The Impact of Language and Social Communication on the Sense of Belonging among International Students Using ScLINGO Application

This study examines whether ScLINGO, a web-based gamified language-learning tool, can strengthen language skills, social communication, and sense of belonging among international students at the University of Liverpool, with particular attention to future health professionals. Grounded in the observation that international students make up roughly 20 percent of the UK student population (679,970 overseas students in 2021/22) and frequently experience acculturative stress, isolation, and communication barriers, the work positions gamified learning as an underexplored route to adjustment in healthcare education. The research adopts Activity Theory and a Participatory Action Research methodology, and the game remains in development and pilot stages, so its outcomes are not yet established.

ScLINGO adapts a bingo-style format that blends professional mental health terminology (CLINGO) with Liverpool Scouse dialect (SLINGO). It was developed iteratively, moving from a cardboard prototype to a digital web version. A pilot with twelve first-year MSc mental health nursing students, supplemented by qualitative interviews, reported gains in language confidence, social connectedness, and clinical communication. These findings are preliminary and drawn from small-scale qualitative evidence. The digital format was credited with improving accessibility and student ownership, while teachers observed that the paper version generated richer face-to-face discussion, a trade-off that shapes the planned next stages.

The planned wider rollout proceeds along two routes: integration into discipline-specific modules such as mental health nursing, adult nursing, and physiotherapy, and inclusive use during student orientation, including an induction event for 900 new students in September 2024. The work also identifies a generational and linguistic gap between tutor and student term suggestions, and flags the need for careful social awareness, since some dialect terms may be offensive or reinforce stereotypes. The authors anticipate improvements in proficiency, integration, and belonging, to be tested through a longitudinal survey and interview study over the following academic year. These benefits remain expected rather than demonstrated.