Using Gamification to Support English Language Learning and Teaching in Turkish Context: A Systematic Review

Abstract

In the 21^st century to fulfill the needs of the contemporary era, attract digital natives’ attention, make learning more attractive, and satisfy their needs, technological tools and diversifying theories and strategies have become necessary. In this modern world, gamification has been one of the best and most attractive ways to support English foreign language teaching and learning with existing applications in the market. An overview of the application of gamification in the Turkish context is provided in this review. For this review, four main databases were searched and 16 research articles published from 2013-2023 were studied to emphasize the focal points of the research in terms of methodology, publication year, setting, and how and for what purposes gamification is used in the context. Findings show the phenomenon has gained popularity among researchers and the majority of the articles (N=15) were conducted after 2018. The researchers mostly utilize a Mixed-Method research design and favor conducting their studies in university settings recruiting students. Finally, the findings suggest that researchers are mostly inclined to find out the effectiveness of certain gamification tools on learners’ motivation, participation, engagement, and academic achievement and the perceptions of teachers and/or learners about these tools.