Gamifying the Primary English Classroom

By encompassing Ubuntu oral traditional storytelling with an experiential communicative approach, this book targets on the gamification approach intermingled with the South African English linguistic and cultural variety in the Primary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teaching. Taking Chou's (2016) Octalysis Framework into account, several gamification designs and practices were implemented in the scope of a project entitled 'Kwesukasukela'. These gamified tasks stimulated collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity, which are considered as the basis for professional success in the 21st century. An ethnographic methodological approach was resorted to when observing these practices, within a group of 4th year primary pupils learning EFL in Oporto, Portugal, in which project's development and the expansion of creative and collaborative critical thinking skills were proposed. The study's main results show that the gamification approach can aid in the progression of dialogue, can promote cultural awareness and can expedite pupil's cognitive and affective enthrallment and engagement, thereon fostering the development of a transformative EFL classroom.