UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF A GAMIFIED PLATFORM IN LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

Technology integration in language education has recently received increasing attention from educators. In particular, gamification has emerged as a promising approach to engaging students and improving their learning outcomes. Baamboozle is a gamified platform that has gained popularity among teachers and students worldwide. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of research on students' attitudes towards using Baamboozle in learning English as a foreign language as well as its benefits and drawbacks. Hence, this study aims to fill this gap by investigating first - year students' attitudes towards using Baamboozle in learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam, drawing on Ostrom's ABC model. This present study employed a mixed methods research design. The data was collected from a 5-point Likert Scale questionnaire and open-ended questions. 320 first-year students learning English as a foreign language at a private university in Vietnam participated in this study. These participants were selected using the convenience sampling technique. The results from the questionnaire showed that students had positive attitudes towards using Baamboozle in their English learning (M=4.0691, SD= .50706). Additionally, the research result also indicated that among the components of attitude, the affective component had the highest level (M=4.1684, SD=.56859), followed by the behavioral component (M=4.0451, SD =.057251). However, the cognitive component was rated as the lowest level (M=3.9938, SD=.63328). Furthermore, the results from the open-ended questions reported that Baamboozle has some benefits, including facilitating learning, creating a fun learning environment, promoting teamwork, and user-friendliness. Besides, there were several disadvantages of using Baamboozle, including learning distraction, frustration caused by unexpected chance, occasional boredom, and the Internet connection. Based on the results, effective strategies for how to use Baamboozle are discussed