Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0): A Novel Warrioric Rpg Tool to Teach English Simple Information Communication Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0): A Novel Warrioric Rpg Tool to Teach English Simple Information Communication

Gamification has emerged as the most compelling technology advancements in the field of human betrothment and has notably been adopted in the English education sphere. Learners who are learning English as a second language (ESL) face challenges communicating simple information which potentially jeopardizes learning. Previous research has revealed that gamified tools used within ESL acquisition are still predominantly emphasised on quizzes. There is a scarcity of studies examining the choice-based role-playing games (RPGs) for ESL learners in enhancing simple information communication at the primary level. Consequently, Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0), a novel warrioric role-playing game (RPG) that integrates simple information communication as a core feature was innovated. Thus, this study attempted to investigate the effectiveness of Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) in reinforcing ESL learners' skill and increasing learners’ motivation in communicating simple information. A total of 20 Year 1 participants from a primary school in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, enrolled in this study. Data obtained using a closed-ended items questionnaire as part of a survey research method and discussed quantitatively in descriptive analysis. Findings revealed that Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) had a significant impact on learners through a fun learning environment, making learners motivated to communicate. Future research is recommended to broaden the application of Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) to teach a variety of language skills.


Introduction
In the present day, each individual is required to acquire all English language skills to avert being left behind from the global market. Subsequently, speaking skill plays a crucial part in language learning and is recognised as the most significant skill. Paul (2017) disputed that the English language has a significant impact on education since it is always evolving to discover new ways to teach the language efficiently in order to establish an effective learning climate. Hence, educators around the world implement gamification to provide a pleasant and entertaining way of improving English as a Second Language (ESL) and bridging the gap between learners' learning and educational practices (Dehghanzadeh et al., 2019). Similarly, many academicians claimed that the game application has considerable educational value as it provides learners with a joyful and non-stressful learning environment, especially when teaching ESL to young learners.
Technology-based instructional tools have emerged as an inseparable element of the education realm as virtual instructions offer unlimited potential and vast possibilities in facilitating educators and learners in language acquisition. Educators in Malaysia are constantly searching for and deploying new ways to make teaching in an English language classroom fun and relevant as well as increasing classroom productivity instinctively. Within the context of this study, the concept of gamification learning refers to the use of choicebased role-play (CCRPG) game design which consists of different levels that correspond to the simple information being taught. Additionally, each level in the game consists of several missions with different gaming scenarios depending on the choices made by the players.
Despite the advancements in 21st-century teaching and learning, the learners' English communication skill remained at an alarming level. Teaching and acquiring all four English language skills has long been a dominant issue for ESL learners as well as with educators. In this case, speaking skills appear to become the most difficult part amid the other skills, with many learners still unable to communicate correctly (Rajendran & Yunus, 2021). To date, there has been a lack of research to shed some light on the effectiveness of choice based roleplaying gamified teaching and learning tools in enhancing English simple communication which promotes motivation and self-paced learning. This is also a cornerstone of Education 4.0 highlighted in Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 and might benefit Malaysian learners at all levels of education. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) in enhancing the ESL learners' skill as well as increasing learners' motivation in communicating simple information.

Literature Review Speaking Skill among the ESL Learners
Speaking is the most crucial skill to develop in the acquisition of the English language, particularly for second language learners. Since English is considered an international language, the significant focus should indeed be focused on learners' English competence and speaking skills (Lie & Yunus, 2018). Though mastering English speaking is crucially significant, teaching speaking classes is also indeed challenging at times, regardless of the learners' level. Typically, echoic and reproducing is adapted and conducted in the speaking lesson permitting pupils to develop communication skills (Wahyuningsih & Afandi, 2020). Speaking is an interactive process which involves the speaker and listener in delivering, receiving, and understanding information in order to transmit ideas, feelings, and views (Sharma, 2018). Kaur and Aziz (2020) pointed out that speaking fluently entails having a solid lexicon, inflexion and grammatical structures, that are hard for learners to grasp owing to a variety of parameters. Yaccob and Yunus (2019) verified that learners feel agitated and confused about communicating in English making them sluggish in lessons. The researcher additionally asserted that learners struggled to comprehend the subject matter when educators conducted it so abruptly (Nur et al., 2019). In terms of language skills, language anxiousness, particularly speaking anxiety, may need to be emphasized. Tsai (2018) claimed that speaking anxiety is feelings of uneasiness in language learning specifically related to learning an unfamiliar language. Diehl et al (2019) further explained that anxiety could also be regarded as negativity with both somatic and cognitive components. As identified by Wahyuningsih and Afandi (2020), English speaking lessons are indeed a main reason for communication apprehension, which has been associated with students' hesitation to communicate properly because they have not fully grasped an unfamiliar language. Equally important, this hesitation reduces learners' enthusiasm in mastering English speaking skill and makes no progress in English (Oflaz, 2019;Riasati, 2018). A study conducted by Zheng and Cheng (2018) discovered that students in the classroom have a considerable level of anxiety when it comes to oral English, particularly when it comes to language skills. Moreover, learners who demonstrated higher unfamiliar language anxiety performed worse on tests than the other less worried learners (Zheng & Cheng, 2018).
As said by Wahid and Pilus (2017), ESL learners prefer staying in their comfort bubble, which implies they choose to use their mother language instead of making a commitment to learning English, which poses a significant issue to educators. Moreover, learners' first language is different from English structure. For the reason that learners are accustomed to communicating their primary language, they attempt to literally convert from their primary language to acquired second language, culminating in a structurally inaccurate speech (Kaur & Aziz, 2020). In addition, the ability to communicate is regarded as one of the elements of the 4C's in 21st-century competencies, highlighting the significance of the skill (Paneerselvam & Mohamad, 2019). Also, this is the main aim for the policymakers around the globe to ensure the strengthening of communicating skills among learners is specified in the educational policies in addition to developing proficient English speakers.

