Ngày gửi bài: 15/10/2020

Tên tác giả: Nguyễn Thị Hằng, Mai Tuyết Nhung, Phạm Quang Trúc
Học hàm/học vị: Thạc sỹ
Tổ chức công tác: Khoa Tiếng Anh, Đại học Thương Mại
Thông tin liên lạc:
Nguyễn Thị Hằng, mshang.tmu@gmail.com
Mai Tuyết Nhung, mainhungtourism@gmail.com
Phạm Quang Trúc, mr.phamquangtruc@gmail.com
Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu chuyên sâu của các tác giả
Các phương pháp mới sử dụng trong quá trình dạy và học các khía cạnh khác nhau của các kỹ năng
chính trong tiếng Anh (nghe, nói, đọc, viết), là lĩnh vực chuyên môn mà Bộ môn Thực hành Tiếng,
Khoa Tiếng Anh đảm trách.
Tên bài viết: Integrating game-based interactive learning platforms in teaching Business English
at Thuong mai university
Chủ đề: ICT – công nghệ trong dạy học
Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu của bài viết: Phương pháp nghiên cứu
Ngôn ngữ: Tiếng Anh
Số từ của bài viết: 2934

1
 INTEGRATING GAME-BASED GAME-BASED INTERACTIVE PLATFORMS IN
TEACHING ENGLISH AT THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY
Ths. Nguyễn Thị Hằng1, Ths. Mai Tuyết Nhung2, Ths. Phạm Quang Trúc3
1
Nguyễn Thị Hằng, mshang.tmu@gmail.com
2
Mai Tuyết Nhung, mainhungtourism@gmail.com
3
Phạm Quang Trúc, mr.phamquangtruc@gmail.com
Khoa Tiếng Anh
Trường Đại học Thương Mại

Tóm tắt

Trong thời đại cuộc cách mạng công nghệ 4.0 đang diễn ra mạnh mẽ, và ảnh hưởng không nhỏ đến
hoạt động dạy và học nói chung cũng như trong Tiếng Anh nói riêng. Hoạt động sử dụng máy vi
tính và điện thoại thông minh có kết nối mạng để học tập trong lớp học không còn là vấn đề mới
mẻ. Điều này không chỉ cho phép học sinh và giáo viên kết nối với nhau mà còn với toàn thế giới
thông qua sự hỗ trợ của các phương pháp dạy và học đa dạng trên internet. Sử dụng các nền tảng
học tập tương tác qua trò chơi trong một bài giảng tiếng anh là một ví dụ điển hình minh chứng
cho chúng ta thấy rằng mạng internet có thể cung cấp cho chúng ta nguồn thông tin dồi dào và hỗ
trợ quá trình dạy và học tốt như thế nào. Mục đích của bài báo là đưa ra một ví dụ minh họa về các
nền tảng học tập tương tác qua các hoạt động ứng dụng trò chơi với hi vọng rằng đây sẽ là những
công cụ hữu hiệu cho hoạt động dạy và học cũng như tạo động lực cho sinh viên trong các lớp học
tiếng anh của sinh viên năm thứ nhất học tiếng anh thương mại tại khoa quốc tế trường đại học
Thương Mại.

Abstract
The technology revolution 4.0 has had a substantial impact on teaching and learning in general and
English teaching and learning in particular. Using computers and smartphones with internet
connection inside a classroom is no longer something new. Teachers and students are not only
connected to each other but also to the whole world, with the support of various web-based teaching
and studying methods. Using game-based interactive learning platforms in English lessons is one
typical example of how the Internet can provide a great source of information and support the
teaching and studying process over a certain period of time. This article aims to offer a descriptive
overview of game-based activities, their benefits and provide an illustration of game-based
interactive learning platforms with the hope that they will be used as effective tools for teaching
and studying to motivate students in English classes at the International Faculty, Thuongmai
University.
Key words: game-based interactive learning platforms; class tools; internet-based.
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1. INTRODUCTION
In the 21st century, the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) in the
knowledge society is producing a revolution in the different sectors (Pavel; Fruth & Neacsu, 2015)
and requires a new approach to education. It has been widely encouraged to integrate institutional-
level information and communications technology (ICT) to support and enhance teaching, learning.
Especially, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the whole Vietnam witnessed a long period of web-based
e-learning via learning platform. Many problems might arise, and among major concerns is
learners’ low motivation (Bączek, M & et al. 2020) because motivation has been considered as one
of the most important factors that drives online learning (Widjaja & Chen, 2017). Johansson (2010)
showed that learners easily lose their motivation. They assessed that they were less active during
online classes as opposed to traditional classes (Bączek, M & et al. 2020). Therefore, during
COVID pandemic, in Vietnam, there has been a wave of using game-based interactive platforms
in lessons. A great number of teachers are taking innovative achievements to improve their teaching
methods and language teachers at Thuongmai University (TMU) are no exception.
This article aims to investigate the use of game-based interactive platforms in Division of English
Skills, Faculty of English, Thuongmai University; synthesize some popular and useful platforms;
and give some recommendations for using these game-based interactive platforms.

