Effects of anxiety levels on learning performance and gaming performance in digital game‐based learning

Abstract

Anxiety plays an influential role in foreign language learning. However, a lack of attention was paid to examining the effects of anxiety levels on learning performance and gaming performance in digital game-based learning. To this end, this study developed a game-based English learning system and investigated how different levels of anxiety affected learners' learning performance and gaming performance. A quasi-experiment was conducted in an elementary school. The results showed that high-anxiety learners performed worse than low-anxiety learners in speaking, word/ sentence match, and overall learning performance. However, they performed similarly in listening performance. Moreover, the results showed that high-and low-anxiety learners demonstrated a similar level of gaming performance. A subsequent analysis showed that significant correlations existed between learning performance and gaming performance for learners with high anxiety whereas such positive correlations were rarely found for learners with low anxiety, indicating that high-anxiety learners' learning performance could be fostered by their gaming performance. The findings suggested that digital game-based learning was particularly beneficial to high-anxiety learners, whose gaming performance was a facilitative factor of their learning performance.

Investigating the Influence of Interaction on Learning Persistence in Online Settings: Moderation or Mediation of Academic Emotions?

“…Overall, the study suggested that three types of interaction and academic emotions could effectively catalyze learning persistence and engagement in online learning environments. Those statistics results were consistent with previous research [15,41].…”

“…On the contrary, anxiety and boredom negatively predicted students' learning persistence. These findings are consistent with those of Putwain [13] and Yang [15]. As stated before, students' academic emotions should be considered to be critical in predicting their learning persistence.…”

“…For example, Huang et al [14] revealed that positive academic emotions (e.g., enjoyment, happiness) might lead to more interaction between instructors and students. In contrast, negative academic emotions (e.g., anxiety, boredom) might hinder learning engagement [15]. As for learning persistence, Hwang [16] and Oh et al [17] addressed that students' interaction was associated with anxiety and learning persistence in online learning environments.…”

Simulador de Realidade Virtual Aplicado à Educação Patrimonial para Experiências Imersivas Gamificadas

“…Já Caballero e Niguidula (2018) apresentam uma simulação de treinamento conduzida por casos empregando a tecnologia de realidade virtual para treinar usuários imersos no ambiente virtual gamificado. Outro exemplo pode ser encontrado no trabalho de Trahanias e Papagiannakis (2018), que apresenta uma forma disruptiva de realizar treinamentos cirúrgicos em realidade virtual (VR) psicomotora com emprego de técnicas de gamificação.…”

“…Além disso, o simulador foi experimentado por crianças em idade escolar, com resultados positivos em seus testes iniciais, o que permitiu atestar a eficiência do simulador na promoção do aprendizado observacional e do aprendizado social (Liu, 2017). Assim, é possível afirmar que o potencial educativo da solução de simulação apresentada corrobora a visão de Jensen e Konradsen (2018), que afirmam que tal tecnologia é rica em possibilidades de estimular uma série de condições fundamentais para a absorção de informações, tais como a atenção, o envolvimento do aluno com a atividade proposta pela imersão, além de estimular diversas habilidades cognitivas. Além disso, convém ressaltar a importância da mecânica de gamificação adotada neste experimento que, dada a sua natureza simples, produziu efeitos interessantes junto aos alunos.…”