ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
The Covid-19 pandemic is a health crisis that has been affecting the world since December 2019. The death toll that keeps spiking up day by day has led the government to take precautions in schools in order to ensure students’ health and safety. The temporary closure of various educational institutions including universities, schools and kindergartens has given a significant impact on our education system. This unprecedented situation has resulted in the transition of the face-to-face teaching method to virtual learning. This literature review focuses on the use of gamification as a tool for language learning and teaching, specifically for the educators and learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) in conducting virtual lessons in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, the impacts and challenges of the utilisation of gamification tools in the virtual classrooms conducted due to Covid-19 pandemic have been identified as a way to enhance ESL virtual classrooms through improvements in the method of teaching for students’ educational development with regard to ESL knowledge.
Adams, D., Sumintono, B., Mohamed, A., & Noor, N. S. M. (2018). E-Learning Readiness among Students of Diverse Backgrounds in a Leading Malaysian Higher Education Institution. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 15(2), 227-256.
Basuki, Y., & Hidayati, Y. (2019, April). Kahoot! or Quizizz: the Students’ Perspectives. In Proceedings of the 3rd English Language and Literature International Conference (ELLiC)(2019).
Bury, B. (2017, October). Testing Goes Mobile–Web 2.0 Formative Assessment Tools [Paper Presentation]. International Conference ICT for Language Learning.
Cheok, M. L., Wong, S. L., Ayub, A. F., & Mahmud, R. (2017). Teachers' Perceptions of E-Learning in Malaysian Secondary Schools. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 5(2), 20-33.
Dehghanzadeh, H., Fardanesh, H., Hatami, J., Talaee, E., & Noroozi, O. (2019). Using Gamification to Support Learning English as a Second Language: A Systematic Review. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-24.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1648298
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011, September). From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining" Gamification". In Proceedings of the 15th international academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments (pp. 9-15). DOI: 10.1145/2181037.2181040
Flores, J. F. F. (2015). Using Gamification to Enhance Second Language Learning. Digital Education Review, 27, 32-54. https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2015.27.32-54
Göksün, D. O., & Gürsoy, G. (2019). Comparing Success and Engagement in Gamified Learning Experiences via Kahoot and Quizizz. Computers & Education, 135, 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.02.015
Graham, K. (2015). TechMatters: Getting into Kahoot!(s): Exploring a Game-Based Learning System to Enhance Student Learning. LOEX Quarterly, 42(3), 6-7.
Hashim, H., Rafiq, R. M., & Yunus, M. (2019). Improving ESL Learners’ Grammar with Gamified-Learning. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on CALL, (5), 41-50. https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/call5.4
Hatlevik, O. E., & Christophersen, K. A. (2013). Digital Competence at the Beginning of Upper Secondary School: Identifying Factors Explaining Digital Inclusion. Computers & Education, 63, 240-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.11.015
Hill, K., & Fitzgerald, R. (2020). Student Perspectives of The Impact of COVID-19 on Learning. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 12(2), 1-9.
Idris, M. I., Said, N. E. M., & Tan, K. H. (2020). Game-Based Learning Platform and its Effects on Present Tense Mastery: Evidence from an ESL Classroom. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 19(5), 13-26. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.5.2
Irfan, N. U., & Amat, S. A. H. (2015, February). Malaysian Teachers’ Levels of ICT Integration and its Perceived Impact on Teaching and Learning. In 7th World Conference on Educational Sciences,(WCES-2015) (pp. 05-07).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.586
Jacobs, J., & Subramaniam, P. (2020, October 19). Cover Story: The digital divide and disconnection. The Edge Malaysia. Retrieved from
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/cover-story-digital-divide-and-disconnection
Karaaslan, H., Kilic, N., Guven-Yalcin, G., & Gullu, A. (2018). Students' Reflections on Vocabulary Learning through Synchronous and Asynchronous Games and Activities. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 19(3), 53-70.
https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.444640
Kaur, P., & Naderajan, R. (2019). Kahoot! in the English Language Classroom. South East Asia Journal of Contemporary Business, Economics and Law, 20(6), 49-54.
Lee, J. J., & Hammer, J. (2011). Gamification in Education: What, How, Why Bother?. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 15(2), 146.
McCoy, B. (2020). Gen Z and Digital Distractions in the Classroom: Student Classroom Use of Digital Devices for Non-Class Related Purposes. Journal of Media Education, 11(2), 5-23. https://en.calameo.com/read/0000917898a07ac2096e4
Muhridza, N. H. M., Rosli, N. A. M., Sirri, A., & Samad, A. A. (2018). Using Game-Based Technology, KAHOOT! for Classroom Engagement. LSP International Journal, 5(2), 37-48. https://doi.org/10.11113/lspi.v5n2.77
Pazilah, F. N. P., Hashim, H., & Yunus, M. M. (2019). Using Technology in ESL Classroom: Highlights and Challenges. Creative Education, 10(12), 3205-3212. DOI: 10.4236/ce.2019.1012244
Perveen, A., Asif, M., Mehmood, S., Khan, M. K., & Iqbal, Z. (2016). Effectiveness of Language Games in Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Science International, 28(1), 633-637.
Scepanovic, S., Zaric, N. A. D. A., & Matijevic, T. (2015). Gamification in Higher Education Learning–State of The Art, Challenges and Opportunities. In The Sixth International Conference on e-Learning (eLearning-2015), 24–25 September 2015, Belgrade, Serbia
Shahzad, A., Hassan, R., Aremu, A. Y., Hussain, A., & Lodhi, R. N. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 in E-Learning on Higher Education Institution Students: The Group Comparison between Male and Female. Quality & Quantity, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-020-01028-z
Tan, A. L. D., Ganapathy, M., & Kaur, M. (2018). Kahoot! It: Gamification in Higher Education. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 26(1), 565-582.
Umar, I. N., & Hassan, A. S. A. (2015). Malaysian Teachers' Levels of ICT Integration and its Perceived Impact on Teaching and Learning. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, 2015–2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.586
UNESCO. (2020). Covid-19 Impact on Education. Retrieved
from https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse
Villagrasa, S., Fonseca, D., Redondo, E., & Duran, J. (2014). Teaching Case of Gamification and Visual Technologies for Education. Journal of Cases on Information Technology (JCIT), 16(4), 38-57. DOI: 10.4018/jcit.2014100104
Wang, A. I., & Lieberoth, A. (2016). The Effect of Points and Audio on Concentration, Engagement, Enjoyment, Learning, Motivation, and Classroom Dynamics Using Kahoot. In European Conference on Games Based Learning (Vol. 20). Academic Conferences International Limited.
World Health Organization. (n.d). WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. Retrieved from https://covid19.who.int/
Yunus, M. M., & Azman, M. A. (2019). Memory Stay Or Stray?: Irregular Verbs Learning Using Kahoot!. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on CALL, (5). https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/call5.15
Zarzycka-Piskorz, E. (2016). Kahoot it or not? Can Games Be Motivating in Learning Grammar?. Teaching English with Technology, 16(3), 17-36.
Zeehan, F., Alias, R. A., & Tasir, Z. (2020). Discovering Digital Technology Training Challenges for Future-Ready Educator: A Preliminary Study from Trainer Perspective. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(3A), 12-23.
In-Text Citation: (Ibrahim et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Ibrahim, S. K. S., Kamaruddin, S. M., Yunus, M. M., & Hashim, H. (2021). The Covid-19 Pandemic and its Impact on Gamification within ESL Virtual Classrooms: A Literature Review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(12), 268–277.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode