Axcel Ivan Luzardo Burgos, Gustavo Alexander Moreira Alay, Ulbio Gonzalo Farfán Corrales, Jhonny Saulo Villafuerte Holguín
Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Ecuador

Instructors require innovative teaching tools to engage and keep learners’ attention in every class. This study aims to compare the efficiency of gamification in environments of software and traditional indoor games for teaching vocabulary to students in Communities Development Centers. The research uses the interpretative paradigm and the mixed approach of educational research methodology. The participants are 14 children attending two different centers located in Manta-Ecuador during July-December 2023. The instruments used to collect information are contextual observation, interviews, and English language vocabulary pretest and posttest. The research team designed an educational intervention using software and traditional indoor games to increase participants' motivation for learning new vocabulary in the English language. The results show an increase in the number of new words learned in both groups. However, the results showed that students learn more new words when playing software games compared to when they use traditional indoor games in the same period. It concludes that software games can reach higher efficiency in the vocabulary acquisition process of children attending community centers.
Comments