Summary: | 碩士 === 國立中央大學 === 網路學習科技研究所 === 107 === Learner's performance goals will naturally affect their learning outcomes while learning English. In classroom settings, some students pursue higher scores than their peers; some students do not expect to be the best but not to be the worst. The former called performance -approach orientation, while the latter called performance-avoidance orientation. Furthermore, digital game-based learning (DGBL) has been gradually adopted in the educational environment because digital games have the potential to improve learners’ learning outcomes in English vocabulary. However, there has been a lack of attention paid to the effects on learners’ learning performance, gaming performance, and their adoptions of performance goals based on DGBL.To this end, this study developed a digital game-based English vocabulary game, which considered the characteristics of learners with different performance goals. In addition to learning words through listening and spelling, learners could compete with their peers by listening to the vocabulary pronunciation and grabbing cards. The aims of the present study were to investigate not only what differences on learning performance of English vocabulary and gaming performace between different performance-oriented learners but also whether the performance goals learners adopted in the English vocabulary game are consistent with thier performance orientions. Besides, this study also analyzed the relationship among performance goals, self-efficacy, fear of failure, learning performance and gaming performance. Participants were measured by the Achievement Goal Orientation Questionnaire, then divided into performance-approach orientation (N=32) or performance-avoidance orientation (N=27). The total experiment time was 90 minutes.
The findings of this study included: (a) For learning performance, Performance-approach orientated learners outperformed than those with Performance-avoidance orientation, and both of them were improved after playing the game. (b) Different game mechanics in the digital games will affect the performance goals adopted by learners which may not be consistent with their performance orientations. (c)Performance-approach orientated learners, whose self-efficacy and performance-avoidance goals could positively and negatively predict learning performance respectively, as well as the times of the hint, which used to display the Chinese translations in the game, could be the negative predictor; As for Performance-avoidance orientated learners, the average number of correct answers in the practice and competitive area were respectively positive and negative indicators. (d) For the gaming performance, Performance-approach orientated learners, whose fear of failure could positively predict their gaming performance (i.e. the number of competitions, average competitive scores, and cumulative correct answers of practicing); however, there was no predictor for the gaming performance of Performance-avoidance orientated learners. (e) For both of performance orientions, performance-approach goals and self-efficacy were positively correlated and predictors interactively, while performance-avoidance goals were positively associated with fear of failure as well as they could predict each other.
This study could attribute to understand how different between performance-approach and performance-avoidance oriented learners for their adoption of performance goals in digital games. Furthermore, these findings could help instructors, researchers, and designers use more appropriate approach to assist learners for learning English vocabulary.
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