Online Resources and Gamification Strategies to Encourage Motivation in EFL Reading Comprehension Exercises

Abstract

[eng] Technological developments during the last decades have had an impact on all areas of life, including education. In the context of EFL instruction, these advances have translated into new language teaching techniques and methodologies that can be applied to different language aspects. For this dissertation, the main focus is set on reading comprehension and how this can be practiced in the English classroom nowadays. After analyzing the previous literature on the subject, it was obvious that there was no conclusion as to whether technological improvements such as the use of digital-based texts are beneficial for the language learning process. Some preliminary research with a sample group of students from 2º of ESO was conducted and the results suggested that learners would enjoy using digital-based activities for reading comprehension exercises. For this reason, the present paper proposes a didactic proposal that is centered on the combination of both printed and technological material for the reading text and the follow-up activities respectively. This proposal revolves around a reading text from a student’s book and includes a set of eight different types of online resources, some of them incorporating gamification techniques, through which teachers can improve the motivation and engagement of their students.