Gamified digital support for initial literacy skill development of adult migrants with limited L1 literacy. The COVID-19 pandemic turned an efficacy field-testing study with adult literacy learners into an online-based exchange of experiences and ideas with their literacy teachers testing the app instead.
Technology-enhanced teaching and learning has the potential to enhance late L2 literacy training of adult migrants with limited educational backgrounds, yet, to date there is a lack of empirical evidence in the context of adult basic education in Finland.
Originally, the current study was planned to produce data to
1. examine the efficacy of a specific digital literacy support tool for adult emergent readers of Finnish
2. explore the beliefs and reactions of teachers and learners related to the use of educational technology, in particular gamification, in adult literacy education in Finland
3. investigate the potential impact of digital literacy learning and teaching from multiple perspectives.
However, due to the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it was not possible to carry out the planned classroom intervention. The main focus of this study has thus shifted to testing and redesigning a specific literacy game app with adult literacy educators and experts who reported on their testing experience in observational notes and online interviews.
Preliminary findings of teachers' experience and expectations of digital literacy learning and teaching, in particular digital gamified learning, are presented and discussed.
