The impact of gamification on motivation and performance in English

Introduction: This project highlights gamification as an innovative pedagogical strategy to enhance motivation and academic performance in learning English as a foreign language. Objective: To design, implement, and evaluate a gamified English manual tailored to students’needs, in response to the inefficacy of traditional methods and the heterogeneity of language proficiency levels. Methodology: The study was conducted with fourth-grade students at Colegio Adventista del Sur in 2024, adopting a qualitative approach that included questionnaires, interviews, observations, and group discussions. Teacher and student training was also considered to ensure appropriate use of the developed material. Results: Gamification improved content retention, particularly in grammar, and encouragedactive student participation, emerging as an effective alternative to traditional models. Conclusions: The project provides concrete and transferable didactic tools to transform the English teaching-learning process in school settings.