The effect of gamification in a Turkish course on primary school students' vocabulary development and motivation

The purpose of this research is to reveal the effects of a gamified Turkish vocabulary instruction on primary school students' vocabulary development and motivation regarding vocabulary learning. The research was realized through an experimental mixed methodology as a nested model. Participants were 34 primary school students, attending their fourth year. The experimental continuum of the study was conducted in a computer laboratory and a Web-based application. Data collection tools were Achievement Test of Vocabulary Learning (ATVL), Motivation Scale of Vocabulary Learning (MSVL), interview forms, participants' diaries and activity notebooks, video records and also researcher's diary. Experimental study lasted 68 hours with gamified vocabulary teaching group, while the control group attended instructor-led training. Data were analyzed by both qualitative and quantitative approaches and the results were evaluated in line with the theoretical basis. The results of this research show that vocabulary instruction aided by two instructional approaches posed a meaningful differences between average pretest-posttest scores of achievement and motivation regarding vocabulary learning. There was a significant difference between the average scores of achievement in both experimental and control group, while there was no significant differences between the average scores of motivation in two groups. Experimental group's vocabulary learning achievement, awareness and willingness to learn new words increased, they enhanced vocabulary development and use the specific unknown words truly, adopted the gamified content and also presented the examples of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. On the other hand, the quantitative results derived from control group are quite acceptable, while qualitative results are found insufficient in terms of producing themes as much as the experimental group has. The research was concluded with some suggestions for future research. Keywords: Gamification, Turkish course, Vocabulary, Vocabulary instruction,Motivation.