UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF GAMIFICATION IN ENGLISH TEACHING: A QUALITATIVE STUDY AT A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI

This study explores Vietnamese teachers' perceptions and practices of gamification in teaching English to first-year English majors at Thang Long University. The goals of the research are to find out the impacts of gamification on EFL students’ learning and some challenges when applying the approach. The participants of the study are five experienced EFL teachers with over 5 years of experience teaching university students. The research adapts qualitative method and uses semi-structured interviews as the main data collection instrument. The findings show that gamification can boost engagement, create an enjoyable learning environment, foster collaboration and competition, and enhance short-term learning outcomes. However, it can be time-consuming and sometimes perceived as childish. It is most effective for teaching vocabulary, reading, and speaking but less suitable for writing. Recommendations include effective time management, planning, simplicity, fairness, and appropriate tool selection. The study also discusses implications for educators and suggests future research directions.