی
تحلیل مکالمه

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Journal of Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature: Dynamics and Advances

Beyond the Controller: Spectators as Linguistic Mediators in Game-Enhanced L2 Interaction

References

References

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 01 October 2026

Beyond the Controller: Spectators as Linguistic Mediators in Game-Enhanced L2 Interaction

References

References

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript Available Online from 01 October 2026

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 01 October 2026