The Impact of Play-Based Learning Settings on Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking Skills

Abstract

Playing, which is one of the most important emotional needs of children, is also used as an effective teaching technique by numerous educators. Educative games played with students in classroom environments with certain objectives have a critical role in reinforcing the previous knowledge of children and improving their mental skills. In addition, it is believed that when properly planned and applied, play-based learning settings and games increase learning motivation of children and reduce their school-related stress and anxiety. The purpose of this study is to reveal the effectiveness of play-based learning settings and educational games played in these settings on the sustainability of children’s reading, writing, listening, and speaking habits. For this purpose, the themes of responsibility, tolerance, self-confidence, frugality, honesty, patriotism, and empathy were determined. Before the play-based learning environment was created, preliminary information was obtained about 20 students selected for the study through a questionnaire prepared in consultation with field experts. Subsequently, play-based learning environments were created by choosing bomb, creative drama, story cubes, puppets, two truths one lie, drama, and empathy games related to the themes in question. The themes and texts were given to 10 students through games for a total of 7 weeks, 1 week for each theme. In addition, the same themes were given to the remaining 10 students through traditional education. In the eighth week, the level of understanding of each student as regards the relevant theme was revealed through the questionnaire prepared based on the opinions of the experts. It was observed that the anxiety of the students in the classroom environment decreased considerably during seven weeks with the help of the play-based learning settings. In addition, it was determined that these students were more eager to read, write, listen to, and speak texts than the students who received traditional education, and that they comprehended the themes more easily. It can be said that educational games can be used as an effective method to increase the children’s interest in lessons and school, diversify their learning experiences, improve their performance and motivation, and enhance the sustainability of education.

1. Introduction

Playing is one of the most fundamental needs of children after love and affection. It is a conscious activity with its own purpose, and it is an activity that children enjoy. According to Vygotsky, playing is an activity that is performed by children; it contains imaginary elements, and its rules are not predetermined. Several definitions of “play” have been offered to date. For example, Montaigne described play as “children’s most realistic pursuits”. Montessori saw it as “the work of the child”, and Piaget viewed it as “a way of assimilating stimuli from the outside world and placing them in the adaptation system” [1,2]. According to Piaget, in early childhood, children believe that the inventor of the game is a transcendent power. In Piaget’s theory, the child develops by actively questioning and experiencing the world and playing games with his/her peers [3]. Children become socialized and avoid egocentrism through the games they play. In addition, through games, they prepare for life by learning certain emotions, such as joy, sadness, happiness, and confidence. In the course of the game, children are on the move, so their physical and motor skills develop and mature. “Children’s constant repetition of certain movements during play naturally accelerates their muscle development. The fact that children are in constant motion with actions such as walking, running, jumping and climbing supports their large muscle development. On the other hand, the repetition of activities such as plucking, cutting, holding, kneading, drilling, and coloring reinforces small muscle development” [4]. Children’s physical and motor development is also directly related to their growth, development, and learning. Therefore, games serve essential functions in children’s lives. Through games, children acquire several behaviors, knowledge, and skills that will be necessary for their lives. The game is a rehearsal of real life. Children learn and internalize what they experience and try, not what they see and hear. They acquire universal values, such as benevolence, tolerance, prudence, honesty, and truthfulness, which will affect their personalities in the future. Children also develop their creativity by adding elements from their lives to the games they play. Through games, children dive into their inner worlds and make and break the rules in this world which they rule: “It should be known that children under the age of four will be able to develop creative thinking and individual problem-solving skills by playing on their own instead of being exposed to technological devices” [5]. The self-confidence of children with higher creativity skills will also improve, and they will contribute to the societies they belong to as more successful individuals in life. Play is an activity where children can express themselves and their feelings, develop their abilities, and use their creativity. It is extremely important to contribute to the development of children by providing environments where they can play games with their friends. In short, play is the most effective and permanent learning environment for the child. Environments with no barriers to individual and collective learning are called learning settings. In fact, all kinds of places where students perform the learning action are called learning settings. The most common learning settings are schools. However, sometimes a museum, a historical site, or a playground can also serve as a learning setting. Teachers should be able to use extra-class learning environments (science museums, observatories, lakesides, etc.) effectively in accordance with the objectives and/or expected outcomes of a given course [6]. In order to ensure permanent learning in students, learning environments must be organized carefully: “The use of several learning activities such as visuals, music, and discussions pulls students into an interactive learning environment and prepares them for the class” [7]. Game, one of the most natural and rich learning environments for children, is an experimental field where they test what they hear and see and reinforce what they have learned. The importance of rich learning environments and games in the learning of the child has been established [8]. The basic point of learning is to pay attention to a stimulus and to maintain this attention on that stimulus throughout the class. It is very difficult for children, especially those attending primary and secondary education, to maintain their attention for a long time and focus on the teacher during education and training. Improving the perception and learning of children who can be distracted easily is a very challenging task. One of the purposes of using technology in education is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of learning. With this aim, a play-based learning method has been developed according to the needs of the learners. In play-based learning, for example, video games and game contents are designed to develop knowledge and acquire skills. In addition, learning is provided through applications that reward the players according to their problem-solving abilities [9]. In the play-based learning method, a balance must be ensured between the learning content and entertainment. In addition, in this type of learning method, educators should pay attention to the abilities of the children and the level of difficulty of the game they will play so that the students can fulfill the requirements of the game. Play-based learning settings increase children’s interest in education and help them focus their attention. Educational games focus on developing skills, such as concentration, thinking, research, choosing, and applying tactics, discovering information, questioning, communicating effectively, participating actively, sharing roles, obeying rules, and learning cooperatively. It has been observed that this approach is effective for students at all levels [10].

