Comparative Analysis of Gamification and Storytelling Strategies in EFL Vocabulary Acquisition

Yıl 2023, , 368 - 378, 28.09.2023

Semin Kazazoğlu

https://doi.org/10.53048/johass.1357420

Öz

In both first and second-language education, vocabulary acquisition serves as a crucial skill. This quasi-experimental research study was carried out to assess the impact of storytelling and gamification strategies on the lexical abilities and working memory development of EFL young learners. The research cohort comprised 40 Turkish students aged 9 to 10 and the study was conducted within the confines of an elementary school affiliated with a foundation in Türkiye. An independent sample t-test was employed, permitting the evaluation of variations in vocabulary assessment scores which were conducted on four separate occasions both within and between groups. The empirical findings reveal a notably higher level of achievement within the gamification environment as opposed to the storytelling milieu, resulting in more substantial lexical advancements. Accordingly, this study ascertained that the integration of educational games as a pedagogical strategy with young learners serves to enhance vocabulary acquisition. Furthermore, the research uncovered the salient influence of repeated exposure on the expansion and retention of acquired vocabulary over time. In light of these findings, this study advocates for a more intensive integration of educational games within language instruction, particularly in the context of children embarking on the journey of learning English as a foreign language.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Episodic memory, gamification, storytelling, vocabulary acquisition, EFL young learners

Kaynakça

• Adams, E. J., Nguyen, A. T., & Cowan, N. (2018). Theories of working memory: Differences in definition, degree of modularity, role of attention, and purpose. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 49(3), 340–355.
• Aesop., & Winter, M. (1919). The Aesop for children. Rand, McNally & Co.
• Barreras Gómez, M. A. (2010). How to use tales for the teaching of vocabulary and grammar in a primary education English class. RESLA, 23, pp. 31-52.
• Bruder, P. (2014). Game on: Gamification in the classroom. NJEA Review, 87, 56-60.
• Butler, Y. G. (2015). The use of computer games as foreign language learning tasks for digital natives. System, 54, 91–102.
• Calvo-Ferrer, J. R. (2017). Educational games as stand-alone learning tools and their motivational effect on L2 vocabulary acquisition and perceived learning gains. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(2), 264–278.
• Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching language to young learners. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
• Costabile, M. F., De Angeli, A., Roselli, T., Lanzilotti, R., & Plantamura, P. (2003). Evaluating the educational impact of a tutoring hypermedia for children. Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual, 1, 289–308.
• Cowan, N. (2017). The many faces of working memory and short-term storage. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 24(4), 1158–1170.
• Dujmović, M. (2006). Storytelling as a method of EFL teaching. Metodičkiobzori,1(1), 75-88.
• Fansury, A. H., & Januarty, R. (2018). Brain writing learning model using episodic memory in teaching narrative text. Exposure Journal: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 7(2), 90-105.
• Flores, J. F. F. (2015). Using gamification to enhance second language learning. Digital Education Review, 21, 32-54.
• Gruss, J. (2016). Games as a tool for teaching English vocabulary to young learners. World Scientific New, 53(2), 67-109.
• Hitchens, M., & Tulloch, R. (2018). A gamification design for the classroom. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 15(1), 28-45.
• Jackson, D. (2017). Can games help creative writing students to collaborate on story-writing tasks? International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 7(3), 38-50.
• Kazazoğlu, S. & Bilir, S. (2021). Digital storytelling in L2 writing: The effectiveness of Storybird Web 2.0 tool. TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 20(2), 44-50.
• Kipling, R. (1902). Just So Stories. Macmillan Classics Edition.
• Kurt, G. (2021). Technology-mediated tasks in the young learners’ EFL classroom. Ilkogretim Online, 20(1), 327–340.
• Laufer, B., & Nation, P. (2016). A vocabulary-size test of controlled productive ability. Language and Testing, 16(1), 33-51.
• McGee, L. M., & D. J. Richgels. (2000). Literacy’s beginnings: Supporting young readers and writers. (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn& Bacon.
• Morrow, L. M. (2001). Helping children read and write. Literacy development in the early years. (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
• Riggins, T., Blankenship, S. L., Mulligan, E., Rice, K., & Redcay, E. (2015). Developmental differences in relations between episodic memory and hippocampal subregion volume during early childhood. Child Development, 86(6), 1710–1718.
• Susanto, A. (2017). The teaching of vocabulary: a perspective. Jurnal Kata: Penelitian Tentang Ilmu Bahasa Dan Sastra, 1(2), 182-191.
• Thornbury, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
• Tulving, E. (2002). Episodic memory: from mind to brain. Annual review of psychology, 53, 1-25.
• Woolfolk, A. E. & Nicolich, L. M. (1980). Education psychology for teachers. (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Wu, T. (2018). Improving the effectiveness of English vocabulary review by integrating ARCS with mobile game-based learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34(3), 315–323.
• Zou D., Wang F. L., Xie H. R., Kohnke L. (2018). Game-based vocabulary learning in China and Hong Kong: Students’ evaluation of different word learning APPs. In Cheung S. K. S., Lam J., Li K. C., Au O., Ma W. W. K., Ho W. S. (Eds.), Technology in education: Innovative solutions and practices (pp. 44–55). Springer.