Pragmatics Communication Deficiencies and the Role of Gamification

• Published in: The European Journal of Social & Behavioural Sciences 2018-04, Vol.22 (2), p.73-88
• Main Authors: Toki, Eugenia I., Fakitsa, Polyxeni, Drosos, Konstantinos, Pange, Jenny, Siafaka, Vassiliki, Karampas, Andreas, Petrikis, Petros
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Autism; Children & youth; Gamification; Language; Learning disabilities; Linguistics; Mental disorders; Psychosis; Questionnaires; Rehabilitation; Schizophrenia; Semantics; Software; Speech; Traumatic brain injury; Verbal communication
• ISSN: 2301-2218; 2301-2218
• DOI: 10.15405/ejsbs.232

The proper use of language for communication in any context is defined as Pragmatics. Pragmatics includes the linguistic adjustments made (what is said, how it is said, body language, appropriateness) in order to accomplish the communication goal. Children and adults may be referred for rehabilitation when pragmatic communication deficits have an impact on social functioning, employment, and family/marital relationships (Turkstra, et al., 2016). The aim of this study is to examine gamification as an alternative to supplement clinical assessment procedures of an individual’s communication deficiencies with a focus on pragmatics perception, which led to the creation of a mobile gamified procedure designed to collect data on pragmatics perception. The gamified procedure was created in Kahoot! and was played by a sample of two hundred and fifty-six (256) university students with non-acquired communicative deficits studying health related courses in Greece. Data on points scored, response accuracy and duration of time spent on of each language feature was recorded. A detailed description on students’ pragmatics abilities and motivation was reported. The results of the study described normative data concerning points scored, response time and accuracy of language features. Statistically significant differences were found between genders in terms of response accuracy and time for some language features. The gamified e-assessment has the clear potential to contribute innovatively to the clinical assessment procedures of pragmatic communicative deficits including the needs of individuals with developmental disorders, psychiatric disorders, acquired brain injury, neurodegenerative disorders in a motivating way along with current technological advances of face to face and/or telepractice services.