Designing and Evaluating Minecraft-Based Gamification Activities to Support Thai Learners’ Motivation, Confidence, and Learning Experience in Chinese Grammar Learning

บทคัดย่อ

This study designed and evaluated the Grammar Adventure Center, a Minecraft-based gamification activity for Chinese grammar learning among Thai learners. The activity was developed as a custom Minecraft Bedrock world that combined route-based progression, short Chinese prompts, ten multiple-choice grammar questions, a penalty-and-retry mechanism, and a first-attempt score display. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used with 34 valid matched participants. Data were collected through pre- and post-surveys and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and internal consistency analysis. The results showed generally positive post-activity perceptions. Participants gave relatively high ratings to understanding Chinese grammar use in context and opportunities to practice grammar during the activity. Confidence in using Chinese grammar to construct sentences increased significantly, Z = -3.11, p = 0.002, r = 0.53, with a mean increase of 0.62 points on a five-point scale. Motivation to improve Chinese grammar, willingness to try game-based learning, and grammar review remained relatively stable. Overall, the findings suggest that the activity may provide a supportive environment for Chinese grammar review and confidence-building practice when game mechanics are clearly connected with language-learning tasks.