Gamification-Based Learning in EFL Classrooms: Effects on Motivation and Communicative Competence in Secondary Education

This research examines the influence that gamification has on motivation and the development of students' communicative competence in the Basic General Education level of English as a Foreign Language in public schools in Manabí, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and Los Ríos, regions of Ecuador. The study took a quantitative, non-experimental approach with a cross-sectional design. The research consisted of 245 students, of which 135 were female and 110 were male. The study selected students attending morning in-person classes. The digital tools used were Quizizz, Kahoot!, and Wordwall, and were supplemented with gamified group work designed to improve the students’ English communicative skills. Questionnaires, tests, rubrics, and observer charts for motivation and communicative competence were the natural instruments for collecting data. The research demarcated that the students’ motivation and performance after the intervention improved. The qualitative data appreciated that learners brought about an increase in their speaking and their willingness to communicate and interact with colleagues. The analysis of this research identified similarities with current literature on gamification, active methodologies, and technology for learners’ language acquisition. The study finds that gamification as a pedagogical approach in the Ecuadorian public school system Secondary School English as a Foreign Language.