Digital Game-Based Korean Language Learning for Russian Immigrant Children

With the elements of competition and reward, digital game-based learning is reportedly more effective than traditional instruction methods. Moreover, children with attention problems are reportedly often interested in internet games. We hypothesized that digital game-based learning can improve the effectiveness of educational opportunities in Russian immigrant children and could be more effective in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) compared with other children. This study was designed as an 8-week crossover study that comprised 4 weeks of game rounds and 4 weeks of control rounds for two groups. Wise-Ax™ is a casual digital game for vocabulary education among Russian immigrant children. To develop the game, 1200 Korean words were selected from the word pool suggested by the Korean Government's Department of Education. A total of 26 students participated in the study. At 4 and 8 weeks, all students took the Korean language ability tests. The study found that more than 80% of the children were satisfied with their digital game-based Korean education, which greatly improved their Korean language ability compared with the traditional teaching methods. Children with ADHD showed a greater increase in the Korean ability test compared with children without ADHD in the game round. Wise-Ax could be an effective tool to help improve the Korean language ability of Russian immigrant children, especially those with ADHD.