BETWEEN PLAYING AND LEARNING: RECONCEPTUALIZING THE TEACHING OF SPANISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE THROUGH GAMIFICATION

Abstract

This article presents the results of an investigation conducted in a public school in the state of Rio Grande do Sul with second-year high school students. During Spanish classes, the students participated in a pedagogical proposal based on gamified methods, through which they created games aimed at learning the foreign language. The study sought to understand how gamification can contribute to learners’ motivation and engagement. The research was characterized as qualitative, intervention-based, applied, and descriptive, focusing on the production of knowledge directed toward educational practice. The results indicate that gamification enhances students’ interest, participation, and connection with learning Spanish, promoting a more meaningful, interactive, and transformative environment. These findings were identified through the Collective Subject Discourse technique, which revealed the shared meanings attributed by participants to their experience.