Re‐examining students' reading experience in a gamified context from a self‐determination perspective: A multiple‐case study

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present study re‐examines the reading experiences of eight primary school students in Hong Kong. Framed around theories of gamification and self‐determination, the study looks at how these students developed as readers on an online gamified reader known as RB. An electronic extension to a reading database that contains more than 15,000 comprehension questions made from around 500 popular children's books, RB is found to enable the students feel competent, autonomous and connected with their family and friends during their game play. These feelings can be explained away by the three psychological needs of self ‐determination literature. For instance, after a period of time playing on RB, the students displayed competence in that they did well on their academics, increased their reading speed, expanded their vocabulary, and further developed their learning and problem‐solving skills in school. They also showed autonomy in their learning, manifested in the expansion of the scope of their reading choices, a diversity of their reading methods, an increase in their reading frequency, and a boost to their drive in picking up a book for leisure read. Finally, they felt more connected now with their family and friends than before they used RB, for the bondage they formed over RB lasted well beyond their game play. Based on a re‐evaluation of their success stories from gamification and self‐determination perspectives, the study concludes that RB is an effective early English learners' tool in Hong Kong.