Enhancing Engagement: Grade 10 Gamification Strategies in Trilingual Dramatic Arts
Keywords:
dramatic arts; engagement; enhancing; gamification strategies; trilingual educationAbstract
Gamification strategies in teaching dramatic arts could enhance learners' enjoyment of practical subjects and boost academic performance if done well. Incorporating isiXhosa, isiZulu, and English gamification into dramatic arts may facilitate easier, more natural performances for learners in Grade 10. The study investigated strategies for trilingual education in isiXhosa, isiZulu, and English to enhance gamification engagement in teaching dramatic arts in Grade 10. A qualitative study was conducted with 120 dramatic arts learners from one school in Grades 10 to 12. The theoretical framework was the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analysed thematically and visual representations related to student engagement. The findings highlighted that gamification significantly enhanced student motivation and participation in dramatic arts classes by making learning more enjoyable and interactive. The study concluded that incorporating gamification into trilingual dramatic arts education effectively boosts student engagement by aligning with intrinsic motivational factors. The study recommends that educators integrate more game-based activities into their lesson plans to increase student involvement. Additionally, the study recommends researching how different types of games could be tailored to meet diverse learning within trilingual educational settings in dramatic arts in Grade 10.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.25.6.51
References
Adamu, M. S. (2023). No more “solutionism” or “saviourism” in futuring African HCI: A manyfesto. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 30(2), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1145/3571811
Adeniran, A., Adedeji, A., Nwosu, E., Nwugo, E., & Nnamani, G. (2023). Ed-tech landscape and challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa (Occasional Paper No. 88). Southern Voice. https://southernvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/SV_Ops-N88-Pre.pdf
Adeola, O. (2024). Leveraging Ubuntu-inspired values to promote sustainable digital entrepreneurship in Africa. Africa Journal of Management, 10(2), 120–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322373.2024.2349484
Republic of South Africa. (2013). Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. Government Printer.
Ahmed, T., Sarfraz, A., & Arif, A. (2024). Exploring the relationship between language and identity in multicultural English-speaking communities. Journal of Applied Linguistics and TESOL (JALT), 7(4), 754–764.
Ajith, K. (2024). Leveraging Gamified Learning for L2 English Learners: Exploring Motivational, Performance, and Metacognitive Effects in a Multilingual Setting. Kristu Jayanti Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (KJHSS), 4, 80–88. https://doi.org/10.59176/kjhss.v4i0.2419
Alhabsi, S. S. (2024). Ethical considerations in obtaining informed consent in research participation. International Journal of Educational Contemporary Explorations, 1(1), 24–33. https://doi.org/10.69481/DIVL1152
Archer, B. (2025). Shakespeare Through Stanislavski: Creating an Accessible Toolkit for Performing Shakespeare. University of East London.
Ayodele, O. (2025). Reframing the global knowledge economy: An Afropolitan approach. In Decentring global challenges in international relations (pp. 146–161). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003571285-11
Balbaa, M. E., & Abdurashidova, M. (2023). Enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes through gamification in education. In S. M. Curle and M. T. Hebebci (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Academic Studies in Technology and Education 2023 (pp. 13–20). ARSTE Organization.
Bayona, P., & García-Martín, E. (2022). Second language and heritage learners in mixed classrooms (Vol. 112). Channel View Publications. https://doi.org/10.21832/bayona5010
Bedenlier, S., Bond, M., Buntins, K., Zawacki-Richter, O., & Kerres, M. (2020). Facilitating student engagement through educational technology in higher education: A systematic review in the field of arts and humanities. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 36(4), 126–150. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.5477
Bibi, H. (2023). Role of Translingual Pedagogies for Invoking Creative and Critical Skills: A Case Study. The University of Chitral Journal of Linguistics and Literature (JLL), 7(1), 29–41.
Brand, N. (2024). Efficacy of Zulu indigenous games in enhancing perceptual-motor skills in pre-schoolers: A qualitative study of two informal settlements in KwaZulu-Natal (Master's dissertation, University of Cape Town). University of Cape Town OpenUCT Repository. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40799
Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., Davey, L., & Jenkinson, E. (2023). Doing reflexive thematic analysis. In Supporting research in counselling and psychotherapy: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research (pp. 19–38). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13942-0_2
Brearley, S. G., & Walshe, C. (2020). Introduction to the Handbook of Theory and Methods in Applied Health Research. In Handbook of Theory and Methods in Applied Health Research (pp. 1–3): Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785363214.00005
Campbell, M., & Rosenhan, C. (2024). Assessment and creativity through a translingual lens: Transdisciplinary insights. Applied Linguistics Review, 15(5), 1839–1859. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2023-0090
Canagarajah, A. S. (Ed.). (2013). Literacy as translingual practice: Between communities and classrooms. Routledge.
