Teaching conditionals using new technologies and game-based learning

Abstract

Despite the emergence of new teaching methodologies, English is still taught in a traditional way in most high schools (Al-Mekhlafi and Nagaratnam, 2011). Moreover, the importance of using new technologies in the classroom has increased significantly since the last decades although most educative institutions still are reluctant to introducing them (Naqvi, 2018). Taking into account these assumptions and the situation observed during the internship, this present paper seeks to test the feasibility of GBL, combining digital and non-digital games. To do so, it has been devised a four-session didactic unit DU to learn the first and second conditionals in a class of 4th ESO with 25 students. Students’ improvement has been measured with a pre-test and a post-test while their experience has been reported through a satisfaction questionnaire. Results reveal that most students have acquired the structure of the first conditional, but few benefits have been noticed regarding the second conditional performance. Nevertheless, students are also able to discern between the two types of conditionals. On the other hand, the satisfaction survey indicates that their experience has been enriching. Finally, we conclude the project by providing some limitations and directions for further research.