Anna: I think that the average age in SL is 35. Are you younger or older than 35?
Edge: older..around 45
Anna: What is your mother tongue?
Anna: When did you create your first avatar, and why?
Edge: It was in 2008. I heard about SL and decided to see what it was.
Anna: Where did you hear about SL? Do you remember it?
Edge: On TV, they mentioned that Second life had ended a couple relationship and said something about avatars.
Anna: *Smiles* So you came in to end couples relationships, right *giggles*
Edge: No. I came in because of the avatars *smiles*
Anna: *Smiles teasing him* fine, fine. Did you study or learn English before entering SL? If yes, what was your level, more or less?
Edge: I did study English at school and I took 5 years of it , but I learned more when I went to England to work.
Anna: So your English was pretty good when you arrived in SL, I guess. Much higher than other Portugueses of your age
Edge: I’ve always enjoyed English more than the other languages in option.
Anna: Do you speak other languages?
Edge: Some French too and some Spanish.
Anna: *nods, staring at the man with curiosity… then shakes her head and asks the following question*: Has your English improved since you joined SL?
Edge: Of course ..It has been brought alive in the writing as it never did before.
Anna: But well, you had been living in England, you said: a much more immersive environment than SL *giggles*. Your answer surprises me, I have to admit it
Edge: Yes, but when we speak we communicate with sounds and I had to guess how to write most of the words
Edge: ..writing helps me spelling the right way
Anna: So.. you sort of learnt to write in English in SL *smiles* that’s interesting…
Edge: Yes.. you can say it revived the English with more accuracy.
Anna: Ah.. from your coming back from England and your creating your first avatar.. how many years did pass?
Edge: …oooh, many. I stayed in England just for a year, in an hotel.
Anna: *giggles* Me too, but only 6 months … I learnt a lot in those 6 months..
Edge: nods* That was 15 years ago.
Anna: Then your English, when you entered in SL, was not the same of 15 years before, right?
Edge: Was nearly forgotten
Anna: Like mine *nods*.
Anna: How long did your English take to come back, after you entered SL? More or less, of course.
Edge: Well, two weeks after that I was surprised of myself .haha
Anna: *laughs* Very quickly!
Anna: And why and when did you start roleplaying?
Edge: Well. I started in SL with another avatar and then I created this one, came right to Artstonia and I’ve been in this RP Sim since then
Anna: You hadn’t roleplayed before? And why did you come straight to Artstonia?
Edge: I looked for a medieval place and a new meter system, because I was in CCS before, with fire guns, and I wanted something more in the earlier ages
Anna: You were already fighting but not roleplaying, right?
Edge: nods* True.. but I saw folks Roleplaying, and somehow I sometime was amused by how they emoted and created plots. Hihi.. but all I ever did was killing. I was good at that.
Anna: Well, you are still a wonderful fighter, one of the best here in Artstonia for what I know.
Edge: There’s always one even better …..
Anna: Of course, otherwise it’s boring, to fight with no foes to defeat.*smiles* But let’s go back to the boring language topic *giggles* Since when you started to Roleplay, have you attended any course or engaged in other activities that could have helped you improving your English (reading, movies, trips etc)?
Edge: No, I never did any language activities but writing.
Anna: Do you mean that you write in English outside SL?
Edge: Ah! No
Anna: Do you practice English only in SL or in other contexts as well (work, leisure, other virtual worlds or communities)
Edge: No. I live in Portugal. Just in SL so far.
Anna: How many hours do you spend roleplaying? How many hours in SL (in general, RP or not).
Edge: Lately no more than a couple hours a day.
Anna: And before?
Edge: I spent much more hours, like 4 or 5 a day.
Anna: Do you see any difference in the language you use normally in SL and the one you use in Rpg?
Edge: Not me, but I notice many Rolplayers changing the way the write and speak. Ones with symbols, and others with short ways of writing.
Anna: Can you explain it better?
Edge: Hmm.. Some Rolplayers try to transmit accent on through their writing.
Anna: And what do you think about it? Do you think that it affects you? You may risk to learn a sort of “wrong model”, or it could affect the way some people might use the language?
Edge: Yes, it may affect the way some people that speak other language get the wrong English way , but those Rp players are not that many that can do great damage to the English.. But we may catch some wrong words as we are under the influence of each others.
Anna: Also because there are many whose native language is not English. Did it ever happen to you to learn a word and then discover it was not “English”? I’m asking it because it happened to me in RL, hanging around with Spanish people while I was in England.
Edge: Well.. it just needs to change one letter of a word to make the sentence means another thing, that happened to me many times. The result is not English nor any other language ..lol
Anna: *giggles* Yes, creative English, I call it.
Anna: Most rpg are in chat, that is people do not “speak” but simply write what they have to say. Do you feel comfortable with your spoken English? Do you know many words or expression in their written form but not how they sound?
Edge: nods* I’ve been learning words every day, but I know that my spoken English is rusty as I haven’t spoken it for years.
Anna: You do not use voice in SL? Never?
Edge: I did long time ago ..was funny. But I don’t see the use to do that
Anna: What do you mean? You have micro…
Edge Yes, but not in every Sim one is allowed to speaking. At least in the ones I go.
Anna: *giggles* That’s very strange for us language teachers. Most of us almost only communicate by voice..
Edge: hehe… It makes it more simple yes?
Anna: Well, you can walk and talk.. at least *giggles*.
Anna: Can you remember and share with us a language learning situation in Rpg? A moment in which you realised that you were learning something new? Or a moment you were aware of some language learning taking place?
Edge: The RP classes are a good example of that here in Artstonia.
Anna: Ah.. why?
Edge: Because we learn RP and read the correct English writing
Anna: Yes, when one starts there is a lot of reading.. and well.. later too, if you join a guild, the tasks you have to do to go up in the ranks..
Edge: good thinking ..nods*
Anna: Would you recommend to roleplay in SL to improve one’s foreign language?
Edge: Why not? It’s one of the best places. Otherwise is more gestures and symbols.
Anna: Thus you think that someone with a decent level of English could actually learn the language by roleplaying?
Edge: I’m positive about that .. I did and I believe I still have much to learn * smiles*
Anna: Is there something, language related, of course, that I did not ask you and that you would like to add?
Edge: I just hope my answers may be an help to someone new that wants to explore RP. It has been great, thank you
Anna: I’m the one who have to thank you, Edge, *smiles* it was very interesting to interview you.