FLEAT VI

Bibliobattle is a social book review game played nationwide in Japan since its birth in 2007. The number of players has been growing remarkably. In only 2014 the number of events held was estimated to be at least 1300. The authors, faculties from three universities, started the English version of the game in 2013 to utilize this movement for English learners to have the opportunity to make speeches and conduct discussions outside of their universities. The objective of the game is to introduce a book and decide on the “champion book” by a democratic vote. As the champion book is not elected by how well the player gives a presentation but by how much they make the participants want to read the book, this game can be played among people with a great diversity of English proficiency levels. The authors have held events with a variety of groups, such as students only, students and teachers, students and adult learners, etc. A Facebook group has been used to call for presenters to exchange any related information and to share opinions. Presentation videos have also been uploaded online in accordance with Bibliobattle official recommendations. The authors have also developed a guidebook and instruction videos available online, which have effectively publicized the game to English learners in Japan. Through the implementation of 16 events in 2013 and 2014, these online support tools turned out to play a major role in building an open community not only among current participants but also potential participants. Even though these potential participants have not joined events, they can still watch presentation videos, share opinions and have the chance to meet a good book and new people. These online support tools consequently enable both current and potential participants to share the experiences and make the game more “social”.