Game-based language learning in the EFL classroom: analysing and comparing students’ achievement and perceptions

Abstract

Students’ motivation has an impact on the effort they are willing to expend on an activity. Teachers are able to influence students’ perceptions through different strategies, such as introducing games into the classroom, allowing them to learn and enjoy at the same time. Furthermore, learning multi-word verbs (MWV) tends to be a challenge for English as a Foreign Language learners, who usually find unappealing both this topic and the traditional exercises through which it is usually taught. In this study, it is sought to teach MWV in a different way, introducing game-based learning (GBL) into the classroom, in order to observe and analyse the subsequent impact on students' achievement and perceptions. In order to do so, two pedagogical proposals dealing with the same set of MWV were created. The first proposal is formed by six traditional exercises, whereas the second one introduces the GBL component through three games. Both were implemented in the Official Language School of Castellón, with eight students of B1.2 level and fourteen students of C1 level. Students’ achievement was analysed before and after the exercises and the games in order to discover which proposal is more effective to learn MWV. Students' perceptions were also analysed after having implemented both approaches, so as to discover which one is perceived as more satisfying, engaging, difficult and useful to learn MWV. Results show that both implementations had a positive impact on students' achievement, and there was not any significant difference between their results upon implementation. They perceived the games as more satisfying and engaging than the exercises, although they found the games slightly more difficult. In contrast, they perceived the exercises as more useful to learn MWV than the games. These findings suggest that bringing games into the classroom can have a positive impact on students’ enjoyment and on the learning of idiomatic phrases such as MWV, in the context of this research. The study concludes with a series of considerations on the implications of these findings, the limitations of the study and the further research which could be undertaken.