I use the term narrative broadly in the essay to describe the dialogue that emerges between a learner and more capable peer, the sociocultural settings that contextualize language production and nuance its various manifestations, and the stories created by player interaction with a game system. Although I apply the term broadly, the dis- cussion hinges on three fundamental chara- cteristics of narrative, which are based in part on Bruner (1986, 1990, 1991) and which serve as a type of lowest common denominator underpinning these varying theories and approaches. These character- istics are: