Augmented‐reality‐enhanced game‐based learning in flipped English classrooms: Effects on students' creative thinking and vocabulary acquisition

Abstract

BackgroundAs the concept of flipped classrooms continues to gain interest across disciplines, more research is needed to strengthen the instructional design by integrating active learning strategies and emerging technologies. Among various possibilities, little is known about how game‐based learning combined with Augmented Reality (AR) can be effectively infused into language education to establish supportive flipped learning contexts.ObjectivesThis study thus proposed an AR‐enhanced game‐based learning (ARGBL) approach, featuring the use of an augmented board game to engage students actively in classroom activities. It further compared the effects of the proposed approach with traditional game‐based learning on the students' vocabulary acquisition and creative thinking as they were instructed to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in flipped classrooms.MethodsA quasi‐experimental design was adopted to examine the effectiveness of the proposed approach to promote the students' participation in flipped in‐class activities, thereby improving their learning outcomes. Participants were recruited from two classes of the same undergraduate course, one of which was designated as the experimental group to take part in game‐based learning activities in class by playing an AR‐enhanced board game, and the other as the comparison group to learn by playing a paper‐and‐pencil game with identical puzzle content. The desired student learning outcomes were measured by pre‐ and post‐intervention vocabulary tests and creative thinking tests, supplemented by individual interviews.ResultsResults indicated that the students in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in vocabulary acquisition and creative thinking. They also expressed positive perceptions of the augmented game‐based learning experience in the flipped EFL classroom.Take AwayARGBL can be a promising approach to improving student learning, and it is particularly beneficial to the design of classroom activities in flipped learning contexts due to its affordances for enriched content visualization and active learner engagement through gameplay.

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