Designing RPG Game to Increase Children Linguistic · PDF fileDesigning RPG Game to Increase Children Linguistic Capability Vania Wahyu Febriani and Bernardinus Harnadi ... Designing

The Third International Congress on Interdisciplinary Research and Development, 30 - 31 May 2013, Thailand

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Designing RPG Game to Increase Children Linguistic Capability

Vania Wahyu Febriani and Bernardinus Harnadi Faculty of Computer Science, Game Technology Program,

Soegijapranata Catholic University (SCU), Semarang, Indonesia [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract - In this proceeding, we designed a PC game that uses RPG (Role Playing Game) genre. RPG is a game which players assume the role of characters. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative. Our game is designed for children. The children take responsibility for acting out some roles within narrative so they can increase linguistic capability for children. This idea can be used for processing lessons in interesting ways and we hope that lessons can be more easily absorbed well by children. Keywords - Game Design, Increasing Linguistic, Children, RPG

1. INTRODUCTION

RPG or Role Playing Game is a one of game’s type which can make us like acting in the story and also can make interaction which some of teams. In RPG, we have to complete some quests to get some items which can be used as our special help. We communicate in team on game with language that is ultimate thing that we must know how to communicate with language. Besides of that, language is a one of nation’s piece. Without a language, we cannot make communications. Yes, we know that language lessons have been tough in children, since they have in family circle.

One of the nation language which always be used in Indonesia is Indonesian. Besides that, Indonesia have their own vernacular. For the sake of country, Indonesia now trying to do some English practice for daily conversation which can see from school circles

to improve education quality in Indonesia. We all Indonesian people know, English language is not one of you-have-to speak. Game that we had made chose linguistic lessons with different ways, one is listening and two is about sentence pattern. The reasons are children need to be tough in better communication with better language and they have to maximize the function of ear which is listening. Also they have to learn sentence pattern which can be sharpen from early. The languages we choose, as mentioned before, are English and Indonesian.

This game chooses listening concept with children song in English and Indonesian. Children will listen to a song, guess some missing lyrics with choose one of some answers. If true, they can move to the next question and if they are not answer correctly, they will get opportunity to try again with some hints. Besides that, children will get question about arranging sentence and complete sentence. Because this game is quite simple, we hope that this game can be played by elementary children about 4th until 6th grade. Finally, children can study while playing with a fun way. Like the name of this game, “Fun Game”, children can have fun with this kind of game. Parents can together accompany their children while study and spending quality hours with children.

2. LANGUAGE, MUSIC AND CHILDREN

Language is a one of communication’s unsure. Language lesson for children is one of a must because language is the way you communicate and language can make you

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understand what other people are saying. Not only language, the pattern of sentence is one packet of language, because the pattern of language can make something plus mark in your manner. We named this game with “Fun Game”, because this game can bring something fun while you are playing it. Fun Game is an educational game about learning language with music, can make learning language to children more educative and easy. With the song, lesson that will receive from this game except vocabulary, pattern sentence, and music, this game can raise liveliness children through answering questions in game. Because some children like games, games can make them thinking they are playing when actually they are studying in the same time [1].

Game with using songs can have their benefits in increasing linguistic capability of children. According to the reference [2], songs can increase memories about word vocabularies which can be useful in the next time to communicate with the others. Except that, songs have moral value in the lyrics too. Music also gives a relaxing energy and positive environment while studying. Studying English with songs is an easy ways which can make study easier and fun [3]. Because of listening children will so easy to know how to pronounce a word, and children can easily know the difference from a word to word well, because in English, there are same pronounce in but different words, meaning, and spelling. [4]. For example: our with hour, to with two or with too, see with she. That is usually known as homophone. It is clearly different, but if we see from sentence context, that is so different.

According to the reference [5], based on experiment, language and music can make verbal intelligence or linguistic. From 1966, Frances Campbell from University of North California (from Readers Digest in October), do a test for students in the kindergarten. They who study with music and game have an IQ bigger until 20 points divides with children who study without music. Except that, Fortunata Tyasrinestu (2004) report that they

have a significant in English vocabulary for kindergarten students. They reported that they are very interesting when they learnt English with music activities.

3. LEARNING STYLES

According to the reference [5], based on experiment, language and music can make verbal intelligence or linguistic. From 1966, Frances Campbell from University of North California (from Readers Digest in October), do a test for students in the kindergarten. They who have studied with music and game have an IQ bigger until 20 points divides with children who study without music and game. Besides that, Fortunata Tyasrinestu (2004) reported that they have a significant in English vocabulary for kindergarten students. They reported that they are very interesting when they had learnt English with music activities.

Every children have their own learning style. Each children can divide their own learning style with help from their parents. So their parents can observe their children and know what kind of learning style for their children. And if they find one of learning styles, they can study well with their learning style. As an example, if child can study with listening music, so they just can study with maximal with listening a music. According to the reference [6], learning styles of children can be divided by 3. There are audio, visual, and kinesthetic.

The first is audio learning style, they actually like learning something with their ears more than anything. With their listening skill, they are faster to remember information well just from listen to the information.

Meanwhile, visual learning style is a learning style with pointed with eyes organ. They more like to process information with their eyes. Drawing something which symbolize the information and remembering well their own symbol. It’s like encoding some information and they can decode the information as well as encode. They more like



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something colourful in their notebook so they can easily remembering their information as many as they can.