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1. Motivation
According to Martin (2003), motivation is learners’ energy and drives to study, a stimulant for
achieving a specific target (Johnstone, 1999). It is the efforts which learners make for learning a
language because of “their need or desire to learn it” (Ellis, 1994, p.715). It is closely associated
with “arousal, attention, anxiety, and feedback of reinforcement” (Franken, 1994).
According to Ryan & Deci (2000), motivation can be categoried into two types. Intrinsic
motivation refers to the inner eagerness and interest to do and participate in a particular activity as
they find these activities enjoyable. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation comes from outside
of the performers. Extrinsically motivated students study for the sake of outside influences such
as getting teacher and peer praise, acquiring a good grade or some other type of reinforcement that
a teacher or peer might offer. According to Fisher (1990) there are three major sources of
motivation in learning including: (1) the learner’s natural interest: intrinsic satisfaction, (2) the
teacher institution employment: extrinsic reward, and (3) success in the task: combining
satisfaction and reward.
Cook (2000) claims that language acquisition (LA) is not the same in learners. Moreover, it has
been proposed and recommended that there are three main factors, which concern and influence
the LA, including age, personality, and motivation. He further emphasizes that among the three,

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motivation is the most significant in LA, which is also agreed by Oxford and Shearin (1994). In
conclusion, the motivation for learning is personal and comes from within an individual, but can
be influenced by external factors. When teachers know how to generate students’ motivation in
their teaching, they will become happier and more successful in bringing it into classrooms.
2.2. Games as a useful tool to motivate students
Learning by playing a game has drawn attention of scientific publishers especially in the last decade
and receive positive results (Mattheiss et al., 2009; Tran, 2011; Mahmoud Raba, 2014).
Gamesbased learning has been a part of education for decades. However, with new technological
advances, digital games have recently emerged as a new teaching tool. Neuroscience has proven
that “Games are tailor made to fit the very different tasks animals and humans face.” (Frost,
Wortham, and Reifel, 2008 p. 66) Andrea Bennett, (2008) overemphasized the power of games and
play to facilitate deep and meaningful learning where most productive and motivating learning
experiences are taking place outside of school through playing and participation where learners do
enjoy learning via having a sense of their own progression and where the learning is relevant and
appropriate.
2.3. Game-based interactive platforms
There are a variety of game-based interactive educational platforms and tools to establish
interactive learning and an online lesson plan. These tools are extremely useful for online teaching
and learning or in the classroom well-equiped with laptops and overhead projectors. All these
learning platforms can be used as educational technology in schools and other educational
institutions. This study suggests six popular interactive tools in support for teaching business
English at Thuongmai university.
Classtool
Classtools are useful tools for the classroom because it offers many functions like countdown timer,
magic hat spin, crosswords game creation, Puzzle jigsaw, create Diagrams with many different
shapes just a second. This website is completely free, no need to sign up, no password.
One of the interesting functions is random name selection. It is like the magic hat game of VTV3.
Users can create individual section of a hat just by entering the name in each part. There are many
specific functions as follow: randomly select one or a group of students to answer questions, choose
a student, any group to receive rewards or users can adjust the number of student attendance. To
start we click on the “Random name picker” icon. Next, we click “Edit” to enter student's name
(users can enter as many names as you like), and we click “Save this list” to save the list.
Wordclouds
Wordclouds is a really simply and free application without installation or time to find out how to
use it. The more words are used in the text, the more clearly seen it is in the cloud according to the
order of display. This is a tool to create word clouds or card clouds.

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Kahoot
Kahoot is a game-based learning platform that makes it easy for users to create, share, and play
games or puzzles in a few minutes. For Kahoot, there is no need for users to install the software.
This tool allows users to build multiple-choice questions with diverse data including pictures,
videos and diagrams that make the design more appealing to students and thus, increase motivation
in the learning process. In addition, there is also a Ghost Mode function that allows learners to play
with themselves.
Quizziz / quizzlet
Quizizz, quizzlet takes the excitement of a gameshow-style review game and puts the whole experience
in the students’ hands. With other traditional games, everyone sees the question and possible answers
on the projector and answer simultaneously.
- It’s student-paced. No one gets upset because their device didn’t load the game fast enough to
compete.
- Teachers can display a student progress dashboard on the projector to see progress of each
student and instantly see how many questions the class answered right/wrong.
Socrative
Immediate feedback is a vital part of the learning process. Socrative offers an efficient way to
monitor and evaluate learning that saves time for educators while delivering fun and engaging
interactions for learners with a selection of activity types including: Launch a quiz, receive exit
tickets, or ask for a quick questions for instant student feedbacks. Socrative virtual room can
hold up to 50 students per activity.
Nearpod
Nearpod is a flexible platform that allows downloading ready-to-teach content, or building
teacher’s own lessons. On this platform, teachers would be able to organise various activities such
as drawings, presentations, making game-based interactive questions, discussion, assign and
correct homework directly, matching, filling in the blanks. Here are some more useful suggestions
for using these game-based platforms in the class:

3. METHODOLOGY
This research is primarily based on researcher’s experience in using game-based interactive
platforms in English classes, and data from interviewing practitioners from Division of English
Skills, faculty of English. The data was collected through synthesis of existed papers, interviews
and observation. The findings of this study serves as one of the references for the teachers and
educators.
Description of students

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Learners mentioned in the article are freshmen and sophomores at Institute of International
cooperation. They spent the entire two years learning Business English, which equipped them with
unfamiliar business terms, which were claimed to be tedious and lengthy. Many of them lost their
fresh joy towards English lessons. Therefore, in many classes, they seemed to be quite passive and
feel obliged to learn English.

