Gamification: motivating language learning with gameful elements
What is it? Gamification is a methodological strategy that uses “game design elements in non-game contexts” (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke, 2011, p. 10). The purpose of gamification is to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems (Kapp, 2012). There are other educational approaches that use playful components but are different from gamification, such as game-based learning or serious games. In those two cases, all kinds of games (digital video games, table games, outdoor games, etc.) or educational games are used to achieve a learning goal. Within the language learning area, Reinhardt (2019) opts for the global concept of ‘gamefulness’ which embraces all types of vernacular games, serious games, and gamification.