Chavinda, C., Chikaipa, V., Kainja, J., Mchakulu, J., & Ndasauka, Y. (2026). Communication for Social Change in Sub-Saharan Africa: Amplifying the Marginalised Voices: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003629948
Christopher, M., & Pinias, C. (2025). Assessing contexts for the implementation of a pedagogy of care in teacher development within the Southern African development community: a meta-narrative review. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 29(9), 1502–1525. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2025.2490585
Cohen, J. D., Li, L., Wang, Y., Thoburn, C., Afsari, B., Danilova, L., Douville, C., Javed, A. A., Wong, F., Mattox, A., Hruban, R. H., Wolfgang, C. L., Goggins, M. G., Dal Molin, M., Wang, T.-L., Roden, R., Klein, A. P., Ptak, J., Dobbyn, L., Schaefer, J., Silliman, N., Popoli, M., Vogelstein, J. T., Browne, J. D., Schoen, R. E., Brand, R. E., Tie, J., Gibbs, P., Wong, H.-L., Mansfield, A. S., Jen, J., Hanash, S. M., Falconi, M., Allen, P. J., Zhou, S., Bettegowda, C., Diaz, L. A., Jr., Tomasetti, C., Kinzler, K. W., Vogelstein, B., Lennon, A. M., & Papadopoulos, N. (2018). Detection and localization of surgically resectable cancers with a multi-analyte blood test. Science, 359(6378), 926–930. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar3247
Creswell, J. W. (2020). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed.). Pearson.
Creswell, J. W., & Inoue, M. (2025). A process for conducting mixed methods data analysis. Journal of General and Family Medicine, 26(1), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgf2.736
Dong, X., Zhang, P., Zang, Y., Cao, Y., Wang, B., Ouyang, L., . . . Li, Y. (2024). Internlm-xcomposer2-4khd: A pioneering large vision-language model handling resolutions from 336 pixels to 4k hd. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, 37, 42566–42592. https://doi.org/10.52202/079017-1348
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American journal of theoretical and applied statistics, 5(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
Favour Ali, U. (2024). Gamification in Higher Education: Enhancing Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes. https://doi.org/10.52783/jier.v5i4.3920
Gaol, E. L., Wolomasi, A. K., Wissang, I. O., Lelu, S., & Betu, F. S. (2025). Contextual spirituality of synodality: An oasis, aeropagus and the polarization of Catholic religious education. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation, 6(2), 325–336.
García, O. (2009). Emergent Bilinguals and TESOL: What's in a Name? Tesol Quarterly, 43(2), 322–326. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2009.tb00172.x
Glissant, É. (1990). Poétique de la relation. Gallimard.
Handa, V. (2022). Subjectivity in qualitative research. In The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in the Asian context (pp. 540–554): SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529781731.n38
Haq, Z. U., Rasheed, R., Rashid, A., & Akhter, S. (2023). Criteria for assessing and ensuring the trustworthiness in qualitative research. International Journal of Business Reflections, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.56249/ijbr.03.01.44
Hirsu, L., Nitecka Barche, M., & Futro, D. (2024). Assessment and creativity through a translingual lens: Introduction. Applied Linguistics Review, 15(5), 1831–1838. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2023-0115
Karpava, S., Ringblom, N., & Zabrodskaja, A. (2025). Translanguaging as a Dynamic Strategy for Heritage Language Transmission. Languages, 10(2), 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10020019
Kusumaningputri, R. (2024). Negotiating voices in English as a lingua franca: Indonesian multilingual identity in English digital interactions. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(10), 4554–4571. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2173758
Lasmawan, I. W., & Budiarta, I. W. (2020). Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and the students’ progress in learning: A heutagogical bibliographical review. Jurnal Pendidikan Indonesia, 9(4), 545–552. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpi-undiksha.v9i4.29915
Lopes, J. A. (2014). Bioethics–a brief history: from the Nuremberg code (1947) to the Belmont report (1979). Revista Médica de Minas Gerais, 24(2), 253–264. https://doi.org/10.5935/2238-3182.20140060
Lopez, F., Gonzalez, N., Hutchings, R., Delcid, G., Raygoza, C., & Lopez, L. (2022). Race-reimagined self-determination theory: Elucidating how ethnic studies promotes student identity and learning outcomes using mixed methods. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 71, Article 102119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2022.102119
Malgoubri, I. (2025). Empowering multilingual learners through culturally sustaining pedagogy and arts-based learning in Burkina Faso (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nebraska–Lincoln).
Maxwell, C. J., Scheller, R. M., Wilson, K. N., & Manley, P. N. (2022). Assessing the effectiveness of landscape-scale forest adaptation actions to improve resilience under projected climate change. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 5, 740869. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2022.740869
Mdletshe, L. (2024). Cultivating positive learner behaviour in my teaching: A secondary school teacher’s self-study (Doctoral dissertation, University of KwaZulu-Natal).
Mohicen, A. A. A. B. (2023). Enhancing intrinsic motivation in EFL education at Saudi universities through learner autonomy (Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University).