Choice-based RPG Gamification in Language Teaching and Learning
In the past few decades, games are considered to be hugely preferable for supporting language learning in the classroom. Until now, there are many different game applications and tools which can support English language teaching and learning that have been adapted and adopted. Almost all educators increasingly choose to deliver their instructions in a more interactive manner instead of the conventional talk-and-chalk strategy . In the context of second language learning acquisition, gamification is rapidly being employed to increase learner engagement, foster classroom dynamic, promote self-paced learning and enrich the learning experience. Dehghanzadeh et al (2019) proposed that gamified ESL environments provided good educational experiences by being entertaining, engaging, motivating, and enjoyable at the same time aiming at content language learning and satisfaction as learning objectives. Furthermore, the choice-driven RPG game approach incorporates game features into a gamified or game-based educational setting which reshape the learners' learning environment by making them less intimidating and unconsciously lowering down their 'affective filter'.
Additionally, research performed by Wichadee and Pattanapichet (2018) contended that game-based learning improves learners' performance in terms of pre-and post-testing. This is supported by a study implemented by Poondej and Lerdpornkulrat (2020) which identified that ESL learners score higher due to the game participation.  further asserted that this is due to the reason that an amusing learning atmosphere strengthens memory retention of the subject acquired. Based on the findings of Yaccob and Yunus (2019), it can be argued that ESL learners are more active in studying new language concepts through real-life language games which include a broader palette of challenges associated with authentic circumstances. Similarly, choice-based RPG gamification may foster learning features including problem-solving, collaborative learning, and autonomous learning. Gamifying basic communication is an interactive alternative for engaging learners in learning new ways to communicate simple information in a playful context (Kingsley & Grabner-Hagen, 2018). Moreover, Krebt (2017) asserted that role play strategies are extremely crucial for learners' second language acquisition who seldom practise the language as it generates an intriguing opportunity for the learners to thrive in, which contributes to positive interest and provokes them to adopt the new character and develop the language in daily conversations.
Moreover, choice-driven games prompt learners to think critically before making decisions as the story maps out differently based on the decision made. As identified by Chambers and Yunus (2017), in order to move forward and proceed in a language game, ESL learners must proactively employ the targeted language through conversation to accomplish the task with others which unintentionally leaves an opportunity for development in fluency and competency. Besides, the integration of images, animations, audio and game components in the interactive game improves and increases learners' attention span to a longer duration. Equally important, the narrative heroic setting with a reward system fulfills learners' selfsatisfaction and helps learners to take up their own responsibility in language learning as well as exposing them to the linguistic structure and culture which the learners would not be able to come across in the classroom. More importantly, choice-based RPG gamification also subsumes the retribution set-up which intends to create learners' alertness to convey accurate simple information which will indirectly enhance their critical thinking skills. Based on the ideas of Hashim and Yunus (2019), it has always been time to gear up and push the millennial generation to a more conscientious, technologically advanced, and fast-paced discovery of their latent capabilities, similarly their critical thinking and conversational skills prior to enter the Fourth Industrial Revolutions stage.

