A Study On The Applicaton Of Gamified English Vocabulary Learning For Stem College Students

Throughout the whole process of English learning,English vocabulary study can be considered the foundation of English learning,and its importance is self-evident.In English vocabulary learning,some students majoring in science,technology,engineering,and mathematics(abbreviated as STEM)lack the learning initiative due to various reasons,such as the huge pressure in the course of studying their own majors and insufficient interest in English study.These learning difficulties seriously affect their vocabulary learning outcomes.Meanwhile,it has been found that gamified learning can create a relaxed and pleasant learning atmosphere for students,can increase students’ learning fun,can enhance students’ learning participation,and can provide a possibility for solving students’ English learning difficulties.Therefore,this study aims to explore how gamification influences STEM students’ English vocabulary learning.This study,as qualitative research,recruited 55 STEM students who had used word learning Apps to learn vocabulary in a gamified way for semi-structured interviews with the purpose of finding out how they used the Apps for English vocabulary learning and what impact the gamified learning may have had on their learning motivation and learning behaviors.Based on the input and affective filter theories within the field of second language acquisition and the self-determination theory in the field of psychology,this study revealed a relationship between game elements and students’ learning motivation and learning behaviors.The study found that(1)the gamified English learning App that provided pictures to show the meaning of vocabulary,represented by Bai Ci Zhan,was more popular with STEM students;(2)the most popular section was “memorizing words in challenges”;(3)most students’ learning motivation and learning behaviors were positively affected by gamified English learning Apps;(4)the learning motivation and learning behaviors of a small number of students were not positively affected;(5)factors affecting learning motivation and learning behaviors mainly were gamified English learning Apps and learners themselves.In conclusion,this study explored the gamified English vocabulary learning of STEM students,finding that gamified learning can help them get rid of the boring stereotype regarding English learning and revealed the specific influence of game elements on students’ learning motivation and learning behaviors,which extends the scope of research on gamification and provides some reference for gamified English teaching in the future.