The use of gamification to enhance oral participation in EFL classes among high school students

Abstract

Abstract: This research study focuses on using gamification to improve oral participation in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes among secondary school students. The objective was to analyze the effectiveness of gamification in enhancing oral participation among secondary school students in EFL classes. The study was conducted at a private high-school in Mejía canton, Pichincha province, using a mixed-methods approach that combined both quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants were forty students in the first-year of Upper secondary education and one English teacher. The research instruments applied were: a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and an observation sheet. The results indicated that gamification had a positive impact, significantly motivating oral production in English. Based on these findings, this study found that the most prominent and predominant game elements that help students to improve their oral participation in English classes are immediate feedback, rewards, points, avatars, leaderboards and challenges. However, these overcomes also demostrated that game mechanisns, such as progress bars, levels and badges, diminish intrinsic motivativation and oral expression in students, which were considered as the least effective mechanisn for gamified activities.