I've started with A Link To The Past, not too much text to translate, i just searched on a dictionary every single word trying to understand the most i could of every single sentence. Then i passed to Secret of Mana, and more text heavy games like Breath of Fire 2 and Final Fantasy VI... Soon i had no problems understanding almost everything, only downside was i became the official translator for my friends when they were playing rpgs they couldn't understand ^^
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Non-native English speakers who've learned the language by playing video games...
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ErrorMacro
Member
How old were you when you started trying that? It usually helps when you start it from a young age.
Not much to say, really. When I was young, I used to play a lot of Nintendo games (mostly from the N64 era). As I didn't have internet back then, I had to either use walkthroughs on magazines, or figure things out on my own, which required at least a basic understanding of english. So I always carried an english-portuguese dictionary with me, and every word I did not know the meaning of, I looked on the dictionary. It also helped that I was always naturally good at understanding the context of words. Building vocabulary + analyzing context of senteces eventually made me pretty good at understanding english.
However, while I'd say that I understand 99.99% of what I read in english, I still have to improve my writing a lot.
pinkurocket
Member
Oh I actually remember playing some old text adventures on my neighbour's PC back in the day. My English was very basic at that point, but I still tried. There's one game, I don't remember the name, but there was a broken bridge and to cross it you had to use a vine. I didn't know what a 'vine' was in English, but that's where I learned about it.
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
this, i ruined it though when i discovered internet forums and my rap music phase
MGS was the game that really made me push myself though, dictionary and all
still, i couldnt pass the area after the elevator of the first level for years
Lionel Richie
Member
I remember playing Ocarina of Time asking my father to translate what was going on. The thing is that my father didn't speak english all that well so the game went a lot differently when I played it again years later. However, I have a relative who lives in Boston and I used to visit all the time. Those english classes were the only thing that kept me from starving or shit.
It happened with other games as well, but OoT is the one that's clearer in my head.
It happened with other games as well, but OoT is the one that's clearer in my head.
YourMaster
Member
I was thought German and French in school for 5 years as well, and speak neither. German is slowly starting to come now I live here.
You can't compare a very bad way in learning a language (study, school) to a very good way: being surrounded by it, being forced to use it/work with it.
I'm sure you as a native English speaker have learned many new words from video games, some real, some nonsensical. Think of weapon system, gamer lingo, whatever.
Also don't forget that most people learning English from videogames have another European language as their primary language, helping immensely.
The way videogames are structured is actually helpful, I think the first text-heavy games I played were the zelda games, consider the JUMP spell, if you don't know what the word means you still only got the two spells so you figure out quickly that that spell causes you to jump higher, and only when you've mastered that skill, and learned the word as well, is the third spell introduced.
Tribes of Trusty
Member
I already studied English in school and middle school, and I was quite good at it, but not excellent. Plus, it felt like, well, something compulsory rather than a pleasure.
Cue start of high school. I loved Star Ocean 2 (which was (terribly) localized in my native language, French), so I bought Star Ocean 3. The problem was the game was in English only.
So instead of 10 hours of normal play, I did 15 by painfully talking to every NPCs and checking my dictionnary each time I didn't understand something. I remember the codex having some difficult words I didn't even know in French ha ha.
It was one of my best decisions in life. It allowed me to drastically improve my English skills and opened up a world of localized games, movies, TV series and books I wouldn't be able to enjoy before.
Cue start of high school. I loved Star Ocean 2 (which was (terribly) localized in my native language, French), so I bought Star Ocean 3. The problem was the game was in English only.
So instead of 10 hours of normal play, I did 15 by painfully talking to every NPCs and checking my dictionnary each time I didn't understand something. I remember the codex having some difficult words I didn't even know in French ha ha.
It was one of my best decisions in life. It allowed me to drastically improve my English skills and opened up a world of localized games, movies, TV series and books I wouldn't be able to enjoy before.
And now on to Japanese !
If only I had the time to.
If only I had the time to.
Fbh
Member
In my case it was when I got into Rpg's, starting with Pokemon
When playing a platformer like Mario or a Shooter like Doom I didn't understand the text but I didn't care too much as understanding what I had to do wasn't that hard and there wasn't much of a story either.
