The use of gamification among high school students to enhance EFL learning

Abstract

Technology is an indispensible part of our lives and it holds interest and attention of young people, who are also called the digital natives, with smart phones, the internet, social media, computer or mobile games. The number of students who spend their after school or even in school hours with playing games is pretty high. The fact that games engage people led to the use of certain game qualities in educational settings with the aim of increasing learner motivation and engagement, thus create an effective learning environment and this process is named as gamification. The aim of this study is to identify the effects of gamification on the enhancement of students' English learning achievement and find out the attitudes of the learners toward gamification and game elements (points, rewards, ranks, avatars, leaderboards…) With this aim, a gamification design was developed with the ClassDojo app. The study involved 104 9th grade participants from an Anatolian High School in Ankara and data were collected firstly through questionnaires. Afterwards, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 11 participants. The results yield that gamification was effective in increasing the participation and motivation of the participants. It contributed to the development of language skills. In addition, the students developed a positive attitude toward gamification and they enjoyed the game elements in general. Keywords: Gamification, game elements, learning achievement, motivation, engagement.