DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES BASED ON THE GAMIFICATION APPROACH TO ENHANCE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR COMMUNICATION IN SEVENTH-GRADE STUDENTS

The objectives of this research were 1) to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of learning activity based on the gamification, in accordance with the 75/75 efficiency criterion; 2) to study the outcome of the learning activity based on the gamification by considering: 2.1) observed learner behaviors during the implementation, and 2.2) to compare the student’s English speaking skills before and after participating in the activities; 3) to study students’ satisfaction with the developed activities. The sample group consists of 35 seventh-grade students in the second semester of the academic year 2024 at Wangkrot Pittaya School that were chosen by Purposive sampling. The research instruments included: 1) The learning activity based on the gamification approach, 2) speaking skills test, and 3) Student Satisfaction Survey. The statistics used in the research were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and t-test (Dependent samples). The results of this research indicated as follows: 1) the developed activities were rated as highly appropriate ( = 4.65, SD = 0.10) and showed an effectiveness of 77.33/76.67, exceeding the specified criterion; 2) There was a statistically significant improvement in students’ speaking skills after the intervention, with post-test scores significantly higher than pre-test scores at the .05 level; and 3) students’ satisfaction with the activities was at a high level ( = 4.47, SD = 0.51).