Motaung, B. L. (2021). Translanguaging as a pedagogical strategy to implement multilingual language policy at a South African university (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Free State).
Muhammadin, I. N., & Herda, R. K. (2024). Exploring motivation among EFL undergraduate students: A self-determination theory perspective. Balangkas: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 1(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.66317/688569
Papadakis, S., & Kalogiannakis, M. (2023). Gamification in education. Paper presented at the Frontiers in Education. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1291024
Perez, M. D. M. S., & Masegosa, A. G. (2022). Gamification as a teaching resource for English-medium instruction and multilingual education at university. In Research Anthology on Bilingual and Multilingual Education (pp. 930–949): IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-3690-5.ch046
Reid-Olds, T. (2020). The Cross-Currents of Exilic Storytelling: Multilingual Memory and the Maritime Shift. University of Oregon,
Renyard, J. (2023). The relationship between professional autonomy, social power and organisational structure for Heads of Quality as third space professionals in English Higher Education. University of Bath,
Rivera, E. S., & Garden, C. L. P. (2021). Gamification for student engagement: a framework. Journal of further and higher education, 45(7), 999–1012. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2021.1875201
Schatzman, L. (2024). Dimensional analysis: Notes on an alternative approach to the grounding of theory in qualitative research. In Social organization and social process (pp. 303–314): Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315547169-21
Schwartz, L., Adler, I., Madjar, N., & Zion, M. (2021). Rising to the challenge: The effect of individual and social metacognitive scaffolds on students’ expressions of autonomy and competence throughout an inquiry process. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 30, 582–593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-021-09905-4
Seger, A. (2024). Empowering learning experiences: Nurturing L2-self through motivation, language learning, and classroom management (Independent thesis, basic level). Örebro University. https://oru.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:1884885
Set, B. N. (2021). Using semiotic resources to teach and assess scientific concepts in a bilingual Namibian primary school: A socio-cultural discourse analysis (Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Town, South Africa). OpenUCT. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36121
Silva-Jurado, R. J., & Silva-Jurado, M. D. (2024). Educational innovation in the 21st century: gamification, artificial intelligence and art as transformative tools. YUYAY: Estrategias, Metodologías & Didácticas Educativas, 3(1), 35–52. https://doi.org/10.59343/yuyay.v3i1.60
Sincuba, L., & Buka, A. M. (2024). Enhancing Trilingual Pedagogy in Teaching Dramatic Arts: Insights from Teachers. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 23(5), 403–418. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.23.5.21
Somé, K. J. (2025). Teachers' Agency and Teaching Challenges in Multilingual Spaces: An Exploratory Study of How EFL Teachers Address Listening and Speaking Skills Needs in Centralized Systems. TESL-EJ, 28(4). https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.28112a7
Staunton, C., Adams, R., Anderson, D., Croxton, T., Kamuya, D., Munene, M., & Swanepoel, C. (2020). Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 and data protection for health research in South Africa. International Data Privacy Law, 10(2), 160–179. https://doi.org/10.1093/idpl/ipz024
Subiyantoro, S., & Musa, M. Z. (2023). Exploring Teachers' and Students' Perspectives on Gamification in Learning Management Systems. Jurnal Komunikasi Pendidikan, 7(2), 52–60. https://doi.org/10.32585/jurnalkomdik.v7i2.4613
Tan, K. H. K. (2020). Assessment rubrics decoded: An educator's guide: Routledge.https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429022081
Tracy, S. J. (2024). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.5613/rzs.43.1.6
Viirret, T. L. (2020). Dialogism as an Integral Element in Process Drama: Insights into a Drama Teacher’s Artistic-Pedagogical Expertise. JYU dissertations. https://doi.org/10.1080/14452294.2018.1482728
Vilakazi, Z. (2024). Promoting Inquiry-Based Learning Through the Use of Code Switching in Life Sciences Classrooms. University of Johannesburg (South Africa). https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-7963/cgp/v32i02/189-210
Wang, D., & East, M. (2024). Integrating translanguaging into assessment: Students’ responses and perceptions. Applied Linguistics Review, 15(5), 1911–1937. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2023-0087
Xi, J., & Lantolf, J. P. (2021). Scaffolding and the zone of proximal development: A problematic relationship. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 51(1), 25–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/jtsb.12260
Zairon, I. Y., Wook, T. S. M. T., Salleh, S. M., & Dahlan, H. A. (2025). Adaptive gamification in collaborative virtual classroom: A systematic review. PeerJ Computer Science, 11, e3146. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.3146
Zhang, Y. (2025). Research on innovative models of new media art and personalized education. GBP Proceedings Series, 1, 100–106. https://doi.org/10.71222/fsd25m61
Zimmerman, K. L. (2009). Operationalizing the antecedents of work-family positive spillover: A longitudinal study (Doctoral dissertation, Portland State University). https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7807
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Limkani Sincuba
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All articles published by IJLTER are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 International License (CCBY-NC-ND4.0).
