As educators, one of the biggest challenges we face is keeping our students engaged and on track, especially when motivation or concentration begins to dip. This is especially pertinent for young learners. Whether you’re teaching English as a foreign language or any other subject, finding ways to re-engage your students is key. I have found this year that gamification can help alot with young learners. Here’s how I have been trying to implement it, along with some advantages and disadvantages to consider.

Gamification: Learning Through Play

Gamification involves incorporating game-like elements into the classroom to make learning more engaging and fun. This approach taps into students' love for competition, rewards, and achievement, making learning feel more like a game than a task.

How to Implement Gamification:

• Competitive Classroom Quizzes: Use tools like Kahoot to host competitive quizzes. This has been a revelation for my grade 5 and 6 classes. They are often tired from juku classes and really struggle with motivation, especially the first or last period of the day. Using kahoot at the end of lessons to review what has been learned and check their understanding has turned this on its head. The students love playing it and know that if they do not concentrate beforehand we will not have enough time to get to the kahoot quiz or they’ll struggle in the game itself.
• Point Systems: Create a points-based system where students earn points for completing tasks, participating in discussions, or achieving specific learning goals. This works well with younger students. I have implemented it with grade 2 and they don’t need any actual reward at the end other than being declared the winner. 
• Racing: Sometimes very young learners can take an age to get ready before and during class for activities etc. By clearly calling out who is ready first with numbers 1 onwards I have been able to get the students moving between activities very quickly. Note this works well with grades 1-4 but is not great for older students.

Advantages of Gamification:

• Motivation and Engagement: By incorporating elements of competition, rewards, and progression, students may feel more motivated to participate and achieve learning goals.
• Instant Feedback: Games often provide immediate feedback, which helps students know whether they’re on the right track.
• Friendly Competition: Gamification fosters a sense of friendly competition, pushing students to excel while still supporting teamwork and collaboration.
• Increased Participation: The excitement of games can encourage even hesitant students to get involved and take risks. 

Disadvantages of Gamification:

• Distraction: If not carefully balanced, the game aspect can overshadow the actual learning objectives, leading to students focusing more on winning than on the lesson.
• Unequal Participation: In competitive settings, some students may feel discouraged if they struggle to keep up with the competition, especially if they are less confident.
• Time and Resource Intensive: Setting up and maintaining gamified elements, such as creating quizzes or tracking points, can take a significant amount of time. It also requires access to technology and resources.

Gamification is an excellent technique for reigniting student engagement and helping students get back on track. Gamification injects fun and motivation into the learning process. However, like any method, it comes with challenges. It’s important to find the right balance and tailor these techniques to fit the needs and preferences of your students. I have only listed a small number of methods above and I’m sure we all have our own games and methods we turn to but I would encourage you to give these a try if you haven’t before.

Ultimately, combining these strategies with traditional methods can create a dynamic and engaging learning environment. Experiment with these approaches, and you might find that your students become more motivated, participatory, and excited about learning!

The header image "USAG-Humphreys volunteers support Cheongdam Middle School" by USAG-Humphreys is licensed under CC BY 2.0.