The Future of Education

Teaching foreign languages requires extensive research into classroom practices. Without a clear understanding of what occurs in the classroom, conclusions about effective teaching methods may be misleading. Therefore, close observations of actual language classrooms can provide valuable insights for educators and curriculum planners. Additionally, when integrating innovative methods into language teaching, learning about the first-hand experiences of end users is crucial for making necessary improvements and creating optimal learning environments. This observational research aims to explore the effectiveness of gamified learning activities in teaching English vocabulary to primary school students at a public school in China through classroom observations. By utilizing this observational research technique, researchers had a chance to see how participants reacted to various situations in a real-world context, rather than in structured environments like research labs or focus groups. For the study, a fourth-grade classroom at a public primary school in China was selected using convenience sampling. Regular classroom observations took place during a three-week period of game-based vocabulary instruction. Following a naturalistic observation approach, researchers took detailed notes throughout the observations. Qualitative data obtained from the observations was analyzed thematically. Four researchers systematically organized and coded the data to identify themes and patterns. The coding process was inductive, allowing patterns to emerge directly from the data. The findings revealed three key themes including motivation, engagement and participation and social interaction. The themes were discussed in relation to language learning motivation and course design.