Gamification and Motivation in the EFL Classroom: A Survey-Based Study on the Use of Classcraft

Abstract

[eng] For many decades, the bases of education have remained unchanged. In an era where classrooms are being provided with personal computers, projectors, and interactive whiteboards, the ineffectiveness of traditional educational methodologies has been brought into the open. This has caused the reaction of many researchers, educators, and institutions, who have united forces to reinvent and innovate the educational scene at a wide scale. Part of the focus has been placed on gamification which, in a broad sense, consists on applying game mechanics to real life contexts to achieve higher levels of engagement and motivation from users while simultaneously having them acquire new abilities. Despite having been supported by psychological theories, the limited number of practical studies carried out so far showcases inconclusive results. Thus, this MA dissertation adds to the corpus of practical studies on gamification in the hope that someday it will prove useful in the search of a definite answer in this matter. In this study, two groups of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at different academic levels (3rd year of Compulsory Secondary Education and 1st year of Non-Compulsory Secondary Education) in a Spanish high school were taught a didactic unit each in an environment characterised by a high presence of gamification elements and techniques, with Classcraft being at the forefront. So as to gather students’ impressions and their previous experiences within the educational system, two different questionnaires (one prior to the experiment and another one afterwards) were delivered to them. Apart from this, they were encouraged to briefly fulfil a weekly portfolio to gather information on what they found most motivating, engaging or boring in each of the classes in which gamification was applied