Effects of Duolingo on Taiwanese 10th Graders Leanring English Grammar

Jack Kuo-Zheng Feng

(Department of Applied Foreign Language, Kang Ming Senior High School, Taiwan)

Abstract: This qusi-experimental study aimed to investigate the effects of game-based instruction (GI) on 10th graders. In addition, the present study wanted to explore the relative impacts of GI on students’ learning motivation and learning anxiety. The participants were 80 first-year senior high school students enrolled in a remedial program. One class (n = 40) was assigned to the experimental group who received game-based instruction, called Duolingo while the other (n = 40) to the control group who received traditional instruction, embedded with lecturing and note- taking. A grammar test, learning motivation, and learning anxiety questionnaires were administered before and after the treatment. The treatment lasted for eight weeks, which covered the grammar competences corresponding to GEPT elementary level. The results showed that both groups made improvements in their learning performance after the treatments. In addition, Duolingo had significant impact on enhancing GI group’s learning motivation and lowering the learning anxiety. It was concluded that Duolingo could be an alternative when English was taught. In the end, pedagogical implications, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research were provided.

Key words: duolingo, game-based instruction, learning motivation, learning anxiety