Digital Game-based Activities as a Predictive Power of Iranian EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate and Cooperate

Gamification is an innovative pedagogical approach where digital games are used in an educational setting which provides tools to consider the instructions from the engagement aspects. Accordingly, since language classes are not always attractive for learners, instructors are looking for new strategies and techniques to provide opportunities to increase learners’ communication and cooperation skills in classrooms. Therefore, nowadays, teachers try using gamification tools to enhance learners’ communication skills. In this case, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of gamification, as one of the motivating ways, on Iranian EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and cooperate. A total of 50 Iranian intermediate EFL learners were chosen through convenience sampling and categorized into two groups (experimental and control groups). The classes were held online on the Adobe Connect platform. Two gamification websites (Flippity & Wordwall) were applied in the experimental group as the treatment, and the traditional method was used for the control group to teach three chapters of American English File book 1. In the experimental group, in the middle of the class, a link was given to the learners. They were randomly grouped through the spin wheel of the Flippity app and were asked to click on the link to start the game that appeared on their screen through the Wordwall and Flippity applications. The results demonstrated that gamification as a treatment in the experimental group was effective and applying gamified activities had a significant effect on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and cooperate. However, there was not any significant difference between male and female willingness to communicate and cooperate using gamification. The results of this study can aid teachers and students in better implementation of gamified tools.