Active Learning and Digitalized Methodology in L2

Effect in Academic Results

Abstract

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is constantly searching for the most successful learning method. Using active learning methodologies and ICT tools in educational contexts entails some changes in the teaching-learning process. This research work analyzes the effect of academic performance with a digitalized active learning methodology applied during two months in the compulsory secondary education stage. The sample of the study is composed of sixty students aged between 15 and 16 years old (M: 15.18; DE: 0.39) from an educational institution in Madrid (Spain) who have been randomly assigned into a control and an experimental group. The control group is instructed following a traditional teaching with teacher-centered lectures whereas the experimental group follows a digitalized active learning methodology (gamification). The results in the final test show a significantly higher academic performance in the experimental group. This finding indicates that the use of a digitalized active learning methodology such as gamification prepares secondary education students better for the final exam. This exploratory study proposes an L2 teaching methodology with a positive effect on the learning process and academic performance which can be applicable to other school grades.