Abstract:

Introduction:
Technological development of game elements like innovative ways of interaction with players, including augmented reality, linking other systems and services like social networks, communication channels, GPS and so on into the games leads to new and more enriching gaming experience. The number of players of all ages, genres and ethnical and cultural backgrounds has been increasing significantly in recent years due to the expansion of online social and mobile games designed for smartphones and tablets. And many of those players are digital-game natives, people that have grown up playing computer and video games.
Research indicates that people play games not as much for the game itself as for the experience the game creates: an adrenaline rush, a vicarious adventure, a mental challenge. Each experience provides the opportunity to have one or many different kinds of fun during the game. Therefore, it is worth to be considering implementing some game elements and mechanics into learning process in order to enhance its attractiveness and increase students’ engagement.

Gamification techniques:
According to Cook, any process meeting the following assumptions can be transformed into a game:
• the activity can be learned,
• the actions of player can be measured,
• a feedback can be delivered to player in a timely fashion.

From those assumption the gamification guidelines are be indicated directly.
One of the most popular means of gamification is to implement the PBLs (Points, achievement Badges and Leader boards) to the gamified process , thus adding both the reward and the competitive factors to it.

Furthermore, the teachers or tutors are advised to organize the contents and activities considering the following guidelines:
• Allowing repeated experimentation – learning activities should allow student-player to repeat experimenting in order to reach a goal.
• Including rapid feedback cycles – immediate feedback helps students in improving their strategy and get a better chance of success in the next try.
• Adapting tasks to skill levels – good games help players to realistically estimate their chances of success, different levels of goals adapted to students’ skills improves their motivation.
• Intensifying tasks’ difficulty along with students improving their skills – adapting tasks to the skill level of each student improves hers/his expectations on completing the task successfully.
• Dividing complex tasks into shorter and simple sub-tasks – this helps students in dealing with complexity of task.
• Providing different routes to success.
• Incorporating reward and recognition activities of students by teachers, parents and peers – being rewarded and appraised promotes students’ social status.

Experiment:
The impact of gamification techniques on foreign language learners’ behavior was investigate. A group of 10 participants were asked to use the online application for language learning with applied gamification techniques for at least for two weeks. Then the participants were invited to use the application and complete 5 tasks on the computer with eye-tracking recording. Based on eye-tracking recording the participants eye movements were extracted and used to further analysis of learners’ behavior. Therefore, it was possible to track the user activities and verified influence of gamifications elements on it. Moreover, the survey was conducted to supplement the experiment results.

Keywords:

Gamification, learning, eye-tracking.