VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY- HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE --- 000 --- THE EMPLOYMENT OF GAMIFICATION TO ENGAGE LEARNERS IN IELTS PREPARATION COURSE A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By BÙI THỊ HOÀ Supervised by ĐOÀN HUỆ DUNG, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, NOVEMVER 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thankfulness to those who have supported me throughout the time completing the Master’s course and conducting this thesis. First, I owe a debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Đoàn Huệ Dung, for being patient and giving me invaluable orientation and feedback throughout the stages of doing this research.
I am thankful for all the help from the staff and lecturers of the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature when I was doing my courses, during my practicum trip, and when I was carrying out this thesis. Next, I would like to show my gratitude towards the Board of Manager and colleagues of Au Viet language center for creating the best condition available for me to work with this thesis. My genuine appreciation also goes to my dear friends, Mai Huong, Quynh Nhu, Thanh Truc, Hoa Canh, and several others, who have been continuous sources of motivation for me in taking the course and during the hard time when I was about to give up. Last but not least, I am deeply indebted to my parents and sisters for their empathy and endless support, both mentally and financially.
Without their understanding and words of encouragement, I would probably face much more obstacles. I appreciate the lessons from my own mistakes and failure. I appreciate others’ criticism, words of encouragement, and constructive feedback. They have all contributed to who I am now and what I will become in the future.
i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: THE EMPLOYMENT OF GAMIFICATION TO ENGAGE LEARNERS IN IELTS PREPARATION COURSE in terms of the statement of Requirements for the Thesis in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee. The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other situations. Ho Chi Minh City, November 2021 Bùi Thị Hoà ii RETENTION OF USE I hereby state that I, Bùi Thị Hoà, being the candidate for the degree of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of University of Social Sciences and Humanities relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for the purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan or reproduction of the thesis.
Ho Chi Minh City, November 2021 Bùi Thị Hoà iii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .vii LIST OF TABLES. viii LIST OF FIGURES .1 Background to the study .2 Aims of the study .4 Significance of the study .5 Scope of the study.6 Organization of thesis chapters. 4 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .1 The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) .2 The IELTS Academic test format .3 The IELTS Academic writing criteria .3 Gamification and other categories of gaming.1 Definitions of games .2 Definitions of gamification .3 Characteristics of gamification.5 Gamification in education .1 Reasons for gamification in education .2 How to integrate gamification in education .3 Potential problems of gamification in education.4 Notices regarding gamification in education .5 Game design elements.6 Studies related to gamification in education.7 Studies related to IELTS preparation .8 Task evaluation- Evaluating the gamification activities.1 Research approach and design .2 The researcher’s role .2 Research instruments and data collection procedure .1 Data collection procedure- Cycle 1 .2 Data collection procedure- Cycle 2 .3 Data analysis procedure.
37 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .1 Learners’ engagement level in a course with activities using gamification.2 Learners’ views towards activities using gamification in IELTS preparation course .2 SPECIFIC FINDINGS- CYCLE 1 .1 Identifying an area of focus- the need to pay more attention to writing activities .2 An action plan for cycle 1 .3 Analysis and interpretation of data cycle 1 .1 Learners’ engagement level in activities using gamification- cycle 1 .2 Learners’ views towards activities using gamification in IELTS preparation course- cycle 1 .3 SPECIFIC FINDINGS- CYCLE 2 .1 Identifying an area of focus- Evaluation of cycle 1 .2 An action plan for cycle 2.3 Analysis and interpretation of data- cycle 2 .1 Learners’ engagement level in activities using gamification -cycle 2 .2 Learners’ views towards activities using gamification in IELTS preparation course- cycle 2 .4 Evaluation of cycle 2 .1 Learners’ high engagement level in gamification activities.2 Learners’ positive views on the use of gamification activities. 70 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNARE FOR LEARNERS BEFORE CYCLE 1- WEEK 1. 70 APPENDIX B: GENERAL PLAN CYLE 1 .): GENERAL PLAN CYLE 2. 77 ACTIVITY PLAN- CLASSROOM OBSERVATION NOTES- WEEK 2.
77 ACTIVITY PLAN- CLASSROOM OBSERVATION NOTES - WEEK 3. 79 ACTIVITY PLAN- CLASSROOM OBSERVATION NOTES - WEEK 4. 81 ACTIVITY PLAN- CLASSROOM OBSERVATION NOTES - WEEK 5. 83 ACTIVITY PLAN- CLASSROOM OBSERVATION NOTES - WEEK 6.
85 ACTIVITY PLAN- CLASSROOM OBSERVATION NOTES - WEEK 7. 87 APPENDIX D: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR LEARNERS AFTER ACTIVITY. 90 APPENDIX E: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR LEARNERS’ VIEW TOWARDS PERFORMANCE GRAPH. 92 APPENDIX E: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR LEARNERS’ VIEW TOWARDS TEACHERS’ FEEDBACK.
