News
Polish computer programmer scoops Cambridge award for game that teaches children English
14 October 2010
A Polish computer programming student in London has won the University of Cambridge ESOL's Online Game Competition for designing “Word Chase” a Flash-based game aimed at children learning English. Twenty year old Maciej Dudzinski, who is originally from Gdansk, a city in the north of Poland, has just started his second year at Kingston University, London studying BSc Games Technology.
The competition ran earlier in the year was open to all post and undergraduate students in the UK and challenged them to come up with an online game to help motivate young learners of English. Maciej caught the eyes of the expert judging panel which included BAFTA nominated games developer Dan Mayers. “Word Chase” challenges players through 3 difficulty levels to guess words from picture clues. Maciej said:
“I was really surprised when I heard I'd won. Having learnt English as a second language myself, I felt I had a lot to offer other students. When thinking of my own experiences, the best way of improving my English was through as much exposure to the language as possible. So reading books, watching movies and of course playing computer games, like the Final Fantasy series, all helped.”
Ian Cook, Cambridge ESOL's Marketing Manager for the School Sector who presented Maciej with his prize of a Sony PlayStation 3 and Sony TV, says:
“Maciej's game was particularly creative and refreshing. Word Chase provides a platform that is simple, fun and educational. All of these elements make up the ideal way of motivating children to learn English, a skill that will be of use to them their whole lives.”
Maciej's own personal English language journey started when he was a teenager which eventually led him to pass Cambridge ESOL's First Certificate in English. Later he progressed on to the academic English qualification IELTS, which helped him to get a place on his degree course at Kingston.
Maciej plans to finish his course and then work in the computer programming industry.
