Evaluating the Effectiveness of English Speaking and Learning Attitude for Elementary Students in a Digital Game-Based Learning Environment

This study developed a digital game-based English learning system, named UAnimation, and conducted an experiment to evaluate the speaking ability of the learners by using the system. One hundred and five fifth-graders from four intact classes in an elementary school in Taiwan were recruited to participate in the experiment. The experimental group learned English speaking with the proposed UAnimation whereas the control group used traditional methods to learn English speaking, such as reading aloud in pairs or in groups. Although the results showed that both the digital game-based English animation learning system and traditional teaching methods did could enhance the learners English speaking, further comparisons, also indicated that students in the experiment group out performed those in the control group and became more active learners when learning English. In conclusion, the UAnimation not only enhanced the students English speaking but also helped them develop a more positive attitude about English learning.