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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1448916
This article is part of the Research Topic Positive Higher Education: Empowering Students through Learning and Wellbeing View all 11 articles
Effects of Gamification on EFL Learning: A Quasi-Experimental Study of Reading Proficiency and Language Enjoyment among Chinese Undergraduates
Provisionally accepted- Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Background: In foreign language education, educators struggle with declining student engagement as traditional EFL teaching, relying on passive lectures and dull materials, hampers proficiency and dampens passion. Gamification has emerged as a potential solution. This quasi-experimental study, based on the broaden-and-build theory, examined the effects of gamification on reading proficiency and foreign language learning enjoyment (FLLE) among Chinese undergraduates studying English as a foreign language (EFL).Methods: Data were collected from 220 first-year undergraduates at a Chinese university through reading assessments and the Chinese Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale, supplemented by interviews with nine participants picked from the first-year undergraduates.The findings revealed a significant increase in gamification's benefits for EFL reading proficiency. FLLE's private dimension, tied to personal enjoyment, was crucial. Additionally, gamified settings improved focus, teamwork, and communication.Discussion: This study supports integrating gamification to boost engagement and outcomes. However, the study was limited to a specific context and duration. Therefore, future studies should identify key gamification elements and their long-term impact.
Keywords: Gamification, EFL learning, language enjoyment, reading proficiency, student engagement, Classroom teaching
Received: 17 Jun 2024; Accepted: 28 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cheng, Lu and Xiao. 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:
Jing Cheng, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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