Motivation in Self-Paced Language Learning
Motivation is believed to be one of the crucial aspects to have a tremendous influence on learners' language learning attitude and behaviour. Indeed, Tivaraju et al (2017) also agreed that the significance of motivation in enhancing second language learning cannot be underestimated. Gamified instruction is marketed as a motivating option for language acquisition that improves learners' autonomy (Rueckert et al., 2020).  conducted a study that established the effectiveness of language games through improving in the pre-test scores after the intervention was implemented. The researchers also confirmed that learners seem to be more self-satisfied in nurturing their personal learning process, especially when they are driven as well as enthusiastic in the process of exploring . Whenever learners are motivated in playing, their confidence and selfsatisfaction in acquiring language develop, leading to a positive attitude to acquire language skills through games.  indicated that gamification education will help ESL learners tremendously. A growing body of literature measures the benefits of gamification in language learning in terms of enhancing ESL learners' motivation. As said by Rajendran & Yunus (2021), the utilization of gamification in learning successfully in fostering learners' engagement also had an advantageous influence on learners' motivation since they genuinely loved studying English where language games were integrated in the classes. As identified by Zainuddin (2018), the study demonstrated that with gamified learning, learners could go through lessons within their own tempo in and out of the classroom, providing it even more enjoyable and gratifying for them to complete the learning at their own time and location. This research additionally revealed that learners were much more intrinsically motivated when they felt independent in learning (Zainuddin, 2018). Similarly, Dehghanzadeh et al (2019) explored the notion that learners frequently espoused that getting involved in ESL gamification settings is pleasurable, entertaining, appealing, immersive, and fascinating because it enables them to get involved in the ESL learning processes psychologically and have a feeling of gaining control over decisions, transition, and pervasiveness. In the same way, Tsymbal (2018) claimed that after gamified learning was incorporated, learners' motivation and confidence improved, as well as feeling much more secure and less intimidating. Furthermore, Sánchez et al (2020) reported that in the study conducted, the implementation of digital games benefited the instructional method, as well as permitting for an enhancement in interactions between classmates in cooperative and collaborative learning apart from increasing the motivation and participation. This is supported by a study by Baldauf et al (2017) concluded that gamification elements are seen as stimulating, enjoyable, addicting, and engrossing, allowing for speedy communication among learners. Subsequently, this aroused learners' motivation and resulted in a change in learning behaviour and indirectly boosting their learning performance.
Nevertheless, there is still a paucity of research on the efficacy of choice based role-playing game tools, particularly in enhancing ESL learners' simple information communication and their learning motivation which may bring advantages to all levels of education in Malaysia. The present study accordingly endeavoured to help bridge the gap by researching the implementation of choice-based RPG, Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) in reinforcing the ESL learners' skill in communicating simple information in the targeted language and boosting motivation in language learning.

Two research questions are formulated as follows: a)
To what extent does Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) help in reinforcing ESL learners' skills in communicating simple information in targeted language? b) To what extent does Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) help in increasing ESL learners' motivation to communicate simple information in targeted language?

Methodology Method
The research methodology for this study relies on the ADDIE model of instructional design. According to Budoya, et al (2019), the ADDIE model is extensively implemented for instructional design as it assists instructional designers and teachers in creating efficient and successful syllabus, frameworks, operating systems, and course materials for educational purposes. The term A-D-D-I-E consists of five stages which stand for analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Figure 1 illustrates the flow chart of the development phases of CHATMATE (ARCANETALES 2.0) according to the ADDIE model.

Figure 1 Development Phases of Chatmate (arcanetales 2.0) According to Addie Model
Adapted from (Alnajdi, 2018) Analysis Phase The first phase in the ADDIE model is the analysing phase, in which researchers defined the problem, identified the origin of the issues and subsequently determined a resolution. The researchers investigated the learners' characteristics in terms of expertise, attitudes, competencies as well as the appropriate resources to the targeted competence outcomes with regard to what learners have mastered (Widyastuti & Susiana, 2019). The analytical process includes determining the type of learning involved as well as learners' characteristics such as academic background and academic performance according to the CEFR band. Studies have revealed that learners hesitate in listening and speaking activities because they seem unable to interact and use language in everyday circumstances. (Krebt, 2017). Based on the learners' daily performance, the researchers have targeted Year 1 learners in communicating simple information to help learners to suit themselves in the new schooling environment especially after the months of distance learning due to the pandemic. The problems among the learners were identified by agreement among the teachers as below: 1. Learners showed signs of boredom, distraction and lack of motivation to practice speaking in class. 2. Learners are anxious and perplexed to take part in the conversation.

