Innovating Indonesian Islamic Elementary English Education through A 5c Skills-Oriented Digital Game Application
Keywords:
5C skills, digital game-based learning, English learning, gamification, primary studentsAbstract
Today's education generally aims to equip students with the 21st-century skills necessary for their success in the face of globalization and technological advancement. These skills include creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and complex-problem solving. In the context of teaching English to young learners, particularly in Islamic elementary schools, one of the effective strategies to achieve this is by integrating a game-based approach into the classroom, as it would create an engaging and dynamic learning environment that may incorporate all the intended skills within the language learning process. However, traditional game-based approaches often rely on physical or paper-based games that lack interactivity, scalability, and integration with digital literacy — a key component of 21st-century learning. These methods also tend to be teacher-centered, limited in content variety, and less motivating for digital-native students. This study aims to develop a 5C skills-based English learning game application using Research and Development (R&D) method. To achieve this, the study employed ADDIE model including needs assessment to analyze elementary school students' needs, wants, and challenges in their English language learning as the basis for developing the application, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. We collected data through interviews and questionnaires. Results of thematic and descriptive statistics analyses revealed the importance of digital game media to engage students more actively and motivate them in learning. The experiment showed a significant difference between students taught traditionally and those using digital games. This study suggests the necessity of digital games in learning English as a tool that every teacher should consider.
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