IOSR Journal of Mobile Computing & Application (IOSR-JMCA) e- ISSN: 2394-0050, P-ISSN: 2394-0042.Volume 7, Issue 2 (Mar - Apr 2020), PP 14-29 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0050-07021429 www.iosrjournals.org 14 | Page A Mobile Gamification English Vocabulary Learning System for Motivating English Learning Olutayo Boyinbode and Adetayo Tiamiyu Department of Information Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria Abstract: English learning in Nigeria has become imperative and its continuous learning cannot be waved, since it is the official language in Nigeria and an international language for communication. Despite the importance of English language, student’s performance in English language in Nigerian secondary institutions has been discouraging. Research has shown that vocabulary is the most important element of any language learning including English language. This paper implemented a mobile gamification learning system for motivating learners to continue learning English vocabularies effectively on mobile devices. The system was evaluated, through an online survey, which was completed by 71 participants with different English vocabulary level abilities. Experimental results revealed that the developed system significantly improve learner’s English vocabulary abilities and learning interests. Keywords: English, Motivation, Gamification, Experience point gap, Mobile learning, Vocabulary, Badges, Rewards. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 02-05-2020 Date of acceptance: 16-05-2020 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction English Language is a foreign Language to Nigeria in the sense that it is not indigenous, but it is used in Nigeria as the official language. It has played a major role in Nigeria which could be seen in our education, government, business, commerce, mass media and most of internal and external communication. Formal education in Nigeria today is a product of English language. Without English, there is the possibility that there may not be anything more than the elementary formal education in Nigeria [5]. Excellent vocabulary knowledge is needed to understand the meanings of an English sentence or article. In recent years, a lot of researchers made efforts in the study of English learning, and most studies emphasized the importance of vocabulary learning to English learning [9]. Many researchers also pointed out that the major challenge for English learning is to face entirely new and unfamiliar words that appear in an English text. In order to read English texts fluently and smoothly, a learner needs to at least, memorize two thousand commonly used English vocabularies [24, 21,11]. It is obvious that vocabulary learning is very essential to English-language learning acquisition. It is common knowledge that classroom teaching time is limited and there are so many components involved in English language learning (listening, reading, writing and speaking activities), so teachers seek alternative ways to help students learn vocabulary. Mobile learning is one of such alternatives. Some recent studies have shown positivity in the use of mobile phones to teach vocabulary, either through SMS (Short Message Service), messaging, emails, and also social media networks such as twitter and Facebook. It considered that using a smartphone is effective for independent learning such as English vocabulary memorization, because a learner can use the smartphone anytime and anywhere [26,1]. II. Gamification And Motivation Motivation is very important in learning. It has been observed that if students are not motivated, they may not be able to solve a problem, even though they have the skills to solve it. On the other hand, if they are highly motivated, even though they have limited ability, motivation will help them find a way to solve a challenge and also improve on the skills. However, according to [12], motivation and ability alone are not enough. A „trigger‟, which is like a call for action, is also required so as to tell the user to achieve a certain behavior. Software mobile applications can serve as such „trigger‟ to change people‟s attitudes and behaviour [10,13]. Gamification has been shown to engage and motivate learners when used properly in or outside the classrooms [18, 23]. Gamification combines both Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation to raise user engagement and also influence their behaviour towards learning. Intrinsic motivation is an internal desire to perform a task and results in high-quality learning and creativity while Extrinsic motivation occurs when external rewards not related to the task itself drive the user to take an action, for example, money, good grades and awards [25]. Lepper [19] explained that when people are intrinsically motivated, they tend to take an activity for their own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, or the feeling of accomplishments it evokes. On the