Design and development of super OA journey: a vocabulary learning videogame to enhance the engagement of Orang Asli learners in the ESL classroom/ Mohd Syazwan Wan Mahzan

The initiative to achieve equitable student outcomes by leveraging Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in scaling up the quality of learning has been among the shifts to transform Malaysian education system as documented in Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025. In response to the prolonged outcry over the extreme deficiency of English as a Second Language (ESL) mastery among the aboriginal learners, an intervention program as undertaken in this study was deemed necessary. The study aimed to design, develop and evaluate a learning videogame meant to enhance the engagement of Orang Asli learners in ESL classroom. The developmental methodology underpinning the study was concerned with developing research and theory-based design guidelines and negotiating the ‘best’ design strategies. Hence, a modified four-phase ADDIE framework was employed to describe design decisions and evaluate the learning videogame with active involvement of the targeted learners, teachers teaching them and panel experts: analysis (48 learners, 16 teachers and 8 computer technicians), design (10 learners and 6 experts), development (3 learners and 94 experts) and evaluation (72 learners and 18 teachers). Grounded by the methodology of design and development research, the study utilized mixed-method data collection tools and techniques in gathering the required data: archival record, close- and openended questionnaires, focus group and individual interviews, one-to-one and small group evaluations, and testimonials. The data generated from the different research instrumentations and data gathering techniques were collated, objectively analyzed, and synthesized in pragmatic manner to refine the set forth design guidelines and strategies followed by a series of improvements on the learning videogame. Results in the summative evaluation phase were divided into two perspectives: the targeted learners and teachers. The former claimed that the developed learning videogame has engaged them in vocabulary learning. The mean value of the total mean scores across the items (M=4.34) points to the learners’ fairly high positive agreement on the elements related to engagement. As for the latter, their testimonials imply the effectiveness and value of the learning videogame: a mirror of contemporary pedagogy, effective approach in vocabulary learning, heighten learners’ interest, enhance learners’ psychomotor skills and cognitive thinking, impactful minimalist elements, and well configured ratio of learning contents to fun elements. The study also confirmed that aspects pertinent to cultural entailments, learner familiarity to the system, environmental constraints, game design complexity and curriculum relevance are deemed as the most crucial predictors for successful implementation of learning videogame development.