Gamification as Pedagogical Innovation: Evaluating the Story Cube Approach to Reduce English-speaking Anxiety.

This study aims to design, develop, and evaluate a gamified instructional tool Story Cube to reduce English-speaking anxiety among primary Tamil school students in Malaysia. Using a Design and Development Research (DDR) approach (Richey & Klein, 2013), data were gathered from interviews and focus gr...

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Publicado en:Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 401 - 414
Autores principales: Subramaniam, Vijayaletchumy, Gokilavani, Sultan, Mohamed Thariq Hameed
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Universiti Putra Malaysia Feb2026
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Feb2026
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        atl: Gamification as Pedagogical Innovation: Evaluating the Story Cube Approach to Reduce English-speaking Anxiety.
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        au:
          Subramaniam, Vijayaletchumy
          Gokilavani
          Sultan, Mohamed Thariq Hameed
        affil:
          Department of Foreign Language, Faculty of Modern Language and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
          Department of Malay Language, Faculty of Modern Language and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
          Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
          Universiti Putra Malaysia Press, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
      su:
        Gamification
        Speech anxiety
        Educational games
        Multilingual education
        Instructional innovations
        Students
        Design research
        Malaysia
      sug:
        subj:
          Malaysia
          Gamification
          Speech anxiety
          Educational games
          Multilingual education
          Instructional innovations
          Students
          Design research
      keyword:
        Design-based research (DBR)
        educational innovation
        English language anxiety
        gamification in education
        language learning anxiety
        speaking skills
        story cube intervention
        vernacular Tamil schools
      ab: This study aims to design, develop, and evaluate a gamified instructional tool Story Cube to reduce English-speaking anxiety among primary Tamil school students in Malaysia. Using a Design and Development Research (DDR) approach (Richey & Klein, 2013), data were gathered from interviews and focus groups with English teachers and SISC+ officers in Tamil schools. The iterative process involved analysis, design, development, and implementation phases, with thematic analysis conducted to identify key patterns in teachers' and officers' perceptions. Results revealed that students often avoid speaking lessons due to fear, anxiety, and lack of engaging activities. Teachers emphasised the need for tools that are interactive, student-centred, and sustainable. Features such as gamified elements (points, scores, competition) and storytelling components were identified as crucial in reducing speaking anxiety. Teachers highlighted that "Story Cube" can provide a safe, motivating, and non-threatening environment for speaking practice. The findings suggest that gamified interventions can complement existing teaching practices, enhance student motivation, and address the persistent issue of English-speaking anxiety in vernacular schools. This study contributes to the limited body of literature on anxiety reduction in Tamil vernacular schools and introduces a contextually relevant, teacherinformed gamified solution that may be adapted in other multilingual educational settings.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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          year: 2026
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