In the digital era, it is increasingly prevalent for students to play digital games during their leisure time. Given this occurrence, language educators should consider incorporating digital games into their lessons to increase student engagement in language learning. In addition, language educators need to consider how digital games might facilitate the development of skills that are crucial for student success in the contemporary workplace. This presentation will focus on the importance of multimodal digital games in language education and how they can facilitate the development of 21st-century skills, namely multiliteracies. While language teaching aims to help learners develop language proficiency to enable them to communicate effectively in both oral and written form, the rise of new technologies such as digital games and other forms of new media also implies that learners would require multiliteracies for successful communication in different contexts. In this presentation, I will first introduce the categories of digital games and their multimodal characteristics. Next, I will discuss the concept of game-based education within the field of language learning by referring to different theories and pedagogical frameworks. I will then examine the link between multimodal digital games, game-based pedagogy, and multiliteracies. The presentation will conclude with practical examples on the application of digital games to foster multiliteracies.

Azlin Zaiti Zainal is a Senior Lecturer at the English Language Department, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. Her research interests include teacher education, technology in language education, second language writing, oral communication, and discourse studies. Her publications have appeared in journals such as Digital Education Review, Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, Linguistics and Education, and TESOL Journal. She recently published a book by Routledge entitled Language and Literacy Education of Asylum Seekers and Refugees: Pre-resettlement Experiences of Learners in Malaysia. She is the principal investigator for an ongoing national project on the role of informal learning providers in promoting inclusive tourism for people with disabilities. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief for the Malaysian Journal of ELT Research.