Analysis of the impact of serious games on the development of writing skills in intermediate-level students learning French as a foreign language

Abstract

One of the essential aims of foreign language teaching is to improve students' writing skills, particularly in academic contexts. Learning to write in French among middle cycle learners is one of primary missions of Algerian schools, where French occupies a prominent place as the second language after Arabic. It is a language of daily communication for a large part of the population However, little research has explored the use of educational serious games to reinforce these skills, particularly in subjects such as French. These games can be an effective complementary tool for improving learners' written production. In this research, a quasi-experimental approach is proposed, based on educational games, to enhance the motivation of learner-players in order to maximize their potential in written production. The participants were 35 secondary school students aged between 12 and 15, divided into a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group of 20 learners used the Motiv-Prodect game, which is designed to teach written production in French to middle school learners in Algeria. while the control group of 15 learners followed the traditional program without the game. Students' written production skills were assessed using pre- and post-tests, including tasks such as writing short essays. The results confirm that the use of an educational game can improve the written production of learner-players, underlining the value of educational games in language learning.