A Real Game-Changer In ESL Classroom? Boosting Learner Engagement With Gamification

The significance of gamification has been robust in educational contexts as gamification provides a greater engagement and empowerment among ESL language learners. This research aims to reconsider the role of gamification beyond its conventional use as gamified classroom activities, incorporating it into the whole journey of an ESL blended learning course. The study was conducted in a Vietnamese private university with a total of 50 learners for 12 weeks. E-journal and interviews were employed to explore learners' deep thoughts of gamification. Each week, five learners voluntarily submitted their journals through a link by Google Form. Additionally, interviews were also conducted in the middle of the course, week 7, and at the end of the course, week 12. Data was analyzed into 3 main themes: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement. The result indicated that ESL learners achieved a deeper engagement in a gamified blended classroom, behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively. To be more specific, learners attained a higher level of participation, effort-making, and contribution to learning. Moreover, participants showed their interest and confirmed the decrease of language anxiety. Finally, students developed a sense of social connection and investment in their learning, which was regarded as the expressions of cognitive engagement.