The Potential of Using Kahoot to Empower EFL Learners : An Experience of Game-based Learning

Subject Areas : Research in English Language Pedagogy

Mohammad Bagher Khatibi ¹ , Alireza Badeleh ²

1 - Department of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Educational Technology, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.

Received: 2021-06-04 Accepted : 2021-07-19 Published : 2021-12-01

Keywords: Digital Games, Game-Based Learning, Kahoot, English for Academic Purposes (EAP), Language Skill Performance,

Abstract :

These days, educationists and students are growing enthusiasm for digital learning which is based on pedagogical games. A review of the body of research confirms that these online instructional games are efficient at getting the learners involved in the learning process. The present research investigates using an online educational game-based platform called Kahoot to enhance learning English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and sustains the hypothesis that it enriches the traditional, teacher-centered classrooms by having EFL learners more engaged, motivated, and involved. Applying a mixed-method study, around 100 EFL undergraduates were surveyed and evaluated based on a semester-long involvement in Kahoot games in an EAP course. The subjects were interviewed for their perceptions of using Kahoot and also evaluated statistically by their performance on the achievement test of the course. The findings of the project confirm an enhancement of the EFL learners' language skill performance. Furthermore, Kahoot helped EFL learners experience a high degree of engagement in comparison with traditional teaching methods. Besides, new horizons toward the future of application of Kahoot in EFL learning are discussed. Consequently, both parts of the study i.e., qualitative and quantitative, approved that playing Kahoots, as a platform for game-based learning, was highly engaging, educationally helpful, and motivating.

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