But then I got the Pokemon Yellow bundle for my birthday and that changed. Suddenly I was playing in this world that was filled with all sorts of characters, and almost everyone had something to say. Between guides and the shared knowledge from the school playground I could still advance in the game and I was having a blast with it. But I still felt like I wasn't getting the whole experience. So that got me interested in learning english, I started paying more attention during english class and I probably annoyed my dad (who knows basic english) by constantly asking him the meaning of words.
And then as I discovered stuff like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy my interest in really understanding everything that was going on just kept growing.
Several years later, in middle and higschool, I started reading books in english (the ones I could find. It was actually cool as you could get Harry Potter books months before they were released in Spanish). And I also started posting in english gaming forums (RIP Gametrailers, btw). The mix of frequently reading and writing in english really helped me get much better at it.
When playing a platformer like Mario or a Shooter like Doom I didn't understand the text but I didn't care too much as understanding what I had to do wasn't that hard and there wasn't much of a story either.
But then I got the Pokemon Yellow bundle for my birthday and that changed. Suddenly I was playing in this world that was filled with all sorts of characters, and almost everyone had something to say. Between guides and the shared knowledge from the school playground I could still advance in the game and I was having a blast with it. But I still felt like I wasn't getting the whole experience. So that got me interested in learning english, I started paying more attention during english class and I probably annoyed my dad (who knows basic english) by constantly asking him the meaning of words.
And then as I discovered stuff like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy my interest in really understanding everything that was going on just kept growing.
Several years later, in middle and higschool, I started reading books in english (the ones I could find. It was actually cool as you could get Harry Potter books months before they were released in Spanish). And I also started posting in english gaming forums (RIP Gametrailers, btw). The mix of frequently reading and writing in english really helped me get much better at it.
I don't know to be honest. I remember my first games were FPS like Doom, ROTT, Heretic and many others; they have few words. I always called my mother to help me understand what was trying to say the text on the screen.
I admit though, games weren't the only medium I used for learn English. Watching movies subbed in Spanish, later with English subtitles, reading books in English and on the internet, they really helped me.
So yeah, games, movies, books and tv shows helped me learn English.
I admit though, games weren't the only medium I used for learn English. Watching movies subbed in Spanish, later with English subtitles, reading books in English and on the internet, they really helped me.
So yeah, games, movies, books and tv shows helped me learn English.
ZombiePlatypus
Member
Moved to America in 1997. Didn't have friends or speak the language, but my aunt bought me a PS1 with FFVII.
I carried the game's guide with me everywhere, and asked my poor ESL teachers definitions for various words as I came across them like Mercenary, summon, or Life-stream.
Really excited to play the remake cause I'm pretty sure there's a lot in the story that I didn't understand then.
I carried the game's guide with me everywhere, and asked my poor ESL teachers definitions for various words as I came across them like Mercenary, summon, or Life-stream.
Really excited to play the remake cause I'm pretty sure there's a lot in the story that I didn't understand then.
X-Wing and TIE Fighter are the first English games I can remember trying to actually understand.
Until then, the games I did play had little to no text, or I could just ignore it, or were translated. XW/TF not only were the first time I needed to know what they were telling me so I could complete the missions, but my 8-years old version also *wanted* to understand all the extra dialogues and lore the games were throwing at me. It was effing Star Wars after all.
One year later I started to receive English lessons at school, although my knowledge of the language didn't really take off until we got internet at home around 1996.
I still suck 
Scrooge McDuck
Member
I mostly imrpove my English vocabulary through watching TV series and reading novels but if asked about the first game from which I actually got English-learning experience, then it's Leisure Suit Larry.
My brother attempted to play through it as I watched and every time we got stuck, we asked for our mother's advice. I learned some new verbs from it and it was the first time I became aware of English tenses as I asked why was a word written as "sent" and not "send."
My brother attempted to play through it as I watched and every time we got stuck, we asked for our mother's advice. I learned some new verbs from it and it was the first time I became aware of English tenses as I asked why was a word written as "sent" and not "send."
It's also how I learned what a condom is.
Damn! I thought this thread sounded interesting, and as soon as I opened it I got hit with a big wave of nostalgia.
I'm from sweden and one of my first memories is playing Fate of Atlantis with my dad. I didn't understand much at all, but I've loved Indiana Jones since then. When I was old enough to read I started playing it by myself with a dictionary. So that and Pokémon blue was a huge part of me learning english.
