An article on a popular import and independent gaming website called InsertCredit had explained that beginning May 21st of this month, the Nintendo DS which is one of the popular portable gaming consoles is now used as a teaching tool. The city of Yawata located in Kyoto had made it official that the Nintendo DS will be used to teach Japanese students how to speak English.
It would seem that the world of electronic as made the next step of using game titles for educational purposes. In the article it is said that secondary school students within their third year were implemented as the beta tests or the patient zeros of this trial run for over five months. For people that still criticize the gaming industry as being detrimental to society and development need to know this, the trial has seemed to prove successful for the students. The trial study has show that the students have increased their English vocabulary by forty percent as the average.
That’s a pretty good average. Now, it’s going to be introduced officially in the curriculum to all secondary school students going in their second year. We can expect more and better results. Hypothetically, other schools in different cities will probably catch on. It is possible that countries like China, Korea, and Taiwan will catch on and do the same thing that Kyoto is doing. It’s only a matter of time.
At the same time, businesses will benefit because it will bring in a new market of games that serve educational purposes. That should shut up fanatical anti-gaming crusaders such as Jack Thompson for awhile. Foreign students able to increase their vocabulary by forty percent is very impressive within a matter of months.
It’s pretty much a smart move. Currently, the game that’s used by those students is called "Chuugaku Eitango Target 1800 DS."
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