ABSTRACT
This qualitative study examined how senior high school English teachers in the Division of Iloilo City use gamification to stimulate learners’ motivation and develop their oral communication skills, providing a basis for a proposed training program. Teachers used gamification to stimulate motivation through lesson engagements, competitions and rewards, and culturally relevant games. In developing oral communication skills, gamification was applied to reduce anxiety, encourage peer interaction, and enhance fluency and confidence. Benefits of stimulating motivation included excitement, participation, focus, persistence, and positive classroom climate; in oral skills development, boosted confidence, improved pronunciation and diction, and enhanced critical and creative thinking. Drawbacks in motivation involved overreliance on rewards, time-consuming preparation and implementation, and limited engagement; in oral skills development, prioritizing fluency over accuracy, technological problems, and excessive competition. A Speech Improvement Training Program was recommended to maximize benefits while addressing drawbacks.
Keywords: Benefits, Drawbacks, Gamification, Oral Communication, Motivation, Speech Training Program
INTRODUCTION
Oral communication is a vital skill for academic achievement, professional success, and personal growth. However, many senior high school learners experience significant anxiety when speaking before an audience, leading to hesitation, disengagement, and underdeveloped communication skills. While traditional instructional methods—such as memorized speeches and repetitive drills—focus on technical delivery, they often fail to address the underlying fear and lack of confidence that inhibit student participation.
In response, gamification has emerged as a promising approach to enhance engagement and reduce speaking anxiety by incorporating elements such as challenges, rewards, leaderboards, and collaborative tasks. For instance, research suggests that gamification fosters a more interactive learning environment, reframing mistakes as part of skill progression rather than failure (Simbaña-Simbaña et al., 2023).
Building on this, studies by Malahito and Quimbo (2020), Samortin (2022), and Moldez et al. (2023) have shown that gamification can improve both confidence and communication performance, particularly in higher education settings.
Despite these promising findings, a research gap remains regarding its application in senior high school oral communication classes in Philippine public schools, where performance anxiety often intersects with limited access to digital tools. Ultimately, this context-specific gap raises questions about the adaptability, practicality, and effectiveness of gamification under resource constraints.
Drawing from these teaching experiences, the researcher has observed that gamified learning activities—whether digital or low-tech—can transform classroom dynamics and encourage even the most reluctant speakers to participate.
This study sought to address the identified gap by examining how gamification can be tailored to reduce anxiety, stimulate motivation, and develop oral communication skills among senior high school students in the Philippine setting.
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