First Steps in Online Gamification: Tips for the Language Classroom
First Steps in Online Gamification: Tips for the Language Classroom
First Steps in Online Gamification: Tips for the Language Classroom
By Aravindakshan Sujathaand Sujatha Aravindakshan Menon
Abstract
“Gaming has remained a perpetual source of delight and entertainment to young and old alike. However, its dissociation from education is largely due to the conventional teaching set up and the mindset of teachers and educationists that work and play may co-exist, but cannot integrate effectively in the field of education. In spite of standalone game-based activities and classroom techniques, gamification hasn't established itself as a fully developed sub-field of Applied Linguistics. But, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, education had to change sides and opt for the online mode. Therefore, this research paper is aimed at teachers who are yet to come to terms fully with online teaching and gamification. The pivotal point here is the significance of gamification with reference to two softwares-Educandy and Educaplay and how these two software’s can be used mainly in structural gamification in online teaching, and later, in offline teaching. Aim and Scope This paper aims at focusing on the concept of gamification in an online teaching context. The term 'language classroom' in the title does not confine itself to the teaching of grammar, vocabulary, and the basic skills. It also refers to the use of gamification for the teaching of literature, in which the language component is inherent and inseparable. Since gamification tools for e-learning are available in thousands or even more, it would be better to restrict the scope of the paper to two gaming platforms so that readers may implement the same in their classrooms. Further, the paper aims at providing insights on how one can plan and implement online game-based activities in the realm of practical English Language Teaching. Since this paper is intended for teachers who are at the beginner or the intermediate level, the emphasis is more on structural gamification. Research Gap Online teaching is a field about which one can find countless research articles and books. A simple Google search with the term online teaching enclosed in double quotations yields 7.910,000 results. Similarly, the term gamification enclosed in double quotations produces 91,000 results. This is ample proof for the plenitude of literature that abounds in these two areas of language teaching. However, it is difficult to come across articles, which offer in-GEDRAG & ORGANISATIE REVIEW-ISSN:0921-5077 VOLUME 34 : ISSUE 04-2021 http://lemma-tijdschriften.com/ Page No:227 depth information on a particular gamification tool and its relevance in terms of teaching/ learning strategies. This paper seeks to suggest solutions in that direction by attempting to provide insights into online game-based tools and how they can feature in various stages of classroom teaching. However, although thousands of articles have been written on this vast field, not many articles of significance has been written on gamification with reference to specific websites, softwares or platforms. Therefore, this research paper hopes to make headway in that direction of teaching and learning. Contribution to the Study Gamification is an oft-used term, but only a handful of the teaching fraternity/ sorority happens to deploy gamification tools in the language classroom. Further, most teachers shy away from the very idea of gamification because they think that it requires a great deal of technical knowledge and even programming skills. The main purpose of this study is to demonstrate that in order to gamify one's classroom, one does not need specialised knowledge in the field of computers or artificial intelligence. Further, the very idea of gamification is to usher in a suggestopedic element in the language classroom and to make learners feel at ease during the process of learning.”
Reference
Sujatha, A., & Menon, S. A. (2021, October). First steps in online gamification: Tips for the language ... Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356085019_First_Steps_in_Online_Gamification_Tips_for_the_Language_Classroom
Keyword
Gamification, language, classroom, learning, research