Gamification – tools for learning foreign languages

Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Department of Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication of Moscow, Russia

^* Corresponding author: dvsuhorukova@fa.ru

Abstract

Gamification is an approach that creates multiple opportunities for teachers to improve a foreign language lesson. Even though now gamification is widely used as a result of a forced switch to distance learning, it should be noted that it carries the same value inside a classroom and makes the learning process enjoyable and effective. The article looks at three specific websites/applications that are aimed at incorporating new elements into a traditional classroom. These tools have different features – the amount of time one spends preparing a task can vary – but all three can increase the degree of involvement and motivation which are two factors that may predetermine the success and effectiveness of a class. The article delves into aspects of motivation and its importance in a real classroom and in an online one. It is an essential factor to consider because everyone who is involved in an educational process contributes to its success. That is why if a teacher is energetic, eager and ready, and students are at the other end of the spectrum (or vice versa), so the overall motivation is not at 100%, it turns a lesson into a challenge, and not in a good way.