A comparison of linear and interactive fiction on vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension and engagement.

There are few studies that explore the cognitive and affective benefits of interactive fiction(IF) in language learning and teaching contexts. Inspired by Neville, et al. (2009), we compared the effectiveness of IF in comparison to non-interactive, linear fiction in terms of vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension and motivation in a university EFL context. Participants (n = 88) were divided into two groups. The control group read a linear story; the experimental group played through an interactive version of the same story. A pre- and post-experiment vocabulary test was employed to measure the acquisition of 16 target vocabulary words. A test based on the actions of characters within the story was also employed to measure reading comprehension. Finally, a post-test questionnaire measured student perceptions of learning with linear and IF. This paper introduces the results of the study which are as follows. Findings revealed no significant difference in scores between the control (linear) and experimental (IF) groups for vocabulary acquisition or reading comprehension. However, an additional analysis of the data was conducted based on learners’ gaming proficiency which revealed that, in comparison to high proficiency gamers, low proficiency gamers found it difficult to control the interactive version of the story. This suggests that students’ level of game literacy may influence perceptions of the system.