Kas on olemas vähemotiveeritud ja nõrku õpperühmi? Mängustatud õppe mõjust õpilaste eesti keele kui teise keele kasutamisele kolmanda klassi näitel

Abstract

Artiklis kirjeldatakse tegevusuuringut, mille käigus viidi kolmanda klassi vähemotiveeritud ja nõrga keeleoskustasemega õpperühmaga läbi 30-tunnine eesti keele kui teise keele mängustatud õppe programm. Programm oli koostatud vastavuses riikliku õppekava ja kooli ainekavaga, kuid kõik õppetegevused (soojendus-, sõnavara- ja grammatika- ning vaba rääkimise ülesanded) olid mängustatud. Tulemused näitasid, et mängustatud programmi mõjul muutus vähemotiveeritud ja nõrk õpperühm teistsuguseks: õpilased osalesid eesti keele tunnis aktiivselt ja rõõmuga ning olid rääkides enesekindlamad, nende sõnavara ja grammatikatunnetus arenesid ning nad suutsid kaaslastega paremini suhelda.

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The effect of gamified learning on the use of Estonian as a second language by third grade pupils

Despite the continuous study of Estonian as a second language at school, the language skills of some students are still low. The reason for this is usually considered to be the low motivation of pupils to learn, which comes from the home and society, i.e. the cultural environment (see Metslang et al. 2013; Gardner 2007). At the same time, the impact of the educational environment on pupils’ motivation is often underestimated. This article deals with action research in which a 30-hour gamified Estonian language learning program was conducted with a less motivated third-grade study group with low Estonian language skills. The program was in accordance with the school’s syllabus and included gamified warm-up tasks, linguistic tasks (focused on vocabulary and grammar) and free speaking tasks. 

The teacher who taught the gamified lessons is one of the authors of this article. She recorded the course of the program in the researcher’s diary. After the program, the teacher's notes were categorized according to the following categories: pupils’ motivation (analyzed on the basis of pupils’ activity and joy), pupils’ Estonian language skills (self-confidence to use Estonian, conversation skills, vocabulary and grammar development). Before and after the program, pupils were also given a two-minute picture description test, the data of which (pupils’ vocabulary and grammatical forms) were analyzed quantitatively. 

The results of the survey showed that pupils’ motivation to learn Estonian increased during the program and their Estonian language skills improved. The increase in motivation was shown by the significant increase in pupils’activity and joy in Estonian language lessons. The increase in Estonian language skills was shown by the increased vocabulary, the development of grammar skills, the courage to use the Estonian language and the ability to express one’s thoughts and communicate with peers.

The primary limitation of the study is a certain subjectivity – several research results are based on teachers’ opinion. Another limitation is the lack of a control group, so it is not known how the aspects studied would have changed using another teaching method. However, the study group before the program was taught with another method, so the pupils’initial level before the program showed the effect of this method. In the future, however, it would be worthwhile to repeat a similar experiment with a control group and also to add some more objective measures to the analysis of the teacher’s notes. 

In conclusion, there are no unmotivated and weak pupils. When a teacher finds a suitable teaching methodology for students, they want to learn and their language skills develop. Gamification is a promising way to make language lessons more motivating and effective.