THE DESIGN OF A GAME-BASED MOBILE APPLICATION FOR BIDAYUH BIATAH LANGUAGE LEARNING

The advanced technologies have improved the lifestyles of human races. To keep on track with the constantly upgrading world, many researches in using the advanced technologies for language learning had been conducted. The previous researches had provided an insight on the usefulness of gamifying the language learning. In correspond with this, the study aims to design a mobile application to enhance the learning of indigenous language, Bidayuh Biatah language. There are three main objectives for the study: (i) to identify the learning problems faced by the beginning learners of Bidayuh Biatah language; (ii) to design a gamified Bidayuh Biatah language application based on the identified problems; and (iii) to obtain feedback on the design features in the application. The study is conducted through three phases. In Phase 1, interviews are conducted to determine the learning problems of Bidayuh Biatah language. In Phase 2, the procedures of the design of the prototype of mobile game application based on the gamification framework, Octalysis. In Phase 3, the evaluation on the usefulness of the designed prototype is conducted among 25 participants which are made up of the students who are taking or who had taken Bidayuh Biatah language in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The participants are requested to attend a demonstration session on the designed prototype and answer the questionnaires. The data collected is then analysed and tabulated in tables and charts. The findings prove that the application of gamification in language learning can develop the interest in the language learners to learn about the targeted language. Ultimately, the study has shown that gamifying the language learning can enhance the language learning for language learners which will hence preserving the language itself