Rajang River Run: Improving Vocabulary Acquisition Among Young Learners through Gamified Storytelling

Abstract

Due to its significance and prominence in Malaysian culture, English is taught and learned as a second language. Along with transforming the Malaysian education system towards the better, innovative teaching approaches are necessary to assist learners in learning English as their second language in schools. In this study, a flash card game was designed and developed to encourage primary school learners to learn vocabulary and improve their reading skills. It is inspired by the culture and lifestyle of the people in Sarawak, and it is named Rajang River Run. The use of flashcard games as a game-based learning and storytelling approach to acquire new vocabulary, construct engaging sentences, and increase students' motivation was examined in this study. This study was conducted at a national government-funded public primary school in Putrajaya, Malaysia, involving 15 Primary one students that were used as the target participants in this research. The game design thinking approach was employed to develop the game, which acts as a guide to scaffold creativity and collaboration. The study implemented an observation checklist derived from the Revised Conceptual Model of Academic Success for data collection. Findings demonstrated that learning through the Rajang River Run could boost pupils' capacity and desire to learn new words. The implication of this study suggested that gamified learning, such as gamified narrative, increased players' motivation to play the game. The participants' memory retention and attentiveness have improved due to the supportive and engaging setting.