Gamification in Higher Education (Motivational Drivers from Omani Higher Education)
Author:
Dr. Roqaia Humaid Al Wahaybi
English Language Lecturer & Leadership Trainer, Saham Vocational College, Sultanate of Oman
doi.org/10.52132/Ajrsp.e.2025.78.2
Gamification has gained recognition as a pedagogical strategy that integrates game mechanics to strengthen motivation and engagement in higher education. This paper synthesizes motivation and language acquisition theories: Self Determination Theory, Communicative Language Teaching, and Krashen’s Input Hypothesis; to explain how points, badges, leaderboards, levels, and challenges can be orchestrated to support the four ESL skills in foundation English courses. Focusing on Oman’s vocational sector, we map mechanics to intended learning outcomes and to the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and we identify contextual moderators (infrastructure variation, assessment pressure, and cultural norms). Evidence from recent global studies indicates consistent gains in engagement, time on task, and perceived competence; pilot applications in Oman (e.g., Quizizz and Duolingo) show short term motivational improvements, though longitudinal evaluation remains limited. We translate these insights into practitioner guidelines suited to variable connectivity: low bandwidth tasks, hybrid online/offline challenges, formative feedback loops, and teacher communities of practice. The paper argues that context adapted gamification, not generic points and badges, offers the best prospect for durable motivational gains and measurable language outcomes in Oman’s vocational colleges.
Keywords:
Gamification; Student Motivation; Higher Education; ESL; Oman; Self Determination Theory; Communicative Language Teaching
Academic Journal of Research and Scientific Publishing
