DECLARATION

I/We hereby declare that the research paper titled “ IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL

GAMES ON ACHIEVEMENT ” submitted by me is based on actual work. I further

certify that the research paper has not been published or submitted for publication anywhere

else nor it will be send for publication in the future.

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Personal Details

Name- Ms. Gagandeep Kaur

Affiliation- Assistant Professor (Regular),

Affiliation Institution- Khalsa College of Education, Ranjit Avenue, Amritsar

Qualifications- M.Sc Chemistry, M.Ed, UGC-JRF, Ph.D Pursuing

Correspondence Address- 11-A, Lane 1, SJS Avenue, Ajnala Road, Amritsar, Punjab, India, 143001Phone- +917508225828Email- gagan0106@gmail.com

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IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL GAMES ON ACHIEVEMENT

Ms. Gagandeep Kaur

Assistant Professor

Khalsa College of Education

Ranjit Avenue, Amritsar

Abstract

Language is the door through which a child contemplates the past, grasps the present and

approaches the future. It is man’s unique possession. The English language has a special

place in the world today. It has become an international language. The games in education

must be more than just fun. The learners have to learn by playing different games.

Educational Games are highly motivating because they are amusing and interesting. They

can be used to give practice in all language skills and be used to practice many types of

communication. The academic achievement is multi -dimensional. It is important to check out

the methodologies and techniques that are enhancing the academic achievement of the

students. The present study was carried out to see the effect of educational games on

achievement in learning English language specifically.

Keywords: Gaming; Educational Strategy; Achievement, English Language

Introduction

Education is the most important invention of mankind. Every branch of learning is

oriented in such a way so as to produce individuals who would fit in the present world

scenario. In the present scenario, there is much emphasis on the learning of the students. The

schools have an unavoidable role in acquainting the students with the native of changing field

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of education and in making necessary changes in the instructional techniques. In the modern

world of the technological innovations, all educational institutions are trying to improve their

quality in terms of facilities and academic achievement. The academic achievement is multi

dimensional. The academic achievement generally refers to the degree or level of success or

proficiency attained in some specific areas concerning the scholastic or academic work. The

achievement of child depends upon multiple factors like intelligence level, attitude, interest,

creativity etc.

As the institutions are on the way of improving their quality, more emphasis is given

to the quality of performance on academic excellence which is a major determining factor of

student’s future life. Although the changes have been occurring in all the school subjects but

the in today’s world, the communication and linguistic abilities play an important role. The

learning of languages has become a demanding task in the present scenario.

Language is the door through which a child contemplates the past, grasps the present

and approaches the future. It is man’s unique possession. Each community is formed by the

activity of language. In India, one of the main functions of education is to develop in the

individual an ability to communicate with others as well as to express oneself in a suitable

language. The English language is widely used in science, technology, computer services,

politics, commerce and internet. Hence, many countries emphasize the importance of

teaching ‘English’ to their citizens. The English language has a special place in the world

today. It has become an international language, both in the sense that it is now the native

language of people from several continents and in the sense that many others have learnt to

speak it as a second language (Graddol, Cheshire & Swann, 1987). The English language

learning can be convenient if we teach the students through educational games.

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The games in education must be more than just fun. The learners have to learn by

playing different games. McCallum (1980) expressed that students in the informal

atmosphere of game play, are less self-conscious and therefore more apt to experiment and

freely participate in using the foreign language. Educational Games are highly motivating

because they are amusing and interesting. They can be used to give practice in all language

skills and be used to practice many types of communication (Ersoz, 2000).

The educational games can be of the following types (Hadfield, 1999):

1. Sorting, Ordering, or Arranging Games: In this students have to sort out the things

and they have to arrange the objects in particular order. For example, students have a

set of cards with different products mentioned on them, and they sort out the cards

according to the products mentioned like the products of a grocery store and products

found in medical store.

2. Information Gap Games: In such games, one or more individual have information

regarding the task and that other person has to complete that task. For instance, one

person might have some picture and his partner needs to create a similar picture or

drawing by listening to the information given by the person. Information gap games

can involve a one-way information gap, such as the drawing game or a two-way

information gap, in which each person has unique information, such as in a Spot-the-

Difference task, where each person has a slightly different picture, and the task is to

identify the differences.

3. Guessing Games: In this the individual has to guess what other person thinks

regarding some aspect. One of the best known examples of a guessing game in which

one person thinks of a famous person, place, or thing. The other participants can ask

Yes/No questions to find clues in order to guess what the person is thinking of.

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4. Search Games: These games are yet another variant of two-way information gap

games, in which every individual’s giving and seeking information. Students are

given a grid. The task is to fill in all the cells of the grid with the name of a classmate

who fits in that cell, for example someone who is a vegetarian. The students circulate,

ask and answer questions in order to complete their own grid and help the other

classmates to complete theirs.

5. Matching Games: As the name implies, participants need to find a match for a word,

picture, or card. For example, 30 word cards composed of 15 pairs are placed with

their face down in a random order. Each person turns over the two cards at a time,

with the goal of turning over a matching pair by using their memory. This is also

known as the Pelmanism principle, after Christopher Louis Pelman, a British

psychologist of the first half of the 20th century.

6. Labeling Games: These are a form of matching, in that participants match labels and

pictures.

7. Exchanging Games: In these games, students barter cards, different objects, or ideas

and share their views.

8. Board Games: Scrabble is one of the most popular board games that specifically

highlight the language.

