Die Einführung von Gamification im DaF Unterricht an der Obafemi Awolowo Universität, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Olajumoke Oyedele, Moses AyankunleEs wird beobachtet, dass die meisten nigerianischen Deutschstudierenden zwischen 16 und 30 Jahre alt sind. Diese Gruppe ist mehr daran interessiert, Computerspiele und andere Spiele zu spielen, als ihre Haus- und Klassenarbeiten mit den traditionellen Materialien wie Lehrbüchern und Arbeitsheften zu erledigen. Die Jugendlichen brauchen in der Regel interessante Aktivitäten, die ihnen Spaß machen und sie motivieren, zu lernen und dadurch Fortschritte und Erfolge zu erzielen. Es ist in der Tat deshalb überraschend, dass Gamification noch nicht in den Lehrplan des nigerianischen Hochschulunterrichts eingeführt wird. Demzufolge gibt es in Nigeria kaum Forschungen im Bereich Gamification des Fremdsprachenlernens im Allgemeinen und in dem dessen Einsatz im Deutschunterricht im Besonderen. Diese Lücke in der Forschung zu Gamification im Deutschunterricht in Nigeria führte zu der vorliegenden Studie, die die Möglichkeit der Einführung von Gamification im Deutschunterricht an der Obafemi Awolowo Universität untersucht. Das Ziel ist es, eine zielgerichtete Diskussion und weitere wissenschaftliche Gespräche über Gamification im DaF in Nigeria sowie einen fruchtbaren Gedankenaustausch zum Thema anzustoßen. Dadurch könnte die mögliche Erstellung einer didaktischen Konzipierung von Einsatz der Gamification im Deutschunterricht in Nigeria erreicht werden. Die Studie verwendet sekundäre Datenquellen, die verschiedene Artikel, Bücher und Rezensionen über Gamification in der Bildung bzw. in den Klassenzimmern umfassen. Andere Quellen sind Internet-/Blog-Beiträge. Die Analyse der Daten basiert auf einer deskriptiven und inhaltlichen Analyse.
The Introduction of Gamification in the Teaching of German as a Foreign Language at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Olajumoke Oyedele, Moses AyankunleMost Nigerian students of German are between 16 and 30 years old. This age group tends to be more interested in playing computer and video games than doing their home- and class work with traditional materials such as textbooks and workbooks. Younger students need interesting activities that are fun for them and motivate them to learn and, as a result, make progress and achieve rapid success in their learning. It is therefore surprising that gamification has not yet been introduced into the curricula of Nigerian higher institutions. As a result, there is hardly any research in the field of gamification in foreign language learning in general or its use in the teaching of German in particular. This lacuna in research on gamification in German studies in Nigeria led to the present study, which examines the introduction of gamification into German lessons at Obafemi Awolowo University. The study aims at initiating a targeted discussion on gamification in German studies and stimulating further scholarly conversations on the topic. Through this, the possibility of creating a didactic design for the use of gamification in German studies in Nigeria can be achieved. This study uses secondary data sources including articles, books and reviews about gamification in education or classrooms. Other sources include websites and blog posts. These sources provide useful insights from various studies on gamification and its use in education, especially in foreign language teaching, which help in drawing up suggestions for a successful introduction of gamification into the curriculum of Nigerian universities especially that of German at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. The analysis of the data is based on a descriptive and content analysis.
Methods of teaching foreign languages have evolved greatly over the years. A major change in this regard is from a traditional teacher-oriented stance to a learner-oriented one. One of such not too recent one is the use of the internet and information technology. The use of the internet and IT has introduced a variety of new methods into education such the use of serious games, YouTube, computer games, and mobile games, among others. This trend became even more popular across virtually the entire world because of the COVID-19 outbreak, which made it mandatory for teachers to find new ways of teaching to replace the traditional face-to-face methods. Of interest to this paper, however, is gamification, especially its introduction into the curriculum for the teaching of German at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Gamification is, to put it simply, the application of game design elements and gaming principles to non-gaming contexts (Deterding et al., 2011: 13, quoted by Köhler 2016: 11). The results of various educational research have advocated the use of gamification in the classroom. Many have especially emphasized the positive effects of gamification with respect to improving not only the motivation of learners but also the learning process itself (see, for example, Huang & Soman, 2013).
Foreign language learning has its own challenges, especially when learning it as a beginner in an environment where the language is not in wide use, as is the case of German in Nigeria. A lack of adequate opportunities to put the knowledge into use outside the classroom, little or no contact with native speakers, inadequate learning materials, and a high cost of study—among other factors—often leads to poor grades, which in turn succeeds in reducing the motivation and confidence that is already low at the beginning of the course. Gamification could help to change the narrative if well applied. In the area of foreign language teaching, gamification should be defined as the use of game elements and principles in the teaching of foreign languages for the purpose of motivating, encouraging, and positively engaging learners to reach the desired level of competence.
Most Nigerian students of German are between 16 and 30 years old. This age group tends to be more interested in playing computer and video games than doing their home- and class work with traditional materials such as textbooks and workbooks. Younger students need interesting activities that are fun for them and motivate them to learn and, as a result, make progress and achieve rapid success in their learning. It is therefore surprising that gamification has not yet been introduced into the curricula of Nigerian higher institutions. As a result, there is hardly any research in the field of gamification in foreign language learning in general or its use in the teaching of German in particular.
This lacuna in research on gamification in German studies in Nigeria led to the present study, which examines the introduction of gamification into German lessons at Obafemi Awolowo University. The study aims at initiating a targeted discussion on gamification in German studies and stimulating further scholarly conversations on the topic. Through this, the possibility of creating a didactic design for the use of gamification in German studies in Nigeria can be achieved.
This study uses secondary data sources including articles, books and reviews about gamification in education or classrooms. Other sources include websites and blog posts. These sources provide useful insights from various studies on gamification and its use in education, especially in foreign language teaching, which help in drawing up suggestions for a successful introduction of gamification into the curriculum of Nigerian universities especially that of German at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. The analysis of the data is based on a descriptive and content analysis.
