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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Learning Innovations
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1434336
This article is part of the Research Topic Designing, implementing and evaluating self-regulated learning experiences in online and innovative learning environments View all articles

Enhancing Spelling Competence for English as a Foreign Language Young Learners through Digital Escape Rooms

Provisionally accepted
Marlene Saban Marlene Saban 1*Matthias Grünke Matthias Grünke 1Janina Kahn-Horwitz Janina Kahn-Horwitz 2
  • 1 Department of Special Education, University of Cologne, Germany, Cologne, Germany
  • 2 Oranim Academic College, Kiryat Tiv'on, Haifa, Israel

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study examines the efficacy of using a digital gamed platform in acquiring phonemegrapheme correspondences of closed syllables with short vowels. Fifty-five fourth-grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners navigated through five digital escape rooms where they learned, practiced, and produced target graphemes. Mixed methods analyses found that spelling competence in the intervention group as opposed to the control group improved in the post-test and continued to improve significantly in the delayed post-test. Following analysis of the participant interviews four themes emerged. Autonomous learning and self-monitoring were the dominant themes followed by engagement and motivation, self-confidence and self-esteem, and peer learning and social interaction in decreasing order of prevalence. Combining learning with play while participants navigated within the digital learning environment proved to be an effective method of teaching young EFL learners to spell. The results of this intervention contribute to recent research in the post-COVID-19 era and mirror OECD goals for the 21 st century which have highlighted the need for effective digital platforms that promote independent learning while maximizing student engagement.

    Keywords: EFL (English as a foreign language), digital gamed learning, spelling, Class intervention, early literacy

    Received: 17 May 2024; Accepted: 21 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Saban, Grünke and Kahn-Horwitz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marlene Saban, Department of Special Education, University of Cologne, Germany, Cologne, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.