The effect of game-based application in improving students’ engagement towards learning Malay Language in primary school

Abstract

Game-based applications play a significant role in improving student engagement in lessons in this era of globalisation. Students at Tamil schools are having difficulty acquiring the Malay language. To address this issue, the Wordwall application was utilised. Students will engage with the characteristics stated in 21st century learning through the Wordwall application. As a result, the purpose of this study was to see if the Wordwall application could help students become more engaged in the Malay language. There are certain concerns in this study that are centred on the student’s engagement. The main focus is on effect of game-based application (Wordwall) in learning Malay language, which is based on four factors, such as behavioural engagement, cognitive engagement, Psychological engagement and academic engagement. This study also investigates students' perception on game-based learning through Wordwall application. Furthermore, the study investigates the relationship between the Year 4 pupils’ overall performance before and after using game-based learning through Wordwall application in Malay languange and the influence of gamebased application (Wordwall) towards learning Malay languange. Pre and post tests, questionnaire, and student’s engagement instrument were used to conduct quantitative research on 33 respondents who were Year 4 students at a school in Batu Pahat district. Because there are significant differences between the mean of the pre-test scores and post-test scores for the Malay language achievement test, whereby results showed that students' engagement increased after the Wordwall application. Overall, WordWall application should be used on a daily basis because they cannot only improve student engagement but also allow students to play while learning and improve student motivation.