I'm from sweden and one of my first memories is playing Fate of Atlantis with my dad. I didn't understand much at all, but I've loved Indiana Jones since then. When I was old enough to read I started playing it by myself with a dictionary. So that and Pokémon blue was a huge part of me learning english.
clem84
Gold Member
That goes for me too. I played tons of games when I was a kid so I was exposed to English mainly from that. TV shows and movies also helped a lot. The few English classes we had in elementary school also helped but in retrospect, they were pretty bad. They didn't teach you much of anything.
Then when I got the internet in 1994 (I'm really showing my age here) and started visiting web boards and newsgroups, and for the first time actually writing in English as opposed to reading only, that also gave me a serious boost.
Bjoern the Smexy
Member
English was never much of a problem for me. I learned it quickly in school, but on a low level.
Zelda Ocarina of Time helped me develop my English skills further. I played through it in German maaaany times. I basically knew everything in the game so I started playing it in English. I didn't know how to speak the words exactly (always remember: the "w" in "sword" is silent), but I knew what the words meant at least. So my English reading and writing skills improved A LOT by playing games I knew inside and out in English.
As I said, Zelda OoT was the main culprit, but also Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie helped me a lot in that regard.
Zelda Ocarina of Time helped me develop my English skills further. I played through it in German maaaany times. I basically knew everything in the game so I started playing it in English. I didn't know how to speak the words exactly (always remember: the "w" in "sword" is silent), but I knew what the words meant at least. So my English reading and writing skills improved A LOT by playing games I knew inside and out in English.
As I said, Zelda OoT was the main culprit, but also Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie helped me a lot in that regard.
TheBryanJZX90
Member
I think it's pretty great that people can do this. World getting smaller and cross cultural communication and all that good stuff. I have a question though. For all of you non-native speakers, while you were still learning English would you have liked the games to be written at a more basic level so that they are easier to understand? Or does having more complex grammar and vocabulary encourage you to practice and level up English ability?
Dargor
Member
Since I was young, I always preferred playing RPGs, so I think that helped me alot, cuz they were full of words and sometimes those words had a picture of something attached to them, so it would help to reinforce their meanings.
And I also liked watching movies, animes, cartoons with subtitles instead of dubbed, so that helped me too.
Lastly, I knew that it was impotant for me to always keep perfecting it, so I'm always reading
books, magazines, etc, in english.
I would say that, nowadays, my english is pretty good hehehhe.
And I also liked watching movies, animes, cartoons with subtitles instead of dubbed, so that helped me too.
Lastly, I knew that it was impotant for me to always keep perfecting it, so I'm always reading
books, magazines, etc, in english.
I would say that, nowadays, my english is pretty good hehehhe.
Phoenix944
Member
I think you need to use the language you're learning outside classes. I'm the same with spanish: 3 years of highschool with spanish classes and I still have to use english or french when I want to communicate with people in Barcelona
English on the other hand, with games and anime/manga, I was able to use it and by doing that improving myself. But since all media are in english I can understand if you don't find a motivation to use another language (maybe find a cute french girlfriend x) )
I learned English through Pokemon games exclusively, not from any other games and not from English TV either and it was way before English got taught to us at school.
But I have no idea how I did it. I mean the language in those is easy enough but I didn't know any English at all the time, the games were text only and I had no one around me to help me out with it.
Now admittedly my speaking still isn't up to par because of this and my grammar wasn't very good either, that only improved later on through the internet, but it's still crazy to me that I learned a language through playing video games only.
Probably helped that I was a little kid. I sure as hell couldn't do it now.
But I have no idea how I did it. I mean the language in those is easy enough but I didn't know any English at all the time, the games were text only and I had no one around me to help me out with it.
Now admittedly my speaking still isn't up to par because of this and my grammar wasn't very good either, that only improved later on through the internet, but it's still crazy to me that I learned a language through playing video games only.
Probably helped that I was a little kid. I sure as hell couldn't do it now.
royox
Member
You can't even imagine the strugle of being 6 years old, Spanish, and play Zelda OOT in english.
The most stupid thing could have you stuck weeks. Finding the fucking hoockshot to be able to enter to the Forest Temple was a miracle.
I also learned A LOT of words with Pokémon Yellow (It was in spanish but my uncle gave me an american version 2 months before it was released in spain).
The most stupid thing could have you stuck weeks. Finding the fucking hoockshot to be able to enter to the Forest Temple was a miracle.
I also learned A LOT of words with Pokémon Yellow (It was in spanish but my uncle gave me an american version 2 months before it was released in spain).
