Education 4.0 has brought gamification as an essential method to improve different challenging learning issues. Gaming in virtual classrooms can be a great way for us as mediators to promote critical thinking and at the same time enhancing apprentices’ language learning and meeting their speaking needs creatively and enjoyably.
PURPOSES TO REACH
To determine students' pronunciation errors at the segmental level – consonants, vowels.
To discover pronunciation errors at supra-segmental level word stress, intonation(sentence-final) and sentence stress
To integrate interactive pronunciation thinking games into English lessons.
To analyze the gaming factors for mediating pronunciation that can affect and impact EFL e-learners’ speech intelligibility.
STUDENTS’ CHARACTERIZATION
The population where this research work will be carried out belongs to the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia) known as "UPTC". It is a Colombian public university, located in the municipality of Tunja and it has campuses in seven Colombian states. Divided in a headquarter, three sectional branches, six sites for extension programs, and 21 regional centers for distance learning in which there are 11 faculties, 52 undergraduate academic programs, 15 undergraduate academic distance programs, and 23 postgraduate programs. It is an educational, scientific, and technological university, currently ranked number 9 among the best 64 universities in Colombia (2015) according to a study by Ranking U-Sapiens 2015-1 research.
To better understand the needs of these students, particularly of students between 16 to 30 years old enrolled in different engineering and business majors in six different levels for pre-intermediate EFL at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (UPTC). I will take a sample of 15 students to conduct this research so that the data collected may be classified, tabulated, coded, and systematized rapidly. The range of age of this group is from 16 to 19 years old.
ACTION PLAN
Apply a perception of spoken English exam as a diagnostic test to discover specific problem areas in their perception of spoken English.
Inquire about e-learning meaningful gaming thinking resources that fit learner's specific segmental and suprasegmental needs.
Integrate interactive pronunciation gaming tools and critical thinking activities into English lessons to emphasize important areas of pronunciation.
Observe, record, and fill in a reflective diary mainly including perceptions, outcomes, and thoughts on aspects to be improved.
Apply a questionnaire to the EFL learners focusing on their perceptions and awareness about speaking intelligible pronunciation own process.
Implement a post-test to diagnose learnrs’ improvments.
(All the steps above are integrated at as a virtual timetable template to track each activity proposed at https://trello.com/c/eEsn2duz )
RESOURCES
For the data collection, some instruments will be used in this proposal, described as follow: There will be a diagnostic test as a pre-test, to collect data concerning the previous knowledge the participants have regarding pronunciation
The questionnaire will be also used to collect data related to the insights the participants have concerning some aspects of pronunciation learning and teaching.
Interactive games as thinking tools that meet apprentices’ pronunciation segmental and suprasegmental needs.
The field notes at https://trello.com/b/MBaL0yNT are also taken into account to observe the participants’ behavior towards the learning of some features and practice of pronunciation.
A post-test will be utilized to know, code, systematize, and analyze the data after the intervention.
These instruments may lead to analyze the results qualitatively and come to conclusions
MY FIELD JOURNAL
This field journal sorts out all the e-metings experience related to giving attention to the students. Checking over students' attitudes and perceptions toward gamification and critical thinking to develop pronunciation assignments will be some of the toughts stated here.