SS997: InTense Quest: Verb Tense Adventures For Primary Pupils

Nur Amelia Mohd Nadzrin Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Gamified learning has been a trending strategy in English Language Teaching (ELT) as it garnered popularity among educators globally. Several researchers portrayed the utilisation of role-playing games (RPG) for language learning purposes. Nevertheless, grammar acquisition, especially tenses, is deemed difficult for majority ESL students. Furthermore, the use of digital RPG instead of the conventional method in teaching grammar is still scarce. Thus, InTense Quest innovation is a kit comprising dynamic digital RPG and board-game designed to engage Year 6 primary school students in mastering simple present, past, and future tenses. The five stages of ADDIE (analyse, design, develop, implement, evaluate) model was employed in the development of this innovation. InTense Quest is crafted digitally using the RPG Maker game engine and physically using a box with laminated question cards, maps, characters and token-rubbers. InTense quest features lesson videos on the three main tenses, accompanied by engaging songs as reinforcement and differentiated questions cater to varied proficiency levels, ensuring all students benefit. The design and development of InTense Quest were underpinned by Game Based Learning (GBL) approach and differentiated instructions theory. The evaluation of InTense Quest was conducted using pre and post test amongst 45 primary-school students and the results were analysed descriptively. The main findings portrayed the students’ acquisition of these tenses significantly improved after using InTense Quest eventually led the students’ to achieve higher language proficiency in their classroom-based assessment (PBD). Therefore, InTense Quest is pedagogically feasible for all types of school especially upper primary school students.