93 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ELT English Language Teaching IELTS International Language Testing System vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 The IELTS Academic test format .2 Game elements definitions .1 General information of participants .2 Summary of activities plan and corresponding research tools.1 Learners’ explanations for their engagement level, in accordance with purposes of gamification .2 Learners’ suggestions on the use of gamification activities .3 Summary of activity plan for cycle 1 .4 Summary of activity plan for cycle 2 .5 Level of learners’ engagement in gamification activities- two cycles .6 Learners’ reasons for engaging in gamification activities- two cycles .55 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2 Conceptual framework of the employment of gamification. 26 Figure 3 The action research cycles .1 Level of learners’ engagement in gamification activities 38 Figure 4.2 Learners’ view towards the helpfulness of gamification activities .3 Learners’ explanations on the usefulness of gamification activities .4 Learners suggestions on writing activities before the study .5 Learners’ reasons for engaging in gamification activities- cycle 1 .6 Learners’ view towards the helpfulness of gamification activities- cycle 1 .7 Learners’ explanations on the usefulness of gamification activities- cycle 1.8 Learners’ suggestions on the use of gamification activities- cycle 1 .9 Learners’ view towards the helpfulness of gamification activities-cycle 2 .10 Learners’ explanations on the usefulness of gamification activities-cycle 2. 57 ix ABSTRACT The present study aims to give a descriptive view of whether gamification helps in engaging learners in a classroom using gamification within an IELTS preparation course; it also explores these learners’ views towards the implementation of gamification. It then points out some issues that teacher-researchers should be aware of in creating a gamification environment.
These aims are achieved in an action research design conducted in two cycles in approximately two months. The tools included a questionnaire delivered at the beginning of the course, one after each activity and another at the end of the second cycle, together with classroom observations. It is found that most learners engaged really well in the gamification activities used throughout the cycles of the research; most of them also showed positive attitudes towards the usefulness of the activities, saying that they brought numerous benefits. Indeed, the gamification activities helped learners engage in writing activities as well as improve their writing skills.
However, there were a few negative opinions towards one of the activities as it somehow put pressure on learners. Based on the findings of the study, it is suggested that careful considerations should be taken into account when designing gamification activities that are suitable for the context and that support learners in achieving the course’ learning outcomes. The improvement of facilities such as internet connection also creates better conditions for teachers to design gamification activities. x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides the background to the study, aims of the study, research questions, significance of the study, and scope of the study.1 Background to the study The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) has become familiar with Vietnamese English learners along with the increasing demand for the certificate.
The test is designed to assess the language ability of candidates in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing skills. Vietnamese learners are taking the test when they need to study or work where English is the language of communication. Having certain band scores in the test is also one of the requirements that undergraduates need to fulfill to achieve their degrees. Besides, high school students who achieve certain band scores in the test can either skip English in the national high school exam or apply to a domestic university.
These are some reasons why more and more young learners are taking IELTS preparation courses, especially those with lower band scores. Due to the seriousness and the difficulties of the test, learners, especially teenagers and learners at lower levels, seem to lack engagement in their IELTS preparation courses in the center, which usually starts at target band scores 2. Others continue with higher courses but a lot of them consider the lessons as unexciting or stressful. Besides, learners of IELTS preparation courses are expected to self-study a lot outside the classroom so learners’ engagement is crucial for them to be successful in these courses.
This study especially aims at engaging learners in activities in IELTS writing lessons as it is proved that learners’ writing band scores are generally lower than those of other skills. Vietnamese learners, except for those who have taken international tests such as Cambridge Key English Test and Cambridge 1 Preliminary English Test, seem to have very few chances to practice essay writing skills compared to grammar, reading, or listening skills. Therefore, writing skills, especially in writing academic essays, should be the key focus in IELTS preparation courses. Additionally, boosting learners’ engagement in writing activities are one of the key factors leading to the success of the IELTS preparation courses.
Several studies have been conducted in order to find ways to engage learners together with achieving learning outcomes. One of the solutions is the use of gamification, which is also the focus of this study. Gamification is chosen to apply in this study’s context because of its characteristics, which are suitable to apply in the classroom context, and purposes, which are in line with the learning outcomes of the course. The term gamification, which emerged in the early 2000s (Marczewski, 2013), has attracted increasing attention since the beginning of the 2010s (Deterding, Khaled, Nacke & Dixon, 2011; Werbach & Hunter, 2012).
It is noticed that the central idea behind gamification is to tackle with the motivational potential of video games by transferring game design elements to non-game contexts (Deterding, et al. Gamification was defined by Kapp (2012, p.9) as “using game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems.” The mechanics of playing a game include levels, earning badges, point systems, scores, and time constraints, which are commonly-used elements in many games. 9-11) Studies from Lui (2015), Ocriciano (2016) and Sailer, Hense, Mayr, and Mandl, (2017) have proved the benefits of gamification in fostering learners’ competence, competitive spirit, and autonomy. Meanwhile, the work of Gressick and Langston (2017) showed that the employment of gamification helped increase the grades and students were willing to go above and beyond course expectations.
Besides, these authors concluded that thoughtful gamification involvements could promote persistence in learning.