There has been a lot of development in computer games, from playing together in a room to playing in collaboration with people from around the globe. The aim of this empirical study is to gain insight into the differences between frequent gamers and non-gamers in the 4
th and 6th grades, regarding their perception of their English language skills and possible gender differences on how and what they play. A survey was conducted with 68 pupils in the 4th and 6th grades. The results were analysed and discussed in relation to the sociocultural perspective and relevant research. The results show that most respondents’ state that they play games in English and perceive their English language skills as good. Noteworthy, though, is that tablets are preferred over computers as gaming platforms. Furthermore, pupils spend several hours a week playing games, both online and offline. The conclusion is that online gaming is, to some extent, connected to pupils’ perception of their English language skills and that tablets should also be noted as a contributing factor to this. Further research is needed, especially longitudinal studies and studies on younger pupils to examine the possible effects that online gaming has on pupils’ development of the English language.
Engelska