Computer Games and English as a Foreign Language: Results of a Pilot Study

Abstract

The study presents the results of a pilot project in which computer games were used for teaching English as a foreign language to primary school students. The target group was sixty fifth-grade primary school students, divided into three groups. The first group was taught conventionally using the textbook. In the second, a contemporary teaching method was used, but the instruction was not technologically enhanced. The third group of students used the computer games without the teacher's intervention. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and evaluation sheets. The data analysis revealed that the learning outcomes from the use of games were -- more or less -- the same as in the other methods. Also, the attitude of students towards games was very positive. The results can be attributed to students' enjoyment, motivation, and positive attitude towards the use of games as well as to the teaching method. The results also lead to the need to examine ways that would allow digital games to be even more effective in the teaching of English as a foreign language.