Design Phase
The instructional tool is developed in this stage based on specified educational goals, techniques and tasks that will achieve the final implementation strategies and evaluation results (Xing, 2018). It centered on tasks like choice of materials appropriate to the learners' traits and the skill to be obtained, acquisition strategy, assessment form and technique and evaluation. The researchers in the present study proposed the following objectives: 1. To identify the effectiveness of Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) in reinforcing ESL learners' skills in communicating simple information in the targeted language.
Evaluate Analyze Design Develop Implem ent 2. To identify the effectiveness of Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) in increasing ESL learners' motivation to communicate simple information in the targeted language. After determining the research objectives, a novel warrioric role-play gamified teaching and learning tool, named CHATMATE (ARCANETALES 2.0) was designed to teach simple information communication and thus boost learners' motivation in speaking. When creating the tool, four major elements should be addressed (Ab Latif & Mat Nor, 2020): (i) What must learners learn to grasp? ii) How can learners who have learnt it be distinguished? (iii) How can learners be helped to learn? and lastly, (iv) How could the developed tool aid learners in learning?

Development Phase
In the development stage, instruction activities and content assets described in the design phase are created and assembled (Xing, 2018). There are numerous actions, such as (1) creating a factual sample for the instruction design; gathering appropriate data resources to develop the tool, (2) create course materials; this includes developing illustrations, planning, and constructing graphs as needed, as well as typing, revising, and setting up the graphics. (3) The design will be carried out; the draft of the development product will be validated, and revisions will be made based on expert advice. For instance, the researchers have first planned the flow of the suitable storyline. Next, the researchers designed the content and tasks, and set the question and decision sets for the storyline. Lastly, the scenes, characters and audios were designed and developed.

Implementation Phase
In this phase, development findings are implemented in the learning process to determine their impact on learning quality, which includes effectiveness, attractiveness, and efficiency. Implementation is done in small groups to get feedback from learners and teachers for the revision of the product design. An official letter was addressed to the school's administration in order to acquire authorisation in performing a pilot project with 30 Year 2 learners. The implementation stage depicts the tool's constant adjustment to provide maximum efficiency and favourable results. During this step, the researchers additionally briefed and guided the learners on the user guideline so that the learners could utilise it thoroughly. Teacher tests the tool to determine whether it was functional and appropriate for the intended learners and desired objectives. In fact, the implementation phase has a close relationship with the design phase and the evaluation phase. In this paper, the tool was implemented during homebased learning (PdPR) as well as in physical classroom interaction. It was implemented during the revision time and free time for learners' own pace of learning. Table 1 showed the use of CHATMATE in classroom lessons.
• Educator observed and recorded learners' learning performance.

Evaluation Phase
The goal of this stage would be to examine the CHATMATE's efficacy. This stage entails testing the designed evaluation to verify the tool met the instructional targets. Evaluation can ensure that all the materials, activities and designs have achieved the desired goals. Three research instruments included pre-test and post-test assessment, questionnaires as well as field notes were used to gather data. A pre-test and a post-test were examined by means to evaluate the effectiveness of Chatmate and the learners' speaking performance. A questionnaire was given to the learners to get their feedback towards the use of the CHATMATE to evaluate and improvise the innovative tool. Field notes were taken to record learners' response in speaking lessons.

Findings and Discussion Choices-Based Role-Play Game Reinforces ESL Learners' Skills to Communicate Simple Information
As indicated in Table 2, the data from the pre-test and post-test were assessed according to the performance level based on the performance standard granted by the ministry of education. Pupils show very limited command of the language and require a lot of guidance to perform basic language tasks.

0 2 Limited
Pupils show limited command of the language and require guidance to perform basic language tasks. 10 1 3 Satisfactory Pupils show satisfactory command of the language. They have the ability to use language adequately but require guidance for some challenging language tasks.

11 4 Good
Pupils show a good command of the language. They have the ability to use language fairly independently but require guidance for more complex language tasks.

6 5 Very Good
Pupils show very good command of the language. They have the ability to use language almost independently. They are able to perform challenging and complex language tasks with minimal guidance. 0 2 6 Excellent Pupils show an excellent command of the language. They have the ability to use language independently. They are able to perform challenging and complex language tasks. 0 0

