Contemporary education must be strongly correlated with integrating digital technology in the teaching-learning-assessment process. Pupils and students that belong to the current generation relate to digital tools as to natural means of information and interaction. In this context, teachers have the responsibility and duty to adapt their teaching methods to the specific of the new technologies in order to increase students’ motivation and involvement. The Quizizz (recently renamed Wayground) platform is numbered among the tools that proved to be efficient in creating an interactive, attractive and competitive learning environment, especially in the field of foreign language teaching. (Pham, 2023)
This article aims to emphasize the role of the Quizizz (Wayground) platform within the foreign language classes, presenting its benefits, the ways of using it, but also its limitations from the didactic perspective. It is expected to demostrate the fact that integrating interactive educational applications in the teaching approaches contribute to the development of language skills and to the consolidation of students’motivation.
1) What is Quizizz (Wayground)?
Quizizz (Wayground) is a gamified digital platform designed to create and apply interactive tests, quizzes and other play-based learning activities. Teachers can elaborate sets of items of various types (open questions, true/false questions, multiple choice questions, fill-in questions) which students can solve individually or in teams, in real time or asynchronously. Recent studies show that the use of Quizizz (Wayground) has a positive impact on the vocabulary acquisition and on the motivation to learn foreign languages. (Ngoc, 2024; Wang, 2024)
2) The advantages of using it in the educational process
- It increases students’ motivation and interest by introducing the elements of game and competition; (Pham, 2023)
- It offers instant feedback that facilitates prompt error correction, knowledge consolidation and efficient organisation of remedial activities;
- Flexibility: can be used either in class or assigned as homework;
- Accessibility: the platform is free and easy to use on various devices (PC, tablet, smartphone);
- Adaptability: teachers can personalize the content depending on the students’ language levels or the lesson objectives;
These benefits are also confirmed by the digital resources developed in Romania, that promote the use of educational applications such as Quizizz, Kahoot! Or Socrative in schools. (Digitaliada, 2020)
3) Ways of applying it in foreign language classes
- Checking vocabulary by quick tests with images, synonyms and antonyms;
- Reinforcing grammar concepts by fill-in exercises or identification/recognition tasks;
- Practising the reading or listening comprehension skills by questions based on fragments of texts or audio materials;
- Revision activities at the end of a unit or final revision activities at the end of the school year, transformed in a friendly competition;
- As homework, where students practise independently in a gamified environment; (Ngoc, 2024)
4) Limitations and challenges
Although Quizizz (Wayground) brings significant benefits, there are some challenges that need to be taken into consideration as well:
- The necessity of stable internet connection and of compatible devices;
- The tendency to privilege rapid answers at the expense of deep reflection; (Wang, 2024)
- The possible overuse that can reduce its element of novelty or attractiveness;
- The teacher’s digital training level, that can influence the efficiency of using the platform;
But, as it emphasizes the Romanian specialized literature (Cucoș, 2017; Cerghit, 2006), the success of any didactic method depends on the way in which the teacher knows how to combine modern resources (taking into consideration their challenges and limitations) with traditional teaching strategies.
Integrating the Quizizz (Wayground) platform in the foreign language lessons makes a significant contribution to the modernization of the educational process and to the stimulation of students’ involvement in their own learning. The benefits offered by gamification, the instant feedback and the interactive character of activities justify the consistent usage of this digital resource into practice. However, teachers need to be careful to the existent limitations and to use the platform complementary, as an instrument of consolidation and motivation and not as a substitute of traditional teaching methods. Thus, Quizizz (Wayground) can become a valuable ally in developing language skills and in creating pleasant, attractive and efficient learning experiences.
Web resources and bibliography
1. Pham, Anh Tuan (2023). The impact of gamified learning using Quizizz on ESL learners’ grammar achievement. Contemporary Educational Technology. Taken from: www.cedtech.net/article/the-impact-of-gamified-learning-using-quizizz-on-esl-learners-grammar-achievement-12923
2. Ngoc, Le Thi Hien (2024). The effectiveness of using Quizizz in teaching English as a foreign language at a tertiary level. Journal of Knowledge Learning and Science Technology, 3(1), 222–230.
3. Wang, Lih Ching Chen (2024). A preliminary investigation of the effectiveness of Quizizz on vocabulary acquisition in Chinese as a foreign language. CLT International Conference Proceedings.
4. Digitaliada – Fundația Orange. (2020). 800 de noi resurse digitale educaționale pe platforma Digitaliada (Kahoot!, Quizizz, Socrative). București. Taken from: www.digitaliada.ro
5. Cucoș, C. (2017). Pedagogie. Iași: Editura Polirom.
6. Cerghit, I. (2006). Metode de învățământ. București: Editura Polirom.