Bloody_Five
Banned
My godmother used to be an English teacher and I remember her to be very impressed by the fact I could perfectly repeat the lines from the introduction of the original Resident Evil.
-I am going with you, Chris is an old partner, you know...
-Barry, look out it's a monster!
-Let me take care of it !
Video games are not the only source but they have played their part in teaching me English.
-I am going with you, Chris is an old partner, you know...
-Barry, look out it's a monster!
-Let me take care of it !
Video games are not the only source but they have played their part in teaching me English.
"Time up", "checkpoint", "press any key" and (more importantly) "please wait" and "loading" were among the very first words that I could ever read, around the age of of 5. I guessed their meaning but I wasn't sure, obviously
And of course when I started learning English at school (8 years later...), playing RPGs helped me a lot.
And of course when I started learning English at school (8 years later...), playing RPGs helped me a lot.
eso76
Member
C64 and Amiga taught me English, back when videogames in my country didn't get translated.
And of course English videogame magazines I used to buy from a local bookstore.
It was like reading stuff from the future back when our magazines were for the most part 2 months old translations of their English counterparts.
Everyone in my class had attended English classes regularly in primary, I was the only one who had not, and yet by the age of 10 I was by far the best in the whole school, by a large margin even, and was always ahead of others throughout my career as a student.
And of course English videogame magazines I used to buy from a local bookstore.
It was like reading stuff from the future back when our magazines were for the most part 2 months old translations of their English counterparts.
Everyone in my class had attended English classes regularly in primary, I was the only one who had not, and yet by the age of 10 I was by far the best in the whole school, by a large margin even, and was always ahead of others throughout my career as a student.
I'm the one. Started with NES games when I was about 7-8. In '95 I was totally amazed by Warcraft II and later by Diablo - unfortunately my father was angry at me for playing such violent games hehehehe. I'm also addicted to watching American tv series and movies.
Love English language, love American culture.
Love English language, love American culture.
royox
Member
"Time up", "checkpoint", "press any key" and (more importantly) "please wait" and "loading" were among the very first words that I could ever read, around the age of of 5. I guessed their meaning but I wasn't sure, obviously
And of course when I started learning English at school (8 years later...), playing RPGs helped me a lot.
I had the "PICKED UP SOME AMMO" stuck in my head as a 5 years old xD
julzillamilitia
Banned
JENOVA CHEN did this
Pretty much started watching a lot of english tv-series and playing a lot of games at a young age so I guess thta made me more proficient at english but what tought me the most was talking with pre-pubescent north english lads on xbox live when playing halo.
It really made me learn how to speak english, well english with some weird af accent but it's still english and it has influenced how I speak now a lot, well I don't sound pre-pubescent but I do have a pinch of that accent they used to speak.
But what I do know is that my english skills is a lot higher than it would be if I wasn't gaming.
It really made me learn how to speak english, well english with some weird af accent but it's still english and it has influenced how I speak now a lot, well I don't sound pre-pubescent but I do have a pinch of that accent they used to speak.
But what I do know is that my english skills is a lot higher than it would be if I wasn't gaming.
ReyVGM
Member
I don't know how it was for people that speak a language that uses a different alphabet than the greek one, but anyone that speaks a latin based language (spanish, italian, french, portuguese) can at least read english (even if they don't understand it). Also, english uses a lot of latin/greek words that are almost universal, such as telephone, graphics, cardiologist, etc.
So just for that, the barrier is way lower than someone that speaks an asian language or something like that.
The sentence structure is almost the same, you could even translate things literally if you wanted, unless it had slang or something.
But the most important thing is that most, if not all of us, learned when we were children playing or reading something we actually loved.
When you are a kid, you absorb everything, since not even your native language still engraved in your brain, you are able to accept things that are different.
That's my take on it.
hans_castorp
Member
Rpgs and Terry Pratchett are the main reasons I learned english lol
Currently trying to do the same with german.
Currently trying to do the same with german.
Es ist aber nicht so einfach, lokalisierte Spielen zu finden
SmartWaffles
Member
I learnt almost all of my English proficiency through video games, native language is Chinese.
I'm german and while I had english in school, I've learned a LOT more from video games. Especially since in the 90's there were many games not translated into german, and I've played many of those games with a dictionary besides me. Of course movies and the internet also helped improving my english, but playing games was the biggest help for me.
