Gamification as a didactic strategy for the acquisition of vocabulary in English in the post-pandemic

Abstract

The work addresses the importance of gamification as a didactic strategy in the teaching of English as a second language in basic education and high school in Ecuador. The objective of the research was to identify the importance of the application of the gamification strategy for the acquisition of vocabulary in English, in the post-pandemic. To achieve this purpose, an interview questionnaire was applied to six English teachers from Tulcán canton in Carchi´s province, defining elements of interest to achieve an effective application of this didactic strategy in the post-pandemic era. The results of the interview, together with the theoretical analysis carried out after consulting the updated bibliography, were interpreted and discussed with the qualitative method of methodological triangulation. It was determined that games to improve English vocabulary are very useful, which was much easier to achieve in the time of virtual classes due to the pandemic, and is currently difficult due to the scarce technological resources of public and mixed schools. The importance of expanding the range of games to be used in English classes and their cooperative potential was recognized, as a way to improve cognitive and socio-affective components in students.