A GAMIFICAÇÃO NA APRENDIZAGEM DA PRONÚNCIA DA LÍNGUA ESPANHOLA: Um estudo à luz da Teoria da Complexidade

Abstract

This research is based on the following issues: how can gamification in learning Spanish pronunciation contribute to the mobilization of Learning Strategies (Oxford, 1990)? How are Learning Strategies (Oxford, 1990) mobilized in the process of learning Spanish pronunciation using gamification platforms? How do cognitive and metacognitive strategies (Oxford, 1990) emerge in the process of learning Spanish pronunciation using gamification platforms? Thus, our study aims to analyze the mobilization of Learning Strategies of Spanish language pronunciation in the ambit of gamification. In addition, it intends to describe the mobilization of Learning Strategies (Oxford, 1990) in the learning process of pronunciation of Spanish Language using gamification platforms, as well as to investigate the emergence of cognitive and metacognitive strategies (Oxford, 1990) in the same ambit. This work is theoretically based on the studies of Complexity (Morin, 2015). Thus, it adheres to the conception of language as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS), considering the studies of Larsen-Freeman (1997) and Paiva (2014). Furthermore, the inventory of strategies developed by Oxford (1990), for whom learning strategies are defined as conscious actions applied by learners, and the studies by Busarello (2016), who conceptualizes gamification as the use of game mechanisms and systems in contexts where their use is not habitual, was used. Then, a qualitative, descriptive and ethnographic study was conducted through the description, creation and application of gamification activities involving the platforms of gamification Genially and Flippity. It was observed the development of Spanish pronunciation by learners participating in the games, that is, by some students from the Federal University of Maranhão, from the Spanish Language course, while they were taking the subject Spanish Language: Phonetics and Phonology. Also, a questionnaire developed based on the inventory of strategies by Oxford (1990) was applied. The results obtained indicate that digital games aimed at learning, on both gamification platforms mentioned, may contribute to the development of pronunciation in Spanish learners as an additional language. Besides, it was observed that learners mobilize Learning Strategies involve repetition and formal practice of sounds and orthographic systems through recombination, spontaneous practice and understanding of the main idea, relating the games to content already known, identifying the purpose of the activities and establishing the appropriate moment for practicing pronunciation of the language.