The impact of digital gamification on vocabulary development of the 8th grade students

This study investigates the effect of digital gamification on improving vocabulary acquisition among 8th grade secondary school students. In the study designed with a quasi-experimental method, the vocabulary acquisition results of the experimental and control groups consisting of students in a public school at the secondary school level were compared. For the research, an experimental and control group were created from 8th grade students. There were 20 students in the experimental group and 24 students in the control group, which include equal proportions of both female and male students. The main goal of the study is to compare the impact of digital gamification, which integrates interactive and context-rich vocabulary activities into technology, with traditional vocabulary teaching methods based on memorization and exercises in the textbook. Digital gamification was applied to the experimental group in the study. Data obtained from pre-test and post-test were used to measure the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. Both groups were given a certain amount of time to implement digital gamification after completing the vocabulary pre-test. Differences in vocabulary acquisition in the two groups were evaluated by applying a post-test. Moreover, the participants in the experimental group shared their thoughts about the process on the Padlet platform after each lesson. Based on both qualitative and quantitative data, it was revealed that the vocabulary acquisition of the gamification group was significantly improved compared to the control group. On the other hand, the results support that the students in the experimental group exhibited considerable enjoyment and demonstrated high levels of motivation throughout the session. The findings of the research show how these interactive teaching strategies, ensuring student participation in the lesson, can increase vocabulary acquisition.