EDEN 201
Teaching English in the Elementary
Grades (Language Arts)
Lesson 10
TOPICS
Gamification in Teaching English
OBJECTIVES
● Define gamification
● Apply gamification in teaching English
● Suggest ways to improve teaching using
gamification
PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY
● What comes into your mind when you hear the
word Gamification?
● Let’s play some games.
● So now, explain what you think is the meaning of
gamification.
DISCUSSION
● In this modern age, learners have become more
exposed to various kinds of entertainment.
● This includes playing games of different forms.
● Games are intrinsically motivating as they provide
a task with a specific objective that players need to
accomplish in order to win in a fun and engaging
environment.
● In simple terms, GAMIFICATION is the integration of
game-like mechanics in traditionally non-gaming
scenarios.
● It is not as simple as handing the learners a game
to play.
● The teacher must carefully structure the classroom
in order for the game elements in the classroom be
more effective to the learners.
Four Game Elements at the Core of Gamification
1. Engagement
Games are naturally engaging. The most successful
games are the ones that are really engaging to the
players.
This is because games provide the players with a clear
goal to reach and a compelling gameplay to
accomplish this goal.
2. Opportunities for practice
Games provide the players with the opportunities to
practice what they have learned in the past and let
them apply these learnings in new and creative ways.
These can even include rote activities that have been
employed in new gameplay scenarios.
3. Assessment
Games do not stop play to assess the players’
knowledge and skill.
Assessment is intrinsically integrated in the gameplay
as performance-based assessment.
4. Feedback
Games continuously provide the players feedback to
simply let them know how they are doing in the game.
Games tally score and keep track of the players’
progress throughout the gameplay.
Before incorporating games in learning experiences,
teachers could consider the following:
● The teacher should have a clear idea of the linguistic
aims of the lesson.
● The teacher should ensure a lot of learner interaction
and productivity during the lesson. Using collaborative
concepts, the teacher can make the gamified learning
experience more engaging to the learners.
● Allow elements of learner autonomy as they create
and adapt rules and solve problems along the way.
● Give accurate and actionable feedback on language and
multiple points in the lesson.
● Allow the learners to have multiple opportunities to
complete the game.
● Move game mechanics from competitive play, but
rather adapt to more completion-based games.
Steps to Gamify a Lesson
1. Survey the learners
● In order to determine the right gamification strategy for
the learners, the teacher needs to pinpoint exactly where
the learners are having trouble with.
● For instance, if slide presentations bore them,adding
interactive elements might improve learner engagement.
● This is why surveying them is important.
● Teachers will be able to find the ways to engage the
learners better.
2. Define the learning goals
● Gamifying learning involves providing the learners with
clear learning goals.
● This comes in two forms: learning goals, which help the
learners understand concepts and skills and behavior
goals, which help learners work efficiently.
● Then, the teacher can structure the lesson to meet these
goals. These structures could present the learner with
choices.
● Choice is a big part of gaming and gamifying the
classroom could benefit the learners when they are
provided with options to tackle problems and reach
learning goals.
3. Structure the gamified experience
● This is where actual gaming elements are incorporated
in the lesson.
● The teacher can adjust the scoring system for the
lesson or activity.
● For example, instead of giving points or grades,
learners could be given experience points and use it to
track their progress in the lesson.
● The teacher could also structure the lesson to come in
stages or levels like the games the learners know.
4. Identify resources
● For any activity, the teacher should also identify the
resources needed to actually implement the lesson or
activity.
● This also means that the learners could be organized
to groups to work on the project together.
5. Apply feedback mechanism
● A big part of the success of games is because they
provide the learners immediate feedback of their
progress.
● So, to gamify the learning experience, the lesson or
activity must be structured to provide a way to help
learners visualize their progress and get immediate
feedback of their performance.
● Then, this can be combined with rewards that
correspond to their progress. This can be in the form
of praises, stars or stamps.
● Then, this can be combined with rewards that
correspond to their progress.
● This can be in the form of praises, stars or stamps.
● The main objective of gamification is to simply make
learning fun and engaging to the learners.
● This is perhaps the most important aspect of
gamification.
POST ACTIVITY/Group Work
● Think of a game that you may use in the classroom to teach
in the level assigned to your group.
● Mention the grade level, subject and lesson or topic when
you present the game in class.
Group 1 - Grade 4
Group 2 - Grade 2
Group 3 - Grade 6
Group 4 - Grade 5
Group 5 - Grade 1
Group 6 - Grade 3
Group 7 - Grade 6
