The effects of gamified instruction via the Classcraft website on Japanese ELLs' self-reported motivation levels are explored in this study. Classcraft is an application (available on smartphones, tablets, and the web) geared toward increasing ELLs’ motivation to study English by ‘gamifying’ the classroom through game elements like avatars, rewards, points, leveling, and teamwork. A2-level (the CEFR equivalent of elementary level) students across four compulsory Listening and Speaking classes at a university in western Japan were chosen for this study. Similar to traditional role-playing video games (RPGs), the participants were required to create and ‘level-up’ online avatars with points they acquired through good in-class behavior and performance, e.g. being on time for class and assisting peers in need. Through leveling up their characters, students were also able to obtain real-life rewards, e.g. the ability to redo an assignment, skip a section of an assignment, or increase the score of an assignment. To measure changes in motivation over the course of the semester, the two instructors involved in the study recorded observational data and conducted pre- and post-study surveys. The data suggests that while students generally had a positive outlook on the rewards Classcraft offered, it had a negligible effect on their motivation.

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Abstract Summary
The effects of gamified instruction via the Classcraft website on Japanese ELLs' self-reported motivation levels are explored in this study. Classcraft is geared toward increasing ELLs’ motivation to study English by ‘gamifying’ the classroom through game elements like points, rewards, leveling, and teamwork. A2-level (the CEFR equivalent of elementary level) students across four compulsory Listening and Speaking classes at a university in western Japan were chosen for this study. Similar to traditional role-playing video games (RPGs), the participants were required to create and ‘level-up’ online avatars with points they acquired through good in-class behavior and performance. To measure changes in motivation over the course of the semester, the two instructors involved in the study recorded observational data and conducted pre- and post-study surveys. The data suggests that while students generally had a positive outlook on the rewards Classcraft offered, it had a negligible effect on their motivation.

Authors:
Tyler Mitchell, Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan
Davis Shum, Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Mr Tyler Mitchell is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Kyushu Sangyo University in Japan

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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