9. Role Play Games: The terms role play, drama, and simulation are sometimes used

interchangeably but can be differentiated (Kodotchigova, 2002). Role play can

involve students playing roles that they do not play in real life, such as dentist, while

simulations can involve students performing roles that they already play in real life or

might be likely to play, such as customer at a restaurant. Dramas are normally scripted

performances, whereas in role plays and simulations, students come up with their own

words, although preparation is often useful.

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Review of Related Literature - A number of studies have been attempted to see the

effect of educational games on achievement. Yip and Kwan (2006) conducted a study on the

effectiveness of using vocabulary sites and they compared sites which included games to sites

which included activity-based learning. The results showed that learners playing games tend

to learn better, retained words for a longer period, and retrieve more words than those who

learnt through the activity-based approach. Neyadi (2007) conducted a study on the effects of

using games to reinforce vocabulary learning. The study suggested that using games to

practice vocabulary improved the learners’ ability to memorize the words effectively. Ajibade

and Ndububa (2008) explored the effects of word games, culturally relevant songs, and

stories on the students' motivation in a Nigerian English language class. The analysis of the

data revealed that use of word games and culturally relevant instructional activities were

beneficial for these students, as they served as an effective motivational strategy that

contributed to the better performance in learning English. Ara (2009) conducted a study on

the use of songs, rhymes and games in teaching and concluded in his findings that by

ensuring suitable teaching environment at the primary level, many of the problems regarding

English education can be solved. Nguyen (2010) conducted a study on teaching and learning

grammar through games in the tenth grade at Hung Vuong high school. The study indicated

the necessity of games for easing the difficulties for exciting the atmosphere in teaching and

learning Grammar. The results emphasized that the teachers who just followed the tasks

given in the textbook and did not create any games activities just lead to a boring, hard-

digesting experience to their students and they did not meet the needs of the students. Ali,

Aziz and Majzub (2011) conducted a study on teaching and learning through play and

revealed that the teaching and learning through play can enhance a child’s language

development and reading abilities. Shende (2014) presented the research work, a study of

effectiveness of English language games on the student’s academic achievement in grammar

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and concluded in his findings that language games in teaching grammar had been effective in

developing the interest of the students in learning English grammar. The games proved

helpful in engaging learners to learn actively. The games provided challenges and increased

active participation in the subject. Al-Tarawneh, Mohammad Hasan (2016) investigated the

effectiveness of educational games on scientific concepts acquisition by the elementary

students. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences in students'

ientific concepts acquisition due to the method of teaching in favor of the experimental

group.

Objective of the Study

To compare the effect of educational games and conventional strategy on achievement of the

students in English.

Hypothesis

There exists no significant difference in English achievement of group taught through

educational games and group taught through conventional strategy.

Methodology

The present study came under the domain of experimental research. The present study was

carried out by following steps:

STEP 1: The achievement tests on selected topics of English grammar of 8th class was

constructed and standardized.

STEP 2: The achievement tests was administered as pre-test to total sample.

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STEP 3: The students were randomly divided into two groups and allocation of instructional

strategies was random. Experimental group was taught by educational games and control

group was taught by conventional method. The teaching period consisted of 90 working days.

STEP 4: Same achievement test was administered to both the groups as the post-test. The

experiment and control group scores were compared according to their pre-test and post- test

scores and difference was called as gain achievement scores of the experiment and control

group.

Tools Used

1. An Achievement test on selected topics in English grammar was developed by

investigator.

2. Educational games on selected topics in English grammar were developed by investigator.

3. Instructional material or conventional method in English grammar was developed by

investigator.

SAMPLE

For the purpose of investigation, 100 students were randomly taken from C.B.S.E affiliated

secondary schools located in Amritsar district. The students were divided randomly and given

separate treatments i.e. one group was taught through educational games and the other

through conventional method.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The hypothesis was framed to examine that there exists no significant difference in

achievement scores of English of group taught through educational games and group taught

through conventional strategy. The mean gain scores, S.Ds, t –ratios of the controlled group

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and experimental group were calculated to test this hypothesis. The hypothesis was further

examined at 0.01 level of significance. The results of this analysis are being shown below:

Table-1- Showing means scores, S.D and t-ratio of mean gain scores in science of

Experimental and Controlled group)

Groups N Mean

Gain

Score

S.D Mean

difference

Df t-ratio Remarks

Experimenta

l

Control

50

50

6.14

2.10

2.65

1.35

4.04 98 9.57 Significant

at 0.01

level

As shown in above table, mean gain score of students of experimental group is 6.14 higher

than that of controlled group that is 2.10 with mean difference of 4.04. Further t- ratio is 9.57

which is significant at 0.01 level. It clearly shows that both the groups differ significantly in

their achievement.

Thus, hypothesis “There exists no significant difference in achievement scores of English of

group taught through educational games and group taught through conventional strategy is

not accepted.”

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The pictorial representation of the above views have been given in fig.1

CONCLUSION

On the basis of analysis of data and discussions of the results following conclusions may be

crystallized that there exists significant difference in achievement of group taught through

educational games and group taught through conventional strategy in English. For vitalizing

effective English instructional strategy at school stage, intensive research is needed in various

aspects of English education. No single study can explore it. There is wide scope for research

in this field.

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

1. Educational games results in better understanding of English among the students in

less time.

2. Educational games play an important role to improve achievement of students in

English because it makes the students active participants of an educational process.

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3. It increases the concentration of students in English.

4. Educational games helps teachers to create conducive learning experiences in the

classroom.

5. Teacher can use educational games in the classroom to motivate students.

6. The use of educational games is very much beneficial to all categories of students like

slow learners, gifted children and delinquents etc.

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REFERENCES

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