THE EFFECT OF THE USE OF EDUCATIONAL COMPUTER GAMES IN LEARNING ENGLISH ON ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION

İNGİLİZCE ÖĞRENMEDE EĞİTSEL BİLGİSAYAR OYUNU KULLANMANIN ERİŞİYE VE KALICILIĞA ETKİSİ

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of using educational computer games in English learning on achievement and retention. The study was applied on sixth grade students studying in Vali Lütfullah Bilgin Primary School in the province of Elazığ. Two different groups of sixth grade students were assigned to be study and control groups. During the application period in which quantitative research approach was applied, the computer game on the unit “Mathematical Problems” as designed by the researcher was presented to the students. Students included in the study were assigned impartially and constituted the study and control groups of the study. Total number of students from both the study and control group participated in the study was 69. While 33 students formed the study group of the research, 36 students formed the control group. While the courses were made with students from the study group both Ministry of Education 6th English Lessons Program and educational computer game, Ministry of Education 6th English Lessons Program was used for students from control group. The tools used for data collection in the study, the achivement test was prepared and its pilot scheme was performed by the researcher. The said tools were applied as pre-test and end-test on the experimental and control groups. Also, the achivement test was applied on both groups for a second time to measure retention 14 weeks after the end of application. Based on the results of the analysis made on the data obtained, it was ascertained that learning environments enriched with educational computer games had a positive effect on students' achievement levels and contributed a lot to the retention of learning The activity that was performed is important in that it demonstrates that education computer games can be used as elements enriching the learning on primary education level. This study has also revealed the necessity of the use of educational computer games in English learning Computerized teaching, having originated from the utilization of computers in educational activities, has become ever-increasingly adopted in various forms. Among computerized teaching applications, educational computer games have recently drawn the attention of educators and researchers as they provide a effective environment in which to motivate students toward learning, thanks to their attractive features and entertaining aspect. Considering the time being spent by children today playing games on computers, and the joy they gain from doing it, it is natural to assume that integrated computer games into today’s educational system would resolve current learning difficulties and increase the output. Numerous educational software and educational computer games have been developed to help students become engaged in the classroom (Malta, 2010; Bayırtepe & Tüzün, 2007; Güngörmüş,2007; Yağız, 2007;). Due to the prominence of computer games in teaching environments, it is important to understand their effect on education. Aim The aim of this study is to determine the effect of using educational computer games in English learning on achievement and retention. The following sub-aims have been determined in connection with the main aim. 1. Is there any significant difference between the end-test results, having been received by the experimental and control groups? 2. Is there any significant difference between the achievment points, having been received by the experimental and control groups? 3. Is there any significant difference between the pre-test and endtest results, which constitute the achivement test of the experimental and control groups? 4. Is there any significant difference between the retention points, having been received by the experimental and control groups? 5. Is there any significant difference between the end-test and retention results, which constitute the achivement test of the experimental and control groups? Method Among the experimental designs, experimental model with pre-test and end-test control groups was used in the research as the quantitative research model (Karasar, 2009). Thanks to the pre-establishment of the classes at the school, where the research was conducted, it was not possible to randomly appoint students to the experimental and control groups. Total number of students from both the study and control group participated in the study was 69. While 33 students formed the experimental group of the research, 36 students formed the control group. While the courses were made with students from the study group both Ministry of Education 6th English Lessons Program and educational computer game, Ministry of Education 6th English Lessons Program was used for students from control group. The tools used for data collection in the study, the achievement test was prepared and its pilot scheme was performed by the researcher. In addition, the achivemenet test was applied on both groups for a second time to measure retention 14 weeks after the end of application. It has been found out that the difficulty index of the specification in the test ranges from 0,35 and 0,79, the average difficulty has been found out 0,59. KR-20 value of the test has been found as 0,91 and standard deviation has been 10,04. According to research question, while comparing experimental and control group, Independent Simple t Test, while comparing paired groups Paired Simple t Test, and while comparing independent groups, Mann Whitney U (MWU) test have been used.1. According to the end test results of experimental and control group through MWU, p 0,05]. The average end test results of control group is 20,63 and pre test average is 16,44. 4. According to retention test results of experimental and control group through MWU, p<0,05 significant difference has been observed [U= 337,500; p<0,05]. The average row of experimental group students (SO= 42,77), is higher than the average row of control group students (SO= 22,88). 5. The end test and the ret

Özet

Bu araştırmanın amacı, İngilizce öğrenmede eğitsel bilgisayar oyunu kullanmanın erişiye ve kalıcılığa etkisini belirlemektir. Çalışma Elazığ ili Merkez Vali Lütfullah Bilgin İlköğretim Okulu'nda altıncı sınıf öğrencileri üzerinde yürütülmüştür. İki farklı altıncı sınıf, deney ve kontrol grubu olarak atanmıştır. Nicel araştırma yaklaşımının kullanıldığı uygulama süreci boyunca, araştırmacı tarafından tasarlanan "Mathematical Problems" ünitesi ile ilgili eğitsel bilgisayar oyunu öğrencilere sunulmuştur. Araştırma içerisinde yer alan öğrenciler yansız bir şekilde atanıp, araştırmanın deney ve kontrol gruplarını oluşturmuşlardır. Araştırmada yer alan deney ve kontrol grubu öğrencileri toplam 69 kişidir. 33 öğrenci araştırmanın deney grubunu oluştururken, 36 öğrenci ise araştırmanın kontrol grubunu oluşturmuştur. Araştırma süreci içerisinde dersler, deney grubu öğrencileriyle Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı İlköğretim 6. sınıf İngilizce dersi programının yanı sıra eğitsel bilgisayar oyunu ile işlenirken, kontrol grubu öğrencileriyle Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı İlköğretim 6. sınıf İngilizce dersi programıyla işlenmiştir. Çalışmanın veri toplama boyutunda kullanılan araçlardan, akademik başarı testi araştırmacı tarafından oluşturulmuş ve pilot uygulamaları yapılmıştır. Belirtilen araçlar, deney ve kontrol gruplarına ön-test ve son-test olarak uygulanmıştır. Ayrıca uygulama bitiminden 14 hafta sonra kalıcılığı ölçmek için her iki gruba başarı testi tekrar uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen verilerin analizi sonucunda, eğitsel bilgisayar oyunu ile zenginleştirilen öğrenme ortamlarının, öğrencilerin erişi düzeyleri üzerinde olumlu etkisi olduğu, bunun yanında öğrenmenin kalıcılığı bağlamında da önemli bir katkı sağladığı tespit edilmiştir. Gerçekleştirilen uygulama, ilköğretim düzeyinde eğitsel bilgisayar oyunlarının öğrenmeyi zenginleştiren bir unsur olarak kullanılabileceğini göstermek açısından da önemlidir. Bu araştırma, İngilizce öğrenme de eğitsel bilgisayar oyunlarının kullanımının yaygınlaştırılması gerekliliğini de ortaya çıkarmıştır