The last is kinesthetic learning style. The characteristic of this kind of learning style is they choose to study with symbolize something with their gesture. They cannot be sitting for an hour or two just to study. While study with movement, like with writing, walking around when memorized something, or moving their foot or hands while talking and etc. If they do not move while studying, they cannot study well. They tend to process with using their tactile senses like hand or foot. They are hard to stand quietly while studying.

Each child has different learning style from each other. They may have all of the learning styles, but it’s just one aspect better that the rest. As example, there is a child which have all of the style learnings, but he is better at visual and lack at audio and kinesthetic. And the rest depends on their parents. They have to find their children’s learning style and how to minimize the lack and maximize about they good at.

4. FUN GAME DESIGN

Fun Game is an own handmade game with based on RPG style. This kind of RPG game made in 4 levels with their differences hard level. We did not make tutorial level in this game, because this whole game has tutorial text which guide all of steps in answering the questions. Language that we were using in this game is Indonesia and English because we target to give this game to the elementary school in Indonesian and children hope can understand English.

In each level, we need to solve the problems that available so we can continue the next level that have been provided. This game was specially made to children who still in elementary school grade from 2nd grade until 4th grade. Because in this game have so many questions linked to Indonesian and English

lesson based on elementary grade. This game is pressured in audio and visual learning style. This is because audio uses music as questions, and Visual style uses instruction which displayed in monitor and does not use audio in the instruction. Except that, this game has moral value to help the other and to help their parent.

Except just answering many songs and answering questions, we have to complete the sentences and arranging the sentences. This game is made with a storyline to help understanding what kind of question that will be questioning. After answering the question correctly, they will get the reward gold. Then this gold can be useful to help parents in renovating their houses. If they don’t answer correctly, they will receive gold less than the normal like answering the question well.

The first level is like warming level, we can see questions which guessing melody. This level has a function like sharpen listening skill and introducing music to the children. This level contain about guessing melody from 1(do) until i (high note do). After that, we guessing which melody are correct. So, except to train the language skill, children indirectly train about sharpen listening, train logic skill, and acknowledgement about music.

Fig 1. Screen Shoot of First Level

The second level is about like entering the real story like the theme as we mentioned before, about language. We will be listened

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about some children songs in English and Indonesian, after that we guess about word or story in song that have listened before and try to choose the correct answer. If wrong, music can play again and we have option to choose again. The purpose of this level exist is merging learning style in audio and sharpen children capability about understanding the words which listen to them. Especially the words which homophone. Except that, children will teach to understand the whole story of songs.

Fig 2. Screen Shoot of Second Level (1)

Fig 3. Screen Shoot of Second Level (2)

The third level, we have to arrange the sentences which are in Indonesian and after that we have to translate to English as same as the correct pattern, so the opposite is same, from English to Indonesian. We just answer the correct answer out of the three answers that available. The purpose of this level are to train children with the pattern of sentence or the

correct grammar and to rich children with vocabulary words, noun words, subject words, and so many place word in two languages.

Fig 4. Screen Shoot of Third Level (1)

Fig 5. Screen Shoot of Third Level (2) The last level or the forth level is like a

review level. This review level is like a summary of the first level until the third level. We will face to listen to the song, and after that arrange the answer and then translate them. The purpose of this level is to review all of level and test the children how far they understand the story of the game. This level is more difficult than the other level.



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Fig 6. Screen Shoot of Fourth Level

We make the story line of this game that contains the summary of what will the children play and the benefit of playing for each level. All can be seen from this Fig 7.

Fig 7. Story Line of Fun Game

5. CONCLUSIONS

Games are not for property to play in free time and get refreshing or have fun, but games can be played as a learning property or we can call it educational games. Fun Game, one of education game can be played as a learning property to increase and exercise the linguistic capability of children in elementary school grades at Indonesian and English. Music is one of the side property which we use in this game

because music has a good benefits in sharpening linguistic children. This game hopefully can make contribution to Indonesia in communication disciplinary and language disciplinary and make good governance.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Vania Wahyu Febriani is Game Technology student, Soegijapranata Chatolic University Technology. Base on academic excelent, she recieves scholarship from Ministry of National Education of Republic Indonesia (Beasiswa Unggulan Kemendiknas RI).

REFERENCES

[1] Seminar Paper GRIN Verlag (http://www.grin.com), The Teaching of Vocabulary in the Primary School Foreign Language Classroom, Norderstedt, Germany: Druck und Bindung: Books on Demand GmbH, 2003.

[2] Gordon, Tatiana, Teaching Young Children a Second Language, Westport, United States of America: Praeger Publisher, an Imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group,Inc., 2007.

[3] Manis, Hoeda, Learning is Easy: Tip dan Panduan Praktis agar Belajar Jadi Asyik, Efektif, dan Menyenangkan, Jakarta, Indonesia: PT Elex Media Komputindo, 2010,.

[4] Machado, Jeanne M., Early Childhood Experiences in Language Arts: Early Literacy, Ninth Edition, Wadsworth, Belmont, United States of America: Cengage Learning, 2010.

[5] Djohan, Psikologi Musik, Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Penerbit Best Pubisher, 2009.

[6] Krishnawati, Naniek, et al, Bahan Dasar untuk Pelayanan Konseling pada Satuan Pendidikan Menengah Jilid III, Jakarta, Indonesia: Grasindo, 2010.

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Designing RPG Game to Increase Children Linguistic · PDF fileDesigning RPG Game to Increase Children Linguistic Capability Vania Wahyu Febriani and Bernardinus Harnadi ... Designing