Elamur Research⌕
☰
home / papers / 2017 / Up2B2: Playing English grammar games at the B2 level

Up2B2: Playing English grammar games at the B2 level

Paper · 2017 · lvalue lvalue

Summary

The paper reports on Up2B2, a mobile quiz game built at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). The university requires engineering students to reach CEFRL level B2 in English, but most test at A2/B1. Up2B2 belongs to the Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) approach. It offers multiple-choice items on grammar, vocabulary and use of English, wrapped in game mechanics: timed answers, separate competition and training tests, and a public score ranking that shows nicknames instead of real names.

The item bank came from earlier university proficiency exams and had already been statistically validated. Seventy-three students preparing for B2 certification took a pre-test, used the app for four months, and then took a post-test along with a motivation questionnaire.

An ANCOVA comparing matched experimental and control groups showed higher post-test results for app users. Survey analysis pointed to connectivity and interactivity as the main motivational drivers. Usage logs showed students fitting practice into idle moments.

The authors conclude that MALL works as a complement to other teaching resources, not a replacement.

Key points

  • The bank holds 500 multiple-choice questions from pen-and-paper exams given over three academic years (six semesters). Each item was validated on more than 2,000 student answers. Each item stores its correct answer, a category and a difficulty level.
  • Up2B2 is a multiplatform WebAPP that needs only a browser running JavaScript and CSS, with native Android and iOS versions also available. Questions and game parameters live on the server, so administrators can update them without anyone reinstalling the app.
  • Seventy-three students at higher A2 or B1 level used the app for four months between a pre-test and a post-test. Statistically homogeneous experimental and control groups were compared with ANCOVA, and the experimental group scored higher.
  • Motivation was measured with a Likert-scale questionnaire covering five factors, analysed with Spearman correlations. Connectivity and interactivity appeared to influence the other factors.
  • Usage patterns:
    • On a typical day of use, students took one test on 35% of days, 2–10 tests on 55%, and more than 10 on 10%.
    • Activity peaked mid-week and around the Spanish lunch hour (13:30), with little use on weekends or Mondays.

Interesting ideas

  • I1. Instead of writing new items, the authors reused real exam questions whose behaviour was already known from thousands of past responses, so every item came with trustworthy difficulty data.
  • I2. Every question carries metadata on its grammar or vocabulary category and its difficulty, which lets results be broken down by skill rather than reported as one total.
  • I3. The app's effect was judged against a matched control group, with ANCOVA adjusting for pre-test scores, so the gain is not just ordinary progress over time.
  • I4. Scored competition rounds are kept apart from free training rounds, so practice on a weak area does not distort the ranking.
  • I5. Content and game settings live on a server and change in one place for all users at once, instead of being shipped inside every client.

For Mova

How these ideas could serve Mova, our small open language model — its files, stages and tests:

  • I1 (answer): School-course test sets could be built from past exam items with known difficulty, so a reader's score can be read against item difficulty rather than as a flat percentage.
  • I2 (answer): Tagging each test question by the language phenomenon it probes would show exactly which constructions make Mova's readers fail, which supports explainable error analysis.
  • I3 (learn): When a new component or repair rule is added, its effect could be measured against a no-change baseline while controlling for baseline difficulty, in the spirit of negative controls.
  • I4 (learn): Self-play could similarly separate exploratory practice runs from frozen, scored evaluation rounds, so that tuning never leaks into reported numbers.
  • I5 (learn): Benchmark items and pass thresholds could be kept in one central, versioned store, so every training run and witness parser is evaluated against the same configuration.

Our summary of the paper, in our own words — not its text. The work belongs to its authors; read it at the links above.

 Institutions

Also on the byline: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

📚 Shelves 4The field of science this work belongs to (OpenAlex fields).Computer Science · 9,086 worksInformation Systems · 523 worksPsychology · 798 worksDevelopmental and Educational Psychology · 260 works

🧭 Topics 1Research subjects and languages the work is about.English · 1,373 works

Cite

Cite as lvalue lvalue. 2017. Up2B2: Playing English grammar games at the B2 level. Language Value.

The paper itself, not this page. BibTeX from the library's record of the work. DOI 10.6035/languagev.2017.9.6

@inproceedings{lvalue2017up2b2,
  title = {{Up2B2: Playing English grammar games at the B2 level}},
  author = {lvalue lvalue},
  booktitle = {Language Value},
  year = {2017},
  doi = {10.6035/languagev.2017.9.6},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.6035/languagev.2017.9.6}
}

References

42 references, 0 of them with a card of ours. ↗ leads to the work, «find» searches for one we have no id for yet.

