"Gamifikacja", "grywalizacja" or "gryfikacja" – activating students during online classes

Abstract

The article has a theoretical and practical dimension. It addresses the issue of ways to activate foreigners during distance learning. It discusses a variety of nomenclatures describing the process of transferring game mechanics for the purposes of Polish as a foreign language classes. Definitions of the terms gamifikacja, grywalizacja, and gryfikacja are discussed and compared. The practical part of the article includes ways of adapting gamification materials used in Polish as a foreign language classes in terms of their form (stationary – online) and purpose (commercial – educational). Examples of equivalents of well-known proposals for stationary games in the distance learning are indicated, and it is explained how to achieve greater language proficiency when using commercial games in lessons. The article presents an adaptation of the components of the author’s role-playing game about Łódź. Games add variety to online courses of Polish as a foreign language while combining language and cultural learning. A game verifies grammatical structures and lexical resources in a situation where conversation in Polish is necessary.