Dr Paul Martin

Digital game-based language learning; educational games; meaning in digital games; esports

Orcid Account: 0000-0002-3464-2103

I conduct research on computer games and computer game culture. My current research focuses on digital games-based language learning. I'm specifically interested in cultural differences in teacher and student acceptance of digital games as a means of instruction and the use of digital games as a means of reducing student anxiety around using a foreign language. In the past, I have published in three main areas: games and meaning; game cultures; and game studies as an academic field. In the first area I’ve published work on games as texts and the phenomenology of digital gameplay, and I have a particular interest in the relationship between embodiment and meaning. My work in game culture focuses on Chinese esports, particularly in the context of Chinese universities. Lastly, I have investigated game studies itself as a scholarly project. In this area, I’ve published work on bibliometrics, game citation patterns and the regional turn in game studies.  

I am a founder member of the Chinese Digital Games Research Association (CDiGRA) and served as its president between 2017 and 2022.

• Teaching and Learning with Games
• Media and Society
• Translating Cultures
• Digital Games as Communication
• Digital Media Production (Nottingham Advantage Award)