School of Languages at XJTLU Conference 2024

Blended learning has been incorporated in Year One EAP modules to optimize teaching resources and foster learner autonomy. Each year, a few thousand students were required to complete weekly online lessons interconnected to their onsite lessons. Blended learning presents the challenge of sustaining students’ motivation and active participation in virtual learning environments, especially in independently completing online learning activities prior to onsite seminars to enhance the achievement of learning outcomes. In response to this challenge, gamification tools, specifically digital badges and scoreboards, were implemented within the virtual learning platform (LMO / Moodle) for two EAP modules. Students earned digital badges and level points based on task completion and performance, which provided tangible recognition of their achievement and progress throughout the semester. The gamification of the language learning experience incentivised students to complete online learning activities that were essential for their class activity engagement and assessments. Analysis of the online lesson survey results showed that a significant majority of students identified earning the weekly badges and achieving the highest points on the scoreboard as motivating factors that encouraged them to complete each week’s online lessons. This presentation will outline the intervention method, reflect on the results of the implementation, and suggest gamification alternatives that could be incorporated into the virtual learning environment in the future.

Keywords: Virtual learning environment, gamification, digital badges, scoreboard, Moodle, motivation, engagement