ReyVGM
Member
Good thing that happened back then, today you probably be flagged as a terrorist for asking what those words meant.
Adventure games are probably your best bet. Some of the ones on GOG offer German as an option.
Devilgunman
Member
I tried during highschool, never worked for me. Study abroad on the other hand helped me significantly.
I had English in school but my grades were mediocre at best. Then I finally got a 56k modem and access to the internet. From there on I never looked back. Started to play Snes games in English that were never released in my country (CT, FF ...), read guides and discussions on Gamefaqs to get through games. Additionally I started watching tv shows (as it sometimes took years for some shows to get there) and reading books. My grades significantly improved, even though I stopped investing too much time into studying for school related subjects in English.
Today I hardly visit any forums that only have people speaking my native language, all my consoles are running with English langauge options and the only media that I sometimes consume in my native language are shows/movies.
Today I hardly visit any forums that only have people speaking my native language, all my consoles are running with English langauge options and the only media that I sometimes consume in my native language are shows/movies.
Death Metalist
Member
This dude right here taught me English along side Disney films. When the PS1 released, things got even better. Way later in my life though I've played LucasArts adventure games and man, I would have loved them alot back in the day, doesn't mean I don't do now.
SilverLunar
Member
Pokemon (Gold) and Final Fantasy IV
I replayed these games so many times and learned the script by heart with a 3kg dictionary on my lap.
I replayed these games so many times and learned the script by heart with a 3kg dictionary on my lap.
I wasn't very good at English until I decided to check out that popular online game featured everywhere on Miniclip.com
So here we are, February 9 2005. I was 12 and RuneScape was a pretty big step towards the unknown for my French self.
Being forced to play a game in English for the first time meant I had to keep learning more if I wanted to make any progress. There were people to meet, quest dialogue to read and a ton of common vocabulary I would absorb over the weeks, months and years I spent playing my first and only MMO.
Exactly a month after I started playing, I went to England as part of a school trip. The teen whose family I stayed with was also playing RuneScape, and we kept in touch like that for the rest of the year (until he tried to scam me! #NeverForget)
All of this combined gave me all the motivation I needed to get serious about learning English. Movies, games, you name it. School was a breeze
Fast forward 11 years and I'm an English Community Manager for a popular F2P mobile game.
Thanks video games. <3
So here we are, February 9 2005. I was 12 and RuneScape was a pretty big step towards the unknown for my French self.
Being forced to play a game in English for the first time meant I had to keep learning more if I wanted to make any progress. There were people to meet, quest dialogue to read and a ton of common vocabulary I would absorb over the weeks, months and years I spent playing my first and only MMO.
Exactly a month after I started playing, I went to England as part of a school trip. The teen whose family I stayed with was also playing RuneScape, and we kept in touch like that for the rest of the year (until he tried to scam me! #NeverForget)
All of this combined gave me all the motivation I needed to get serious about learning English. Movies, games, you name it. School was a breeze
Fast forward 11 years and I'm an English Community Manager for a popular F2P mobile game.
Thanks video games. <3
johancruijff
Banned
english is not my second language but along with music, games were the biggest resource i had to learn english
i vividly remember trying to understand the words in the menus and write down the effect of each line
"New game" -> this start the game
and so on
i vividly remember trying to understand the words in the menus and write down the effect of each line
"New game" -> this start the game
and so on
SoldnerKei
Member
learned pronunciation with music and tv shows, but what I learn from videogames was to read it.
Zelda Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy 7 and Pokemon were the games that I played the most and all had bunch of text, if I didn't know something I just look it up, thou I gotta say that even so I got stuck for a while sometimes.
Zelda Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy 7 and Pokemon were the games that I played the most and all had bunch of text, if I didn't know something I just look it up, thou I gotta say that even so I got stuck for a while sometimes.
AppleSeason
Member
Zelda: Link's awakening gave me a good boost as a kid, as it was the first game with a language barrier that needed to be taken down.
In any case, once I had enough knowledge to handle more complex stuff I began playing everything in English... Which is a major pissoff when I buy something to discover it is not multilingual (Valkyrie Profile 2). Final Fantasy IX was a major pain as I had always been used to the English magic spells names.
In any case, once I had enough knowledge to handle more complex stuff I began playing everything in English... Which is a major pissoff when I buy something to discover it is not multilingual (Valkyrie Profile 2). Final Fantasy IX was a major pain as I had always been used to the English magic spells names.