Figure 2 Learners' Pre-test and Post-test Performance Level
According to Table 2 and Figure 2, the post-test results showed significant improvement among the learners in communicating simple information. Before the Chatmate was introduced, 3 learners achieved performance level band 1 and a total of 10 learners were in performance level band 2. While there were 5 learners achieved performance level band 3 and 2 learners in performance level band 4. After the intervention of Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0), there was an increasing number of learners across the performance levels, in which no learner was found in performance level band 1. The number of learners who obtained performance level band 2 reduced from 10 to 1. While the learner who acquired performance level band 3 was increased by 6 to become 11 and at the same time, the learners who obtained performance level band 4 was increased to 6 from 2. Hence, it can be concluded that through the implementation of Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0), a choice-based role-play game (CCRPG) had improved ESL learners' performance in the speaking test. The outcome was corroborated by Krebt's (2017) findings, which stated that adopting role play as a classroom technique strengthened learners' speaking skills. Hence, it is apparent that Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) has been proven to reinforce ESL learners' mastery level in communicating simple information and gamified learning generated more achievement among learners (Wichadee & Pattanapichet, 2018).

Choices-Based Role-Play Game Motivates ESL Learners to Communicate Simple Information
Learners show eagerness and motivation to communicate the simple information with their peers after experiencing learning sessions through the Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0). Role-play techniques create an engaging environment for learners to thrive in, leading to an improvement in attention span and encouraging learners to engage in role-play techniques in which learners adopt a new persona and acquire the targeted language in daily encounters (Krebt, 2017). A survey questionnaire was collected and was coded into four themes, namely satisfaction, attention, confidence and relevance as shown in Table 3. Based on the questionnaire, 95% of the learners agreed that they like learning with Chatmate and are attracted by the game design. In addition, 85% of the learners claimed that Chatmate made them want to complete the task set in scenarios and 90% of the learners claimed that learning with Chatmate is motivating, interesting and fun. The findings were coherent with the study by Baldauf et al. (2017) and Pozo Sánchez et al. (2020) that gamification in education can boost learners' motivation and engagement, enhance cooperative and collaborative learning, improve learning outcomes, facilitate learners' socialisation, and induce behavioural change. As a comparison, the component of relevance and confidence had a lower percentage, with 80% of the learners able to understand and apply what they learned in the scenarios to daily conversation, 75% of the learners were confident to communicate simple information with peers and 80% of the learners feel comfortable communicating with simple information after using Chatmate. Field notes were employed to examine learners' responses in speaking lessons before and after using Chatmate. Table 4 indicates the observation notes taken during speaking lessons. It is apparent that Chatmate (Arcanetales 2.0) has been proven to increase ESL learners' motivation in communicating simple information. According to Sharma (2018), the usage of stories has been shown to encourage learners to speak English. Kaur and Aziz (2020) also revealed that language games add the element of fun and promote real life interaction among learners which then make learners show positive response towards learning, similar to the study by Yaccob and Yunus (2019) which highlights the benefits of using language games in enhancing learners' interest and motivation. Similarly, the study which reported that fun learning reduces learners' anxiety in oral English and will then achieve better results by (Zheng and Cheng, 2018).

Conclusion and Implication
Considering the findings of the research, it can be concluded that gamification in language acquisition improves speaking skills, in which most learners' performance level in speaking skill has been increased from lower performance band (band 1 and band 2) to intermediate performance band (band 3 and band 4). The findings suggest that Chatmate, a choice-based role-play game motivates learners by retaining their attention span through an engaging learning environment. This had proven that the advent of technologies and their integration into education present many benefits to educators and learners around the world as technologies enable them to improve their teaching and learning process and achieve academic goals. It is important to offer novel and innovative educational techniques based on the use of digital game technology in order to foster the development of meaningful learning. Learners' active participation and 21st-century teaching and learning are now possible thanks to modern collaborative technology, such as interactive choice based role-playing games (RPGs). Besides improving learners' speaking skills, the implementation of choice based roleplaying games (RPG) in education has numerous advantages. For instance, it provides teachers with creative and innovative teaching methods to create a personalized learning experience. The audio and graphic elements regarding the fantasy story in choice-based RPGs spark the interest of learners while they are in another realm as a warrior. In this case, learners may appear to be playing games for pleasure, but learning occurs automatically, making gamified learning a useful technique to utilise in ESL classrooms since it allows learners to learn and play in an audio-visual and less intimidating atmosphere. As a consequence, the advantages of gamified learning are apparent, capable of establishing the link between conventional and new mastering approaches for the millennial generation. Overall, the findings demonstrated the importance of including games during ESL classes, since gaming is indeed an essential element of stimulating learners' enthusiasm to learn the targeted language. For future study, the researcher proposed that future researchers can investigate the different types of game-based learning suited to different groups of learners. In a nutshell, the implementation of choice-based RPG to bring the revolution in ESL learning to meet the requirements set forth in 21st-century learning is anchored in Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2021.