4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1. Teachers’ perceptions of game-based learning platforms
Teachers at Division of English skills, Thuongmai University were invited to take part in the
interview for an insight of the situation.

Figure 1: Frequency of using game-based interactive platforms

15%

45%

40%

Sometimes Rarely Never

According to the collected data, 85% of the surveyed teachers make use of these platforms in their
teaching, but at limited times (see figure 1). Major explanations are the overload of work which
leads to limited time for extra preparation for the lessons.

Regarding students’ attitudes towards these platforms, it is reported that the overall participant
satisfaction using Kahoot was high (90%), indicating that gamification increased their motivation
to learn (Felszeghy et al, 2019). They express their clear excitement when playing live quiz on
kahoot, especially they are attracted by the colors of the answers. They claim that those color
increase the curiosity about the questions and push them to stay focused on the questions.
Interestingly, Kahoot is also the most frequently-used platform by the teachers at the Division.
However, for Quizziz, teachers claimed that this platform fails to warm students up, because it does
not have eye-catching and user-friendly display (see figure 2).

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 Figure 2: Frequently-used platforms

9%
16.00%
42%

33.00%

Kahoot Quizziz Class tools Others

4.2. Recommendations for effective use of game-based interactive platform

Generally, ICT and games have received positive feedbacks from teachers and learners in ample
research (Paras Bizzocchi, 2005; Dalton, 2006; Tran, 2011; Mahmoud Raba, 2014). Games were
used to encourage learners to explore the target language. Stated by Lee in Dalton (2006) by
using games in the teaching, teacher not only found it as one way to deliver the material in fun way
but also as practice for students to better their English. However, it is recommended that game-
based interactive platforms should not be abused for students tend to be too familiar with those
platforms and feel bored. Some interviewed teachers claim that sometimes, learners are
overexcited, so they appear to focus to much on the results to be the winner, not on the knowledge
and skills they need to acquire. For teachers, using the game-based platform in class was sometimes
a real challenge. On the other hand, it was found that some teachers did not have any well arranged
lesson plan so that the teaching and learning process sometimes did not meet the objectives.
Besides, it is a good idea for the teachers to clarify the rules at the beginning of the activity and be
prepared for cooling them down.

All web-based platform request internet connection, so, wifi or internet access would be obligatory.
However, Nearpod is a learning platform which requires large-capacity internet access. It would
be a note for educators if they would like to use this platform succesfully in the class. Otherwise,
students cannot join the games.
Here are some useful suggestions to refresh the atmosphere in the class:
Activity 1 - Warmup activity: Teachers can create a picture related to the topic of the lesson so that
students can guess the content of the lesson (Wordcloud), use an interactive quiz to warm up the
class at the beginning of the lessons (Nearpod, Kahoot and Socrative).
Activity 2 - Discussion / brainstorming: Teachers use wordclouds to create a shape of words
Activity 3 - Form the skills of organization and creativiy for students: Teachers can prepare the
Wordcloud and ask students to highlight the words, write synonyms or definitions of the words.

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As a result, students enhance the ability of analysis through images, color and memorize the lesson
better.
Activity 4 – Checking: Teachers can use these platforms as a means of checking students’
understanding of the lessons by engaging them in an interactive quiz (either team mode or
individual mode). Besides, teachers can ask students to summarize the main ideas based on the
word clouds and then encourage them to be creative and self-study with mind map
Activity 5 – Homework: Learners can redo the exercises or learn vocabulary at their own pace by
selecting learning mode (quizziz, quizzlet).
Activity 6 – Further practice / test: These platforms are set up with a range of exercises such as gap
filling, multiple choice, matching, True-False, and short answers. Instead of hand out paper work
to students, teachers can make use of these functions to change the atmosphere of the class.

4. CONCLUSION
Game-based interactive platforms have a lot of advantages in online teaching business English,
Teachers enjoy the wealth of resources the internet and make the lesson not only a bit easier but
also more gripping. These tools provide a little light relief for the students and teachers have some
fun themselves as well.
Applying interactive platforms to teaching all subjects in general and English in particular is not
just a change of technology. It is part of a redefinition of how teachers as a species transmit
knowledge, skills, and values to students. With the development of technology and the internet,
making a few predictions of how these tools they serves will continue to have a decisive influence
on transforming traditional study into healthier and more effective learning habits. It is likely that
with notably innovative work being recognised, oriented towards incorporating technology and
resources into its digital platforms will require the highest quality learning at Thuong mai
university.

5. REFERENCES
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