Gamification in the English Classroom: An Action Research on How it Might Impact on Students’ Motivation and Engagement

• Autores: Fernando Esquivel Vera, María Natalia Figueredo Camé, Valentina Canese Caballero
• Localización: ÑEMITỸRÃ: Revista Multilingüe de Lengua, Sociedad y Educación, ISSN-e 2707-1642, ISSN 2707-1634, Vol. 3, Nº. 1, 2021 (Ejemplar dedicado a: ÑEMITỸRÃ - Revista Multilingüe de Lengua, Sociedad y Educación), págs. 70-81
• Idioma: español
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• Resumen

  • Gamification is the use of elements and mechanisms typical of a game, in non-playful contexts. Why are some games and especially video games so addictive? How can teachers take advantage of that potential and thus be able to develop lessons in which students are motivated, engaged, and having fun while they are learning? Gamification is a methodology that allows its practitioners to incorporate game elements into the class in order to encourage motivation, engagement, and enjoyment. For the development of this dissertation, an action research was conducted where the impact that Gamification has on aspects of the class such as motivation, engagement, and enjoyment of the students were measured, compared to the game-based learning method (GBL), for which, Gamification and GLB were implemented in an English classroom for the period of a 4-month course, for adolescents between 14 and 17 years old, with a level of competence A2 -B1, at an English institute in the city of Asunción. The instruments applied were tests, interviews, and class observations. With Gamification, the goal is to expressly use motivation for the benefit and purpose of the class. If properly implemented, gamification has the potential to bring new and challenging elements to the English class, which made the general perception that the students had of the class quite favorable. Through the analysis of the results, this Action Research verifies the effectiveness of gamification to motivate, engage, and entertain students.