Abstract

Real readers reading is an exciting series of linked research seminars which now continues into its third year running two seminars in the Michaelmas term of 2016 as part of the PLACE academic group events in 2016-2017.

In this seminar series, different presenters share their experience of empirical reading research and reflect on how their various methodologies afford deeper insight into reading and readers. We encourage participants to attend both sessions to make the most of the cumulative effect of the presentations and discussion. This year we will focus on research in the Faculty.

It is not to be missed by anyone with an interest in reading research. Places are limited, so reserve yours now to avoid disappointment. Refreshments provided to keep energy levels high! To book your place, contact Lucian Stephenson lms56@cam.ac.uk.

This presentation reports a research project exploring the engagement and collaboration of a group of children as they work together in pairs to play a mobile game, Monument Valley. Drawing on socio-cultural and socio-linguistic discourse analysis approaches, the research foregrounds the language that the children use as they collaborate with each other and with the game itself. The presentation highlights how the children engage in the gaming experience, whether these stances are more creative and problem-solving or game-goal driven. Through a close analysis of the children’s interactions as they play together, the general knowledge, domain-specific and inter-textual connections that the children make become apparent, as does the fluctuating depth of their immersion in the storyworld of the mobile game.