Sometimes, we stop doing something because we find it dull. It happens to all of us! Take learning a new language, for example. Study verb conjugations by heart? Nah, boring. But what if we made it fun with elements of gamification? Fun can be a strong motivator that can change our behavior. All it takes is a little creative thinking.
The Fun Theory
Back in 2009, Volkswagen wanted to increase sales of eco-friendly cars. They knew they had to prove to potential customers that being environmentally conscious could be fun. They devised a campaign based on The Fun Theory. And, guess what? It worked!
One of the experiments Volkswagen and the advertising agency created was to install censoring stairs that looked like piano keys next to the escalator at one Stockholm underground station. People began to be drawn to the fun element and used the stairs instead of the escalator (you can watch the video here). By taking the stairs, people got rewarded with a bit of fun and a health benefit into the bargain.
What does this tell us? That making changes in the environment can change people’s behavior.
Gamification Makes Learning (and Working!) Fun
Fun helps to inspire positive action and change behaviors. A touch of novelty makes things interesting and rewarding. Therefore, if you feel good doing something, you will want to go back for more. That is how a habit is created, by the way.
Enter gamification.
This strategy integrates gaming elements into nongame situations, like language learning. The idea behind this approach is to motivate certain behaviors and enhance engagement by creating interactive experiences using different game contexts and design elements. If you make learning fun, students will feel more engaged and interested in learning.
In addition, gamification is applied in the workplace because it can enhance engagement and boost productivity by motivating employees to complete tasks and hit milestones more efficiently.
Gamification Integrated Into Our Lessons
Gamification is one of the pillars of our business. We award achievement and progress badges and points for completed tasks and also work with our clients to provide economic incentives tied to employee learning performance.
Also, we incorporate learning games into all of our lesson plans. This includes Kahoot!, Bamboozle, and many others, to enhance practice. Our clients can think, speak, write, and read in English with business topics at the core. It enables everyone to learn while having fun and grow professionally.
Our LMS (learning management system) also provides microlearning and extra practice opportunities, where our students can review material from their lessons in a fun and friendly way.
Why Use Gamification in Learning: Some Stats
These are some findings from a recent survey:
- 90% of respondents agree that gamification improves productivity.
- 61% of US employees are trained with gamification at work.
- 30% of employees agree gamified learning is more engaging.
- 67% of students say that gamification boosts motivation.
The main takeaway is that gamification can be a valuable addition to the workplace and language learning because it makes tedious tasks and processes more entertaining, thus boosting both productivity and language acquisition.
If you want to motivate your team to master a new language and tap into the global market, get in touch and we’ll send information about our corporate language training programs.
