Essie Christabel Appia Appia

The relevance of the research problem is driven by the need to find effective pedagogical tools for maintaining student engagement when learning French grammar as a foreign language at the university level. Traditional teaching methods often fail to provide sufficient motivation and do not enable students to successfully transform declarative grammatical knowledge into procedural oral skills. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of gamified digital activities on student engagement and the acquisition of French grammatical structures (imperfect tense, subjunctive mood, active and passive voice) in a university educational context. The leading method of the research was a convergent mixed-methods design (quantitative and qualitative analysis), which included a 14-week pedagogical intervention involving 26 linguistics students at Novosibirsk State Technical University. The gamified platforms Wordwall (Spin the Wheel), Baamboozle, and Quizlet were used during the classes. Data collection was carried out through pre- and post-tests, a 24-item engagement questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale, open-ended questions (Yandex Forms), and classroom observation. The main results of the study demonstrate a significant improvement in academic performance: all participants achieved maximum scores on the post-test (10/10) with a very large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.37). Gamification-specific engagement was the strongest predictor of learning outcomes (β = 0.48), explaining 62% of the variance in post-test scores. Students demonstrated high levels of behavioural (4.2/5), emotional (4.0/5), and social engagement (4.3/5). Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed four main themes: positive affective response (52%), interactivity and novelty (40%), listening comprehension and grammar difficulties (32%), and suggestions for improvement (24%). The theoretical significance of the work lies in deepening the understanding of the mechanisms by which gamification influences multidimensional student engagement in the context of learning French, thereby complementing existing research that is predominantly focused on English. The practical significance consists in the development of six concrete recommendations for university instructors on implementing gamified activities in the educational process, including principles of instructional sequencing, multi-platform integration, and attention to learner choice.