FERRET FOODIE: A NUTRITIONAL CARD GAME FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THAILAND

Abstract

Ferret Foodie is an improved version of the Food Mission nutritional card game for elementary school students in Thailand. The design of this card game is very colorful, attractive and appealing to the elementary school students. The game can be played in six different variations with the varying degrees of challenges. Three postgraduate students test-played and validated the card game playability. Two elementary school teachers from a private elementary school in Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand, validated the content and playability of the card game. 142 six graders then participated in the study. Classroom observations and interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A simple questionnaire was administered to the students to gage their response towards the Ferret Foodie card game. The results show that the postgraduate students felt that the Ferret Food card game was age appropriate and was a good way to encourage the students to use simple English language. The elementary school science teachers became more confident in using card games in the classroom. The Ferret Foodie card game has to some extent helped the students to acquire new vocabulary, read and spell simple words, ask and answer simple questions in English. This article further discusses the implementation of Ferret Foodie card game in the classroom. It also recommends some guidelines for the teachers on how to use game-based learning in teaching new vocabulary to elementary school students.