Development and Piloting of a Gamification Framework for Training Future English Teachers: Expert Evaluation of Microteaching Projects

Abstract

This article presents the development, piloting, and evaluation of a gamification-based course designed to equip pre-service educators with the competencies needed to integrate game-based learning into elementary school curricula – specifically, for teaching English as a foreign language to young learners. The framework consists of two key components: (a) a 14-module curriculum that combines theoretical foundations with hands-on, interactive exercises, complete with guidelines for adapting games to meet specific pedagogical objectives; and (b) a capstone assessment task, wherein students design and present a microteaching project as a measure of their developing teaching skills. The study cohort comprised 62 third-year undergraduates from a teacher education institution in the Republic of Kazakhstan who underwent evaluation by a panel of external expert assessors. To ensure an objective assessment of the mini-lessons crafted by the participants, a specialized 12-criterion rubric with high internal consistency was developed. Statistical analysis involved a repeated-measures analysis to detect any significant disparities among the mean scores across the criteria, followed by a post hoc analysis with a Bonferroni correction to examine the nuances of these differences. Expert evaluators rated the course outcomes as high (mean scores across criteria ranged from 3.97 to 4.42 on a 5-point scale; 66.13% of students achieved high overall scores), suggesting that the framework is associated with a positive level of game-based foreign language teaching competencies upon course completion. Performance metrics exhibited remarkable homogeneity across the board, except for time management scores, which were statistically significantly lower than those for technology integration and emotional support – an insight highlighting the need to bolster training on effective time management when deploying digital tools. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive synthesis of gamification with digital technologies, inclusive practices, and cross-cultural elements within a targeted pre-service teacher training context (as opposed to most research focused on schoolchildren), as well as in the development of a specialized assessment instrument for microteaching projects in game-based language instruction. The practical contribution lies in ready-to-implement outputs: a suite of gamified modules and a validated assessment toolkit applicable to teacher education programs and professional development courses. The study contributes to reimagining teacher preparation by demonstrating how gamification, integrated with EdTech and inclusive design principles, can be systematically embedded in pre-service training.