A Study Of The Effects Of Gamification On Chinese College Students’ English Learning Anxiety And Cognitive Load

Foreign language anxiety(FLA)has become one of the most examined affective variables in foreign language learning.Extant literature has documented both negative and positive effects of FLA on students’ language learning.The unduly high level of FLA distracts students’ attention and may negatively influence students’ language performance,while an appropriate level of FLA can motivate students and encourage active learning.Considering the significant role of FLA in language learning,how to devise and employ teaching interventions to help students manage FLA has captured considerable attention.As gamification has gained its popularity in the educational context,this innovative instructional method is considered as a potential FLA management strategy for its entertaining nature.However,gamified learning environments may result in a rise in cognitive load(CL),which also exerts influence on FLA levels.In order to clarify how specific game elements and mechanisms affect students’ FLA and CL,as well as the relation between the two variables,this longitudinal study was conducted in a gamified learning context for a flipped English course at a Chinese university and adopted mixed methods with five rounds of surveys and three rounds of semi-structured interviews over15 weeks.By integrating quantitative and qualitative results,this study arrived at the following conclusions: First,elements in gamified environments have anxiety-provoking effects in some cases while alleviating influence in others,thus producing contradicting effects on FLA of different sources.Second,the introduction of games can have transient effects on extraneous cognitive load,and the immersion in games indirectly influences intrinsic and germane cognitive load.Third,FLA and the three types of CL correlate in a complicated and dynamic manner under the influence of diverse gamification factors.These findings are expected to facilitate a better understanding of how the gamification design influences language emotions and CL from both collective and individual perspectives.In the end,this study also discusses the pedagogical implications of gamified foreign language education regarding the use of gamification as an FLA management strategy with cognition taken into consideration.