Abstract:

The aim of the current study was to develop an interactive learning game for students in the classroom and to evaluate the effectiveness of this system for English learning. Therefore, The interactive playground (4X3 m) created on the computer was projected onto the classroom floor with a wide-angle projection device. The spatial positions of the playground and the positions of the students' head, feet and bodies were determined with the Kinect depth camera. The playground was turned into a touch screen where students use their feet for triggering. To determine the effect of the system on English learning, two classes in the fourth grade of primary school were divided as the kinesthetic and control groups. An achievement test using the words of the "Fun With Science", "Prepositions" and "Jobs" units was applied to both groups. Then, while the kinesthetic group received English education for 3 weeks (1 day per week /2 lesson hours) with the developed system, in the control group, the subjects were taught by the course teacher in accordance with the curriculum. At the end of 3 weeks, achievement tests were repeated in both groups and qualitative studies were conducted. At the end of the study, while there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of achievement tests in the pre-tests, a significant difference was found in favor of the experimental group in the post-tests (F:14.815, p< .001, η²p: 0.086). Furthermore, both groups performed a significant increase in post-tests compared to pre-tests (F:98.214, p< .001, η²p: 0.383), and the group✻time interaction of the experimental group increased more in percentage (32.32% vs. 17.54%) compared to the control group (F:9.166, p< .003, η²p: 0.055). The students' views revealed that they learned faster, contributed to their learning, learned unknown words permanently, found the activities fun, increased attention and focus on the lesson, and learned by playing games and moving.

Keywords:

Learning, kinesthetic, game, movement, Image Processing.