  1. Ali, A., Alrasheedi, M., Ouda, A.H. and Capretz, L.F. 2015. 2A study of the interface usability issues of mobile learning applications for smart phones from the users perspective”. International Journal on Integrating Technology in Education (IJITE) 3(4), December 2014. find
  2. Argüelles Álvarez, I. 2013. “Large-scale assessment of language proficiency: Theoretical and pedagogical reflections on the use of multiple-choice tests”. International Journal of English Studies, 13(2), 21-38. ↗
  3. Argüelles Álvarez, I. and Martínez Núñez, M. 2015. “Identifying learning patterns in the upper-intermediate level of English through large-scale testing”. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 173(13) February, 5-10. find
  4. Argüelles Álvarez, I., M. Martínez-Núñez, A. B. García Hernando, A. Da Silva Fariña, M. L. Mouronte López and M. González Martín. 2015. “Aprendizaje Asistido por Dispositivos Móviles: UP2B2 Mobile Assited Language Learning: UP2B2”. Proceedings III Innovación y Competitividad (CINAIC), Madrid, 14-16 October. find
  5. Burston, J. 2013. “Mobile-assisted language learning: a selected annotated bibliography of implementation studies 1994–2012”. Language Learning & Technology, 17(3), 157–225. ↗
  6. Cavus, N. and Ibrahim, D. 2009. “m‐Learning: An experiment in using SMS to support learning new English language words”. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(1), 78-91. Congreso Internacional sobre Aprendizaje, Irina Argüelles Álvarez, Margarita Martínez Núñez, Ana Belén García Hernando and Antonio da Silva Fariña Chen, C.M. and Hsu S.H. 2008. “Personalized intelligent mobile learning system for supporting effective English learning”. Educational Technology and Society, 11, 153–180 ↗
  7. Chinnery, G.M. 2006. “Emerging Technologies Going to the MALL: Mobile Assisted Language Learning”. Language Learning & Technology, 10(1), 9-16. Conferencia de Rectores de Universidades Españolas (CRUE). Acreditación en idiomas http://www.acreditacion.crue.org/. ↗
  8. Fidalgo-Blanco, A., M. Martínez-Nuñez, O. Borrás-Gené, and J.J. Sánchez-Medina. 2017. “Micro flip teaching‒An innovative model to promote the active involvement of students”. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 713-723. ↗
  9. Figueroa, J. 2015 “Using gamification to enhance second language learning”. Digital Education Review, 27, http://greav.ub.edu/der/Jordano de la Torre, M., Pareja-Lora, A., Read, T. and Rodrigo San Juan, C. 2013. “The design of accessible mobile and ontology-based applications for ubiquitous foreign language learning”. In Proceedings of the UNED – ICDE International Conference, 1-14, Madrid, Spain. ↗
  10. Jung, H. 2014. “Ubiquitous learning: determinants impacting learners’ satisfaction and performance with smartphones”. Language Learning & Technology, 18(3), 97– 119. find
  11. Kapp, K.M. 2012. The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-Based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education. New Yersey, Wiley. find
  12. Kukulska-Hulme, A. 2009. “Will mobile learning change language learning?” ReCALL, 21(2), 157–165. ↗
  13. Kukulska-Hulme, A. 2012. “Language learning defined by time and place: A framework for next generation designs”. In: Díaz-Vera, Javier E. (ed.) Left to My Own Devices: Learner Autonomy and Mobile Assisted Language Learning. Innovation and Leadership in English Language Teaching, 6. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 1–13. find
  14. Limayem, M. and Cheung, C.M.K. 2008. “Understanding information systems continuance: the case of Internet-based learning technologies”. Information & Management, 45(4), 227-232. ↗
  15. Lui, S. 2014. “Use of gamification in vocabulary learning: A case study in Macau”. 4th CELC Symposium Proceedings. find
  16. McNamara, D.S., Jackson, G.T. and Graesser, A.C. 2009. “Intelligent tutoring and games (ITaG). Proceedings of the Workshop on Intelligent Educational Games at the 14th Annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education”, Brighton, UK, 1-10. find
  17. Milligan, C., Littlejohn, A. and Margaryan, A. 2013. “Patterns of engagement in connectivist MOOC”. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 9(2), 149-159. find
  18. Mosavi Miangah, T. and Nezarat, A. 2012. “Mobile-assisted language learning”. International Journal of Distributed and Parallel Systems (IJDPS)3(1), 309-319. ↗
  19. Muntean, C.I. 2011. “Raising engagement in e-learning through gamification”. 6th International Conference on Virtual Learning ICVL, 323-329. find
  20. Nov, O., Naaman M. and Ye, C. 2010. “Analysis of participation in an online photo sharing community: a multi-dimension perspective”. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(3), 555-566. find
