University of Liverpool

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.

• ScLINGO is a gamified, bingo-style language tool blending professional mental health terminology (CLINGO) with Liverpool Scouse dialect (SLINGO), designed to strengthen language skills, social communication, and belonging among international students at the University of Liverpool.
• International students make up roughly 20 percent of the UK student population (679,970 overseas students in 2021/22), and they often face acculturative stress, isolation, and communication barriers that motivate the study.
• The tool is still in development and pilot stages; a pilot with twelve first-year MSc mental health nursing students reported gains in language confidence, social connectedness, and clinical communication, but these findings are preliminary and based on small-scale qualitative evidence.