  21. Osma-Ruiz, V.J., Argüelles-Álvarez, I., Sáenz-Lechon, N., Gutiérrez-Arriola, J.M., Fraile, R., Villar-Miguélez, C. and Guerrero-Vaquerizo, I. 2015. “Past and future of gamification in the learning of English as a foreign language”. Proceedings of the 9th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED) Madrid, Spain. 2-4 March. find
  22. Osma-Ruiz, V.J., Sáenz-Lechon, N., Gutiérrez-Arriola, J.M., Argüelles-Álvarez, I., Fraile, R. and Marcano-Ganzo, R. 2015. “Learning English is fun! Increasing motivation through video games”. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation ICERI, Seville, Spain 16-18 November. find
  23. Pachler, N., Bachmair, B. and Cook, J. 2010 Mobile Learning: Structures, agency, practices. Dordrecht: Springer. ↗
  24. Pareja-Lora, A., Rodríguez-Arancón, P. and Calle-Martínez, C. 2016. “Applying information and communication technologies to language teaching and research: an overview”. New perspectives on teaching and working with languages in the digital era. Research-Publishing Net. ↗
  25. Irina Argüelles Álvarez, Margarita Martínez Núñez, Ana Belén García Hernando and Antonio da Silva Fariña Rico, M., Agudo, J.E. and Sánchez, H. 2015. “Language learning through handheld gaming: A case study of an English course with Engineering students”. Journal of Universal Computer Science, 21(10), 1362-1378. find
  26. Ryan, R.M. and Deci, E.L. 2000. “Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being”. The American psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. ↗
  27. Ryu, D. 2013. “Play to learn, learn to play: Language learning through gaming culture”. ReCALL, 25(2), 286-301. ↗
  28. Saleh, S.A. and Bhat, S.A. 2015. “Mobile learning: A systematic review”. International Journal of Computer Applications, 114(11), 1-5. find
  29. Saran, M., Seferoglu, G. and Cagiltay, K. 2012. “Mobile language learning: contribution of multimedia messages via mobile phones in consolidating vocabulary”. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 21 (2012), 181-190 find
  30. Sauerland, W., Broer J. and Breiter, A. 2015. “Motivational impact of gamification for mobile learning of Kanji”. EdMedia World Conference on Educational Media and Technology, 1, 1571-1580. find
  31. Schilling, T.A. and Hayashi, C.T. 2001. “Achievement motivation among high school basketball and cross-country athletes: A personal investment perspective”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13 (1), 103–128. ↗
  32. Shin, D.H. 2009. “Towards an understanding of the consumer acceptance of mobile wallet”. Computers in Human Behaviour, 25, 1343-1354. ↗
  33. Sharples, M., Taylor, J. and Vavoula G. 2007. “A theory of learning for the mobile age”. R. Andrews, C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The Handbook of E-learning Research, London: Sage. Stockwell. find
  34. G. 2008. “Investigating learner preparedness for and usage patterns of mobile learning”. ReCALL, 20(3), 253–270. find
  35. Stockwell, G. 2013. “Technology and motivation in English-language teaching and learning”. In E. Ushioda (Ed.), International perspectives on motivation: Language learning and professional challenges, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 156-175. ↗
  36. Sykes, J. and Reinhardt, J. 2013. “Language at play: Digital games in second and foreign language teaching and learning”. ReCALL 25(2), 286-301. find
  37. Thornton, P. and Houser, C. 2005. “Using mobile phones in English education in Japan”. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21, pp. 217-228 ↗
  38. Ushioda, E. 2013. “Motivation matters in mobile language learning: A brief commentary”. Language Learning & Technology, 17(3), 1-5. ↗
  39. Valarmathi, K.E. 2011. “Mobile assisted language learning”. Journal of Technology for ELT. 2(2). find
  40. Viberg, O. and Grönlund A. 2012. “Mobile assisted language learning: A literature review”. In M. Specht, M. Sharples, and Multisilta J. (Eds.), mLearn 2012: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning, Helsinki, Finland, 9-16. In http://goo.gl/mPOFs2 [Access: Dec 2016]. ↗
  41. Wasko, M. and Faraj, S. 2000. “It is what one does: why people participate and help others in electronic communities of practice”. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 9(23), 155-173. ↗
  42. Werbach, K. 2014. “(Re)defining Gamification: A Process Approach. Persuasive Technology”. Proceedings 9th International Conference, PERSUASIVE, Padua, Italy, May 21-23, 266-272. Irina Argüelles Álvarez, Margarita Martínez Núñez, Ana Belén García Hernando and Antonio da Silva Fariña find

Updated

↑ back to top

This page in Markdown → https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/lvalue-2018-up2b2-playing-english-grammar-games/