Especially in the early twentieth century, traditional education understanding proved inadequate in meeting the needs of the era, and it began to be argued that children, not knowledge, should be placed at the center of education. In today’s world, it is seen that games are used as important activities within the education systems of developed countries. As it is known, play-based education is a conscious and planned activity that aims to enhance the physical, mental, emotional, and social development of children, and it is considered an important complementary element of education. While the main purpose of games is entertainment, the main purpose of the educational games used in classrooms is to increase students’ motivation and their commitment to the lesson and school, and thus ensure the sustainability of the system. In order to maintain high student motivation and create a sustainable learning environment, it is necessary to use educational games in relevant subjects. Özrili claims that it was necessary to emphasize a modern education system where individuals were at the center of the teaching process and played an active role in their personal experiences. This meant that the classical education approach that was teacher-centered, rote-based, and only passively attended by the students should be avoided [11]. It is argued that traditional education is based on merely knowledge transfer and causes children to grow up as memorizing and passive individuals. Today, experts who shape education programs by taking into account the developmental characteristics of children draw attention to the fact that play-based learning environments save children from passivity and make them active. These experts conduct studies for the implementation of such environments at every stage of education. Games enable students to learn actively by doing and experiencing. They also give the players direct feedback on their actions, allowing them to evaluate right and wrong, and see their mistakes instantly. They also force them to return to the starting point and find the truth in case of a mistake [12]. Therefore, games are now practiced as an in-class activity in most schools and are considered an essential part of teaching programs. Several studies have been conducted on the role of play-based learning environments and games in education, which make significant contributions to children at different stages of education both as a teaching method and as a teaching tool.

2. Literature Review

The literature review conducted before starting the study revealed that several studies were carried out on play-based learning environments, the place of games in education, and the effects of games on children’s success. In this section, some of these studies will be evaluated and examined in terms of their comparability to this study. Compared to traditional learning methods, gamification is one of the significant techniques that make learning more attractive for students [13]. Play-based learning settings make the class more enjoyable for the students and facilitate communication between the teacher and the students. As stated in Kuşuçuran’s study, “games develop children’s thinking skills and creativity. Games also help children to express their feelings and opinions, be acquainted with their environment, and have different experiences” [14]. Yıldız, Şimşek, and Ağdaş (2018) reported that educational games provide an active learning process that helps the physical, cognitive, affective, psycho-motor, and social development of students [15].

Play-based learning settings have been one of the important instruments used in language education in recent years. It has been observed that the application of digital platforms through gamification helps students learn English as a foreign language and improve their reading comprehension skills. It has been found that gamification encourages the active participation of students learning English as a foreign language in reading education, as a result of which, students participate more willingly in the learning process [16]. Similarly, according to Deng et al. (2020), the use of games in classes increases student participation, creates a student-centered environment, generates more time for students to explore and think, and enables them to interact and collaborate more with each other and their teacher [17]. Educational games are shown to allow students to be more active in class, and socialize and learn in cooperation in Turkish language courses. It has also been observed that the academic success of the students increases with heightened motivation through games [18,19]. Employing games, and therefore, play-based learning environments, in the acquisition of listening skills in language teaching can also simplify the work of the teacher and make the class more enjoyable and fun for the student. As Kadıoğlu Ateş stated, games can be used to develop listening skills, and various games can be played within the family to improve these skills [20].

It is believed that effective results will be obtained when play-based learning settings are used in the development of reading skills. Using interactive games is effective in the development of reading proficiency. Games can improve the reading skills of children because learning by playing is compatible with the learning conceptualization of children. Play-based learning entertains students in the learning process and positively affects their reading skills [21]. Games can be used as an effective tool in the acquisition of reading skills which play a very important role in children’s learning. It has been revealed that the active participation of students in gamified e-learning platforms improves their reading motivation and reading skills [22].

Games, which are effective in the development of certain skills in children, are the most liberal environments where they can communicate with their teacher and express themselves. As Yalçın and Bertiz argued, games improve children socially and cognitively and contribute to the development of children in all areas, especially during pre-school and primary school periods. Games also improve children’s communication and language skills, help them establish social relationships and express themselves, and enable them to gain the habit of sharing [23]. Erkan underlined that games contribute to the physical and cognitive development of individuals, especially during their childhood, help them to express their opinions and feelings, and enable them to learn by doing [24].

It is believed that game settings can be effective in the development of writing skills, which is one of the four basic language proficiencies. Kuşuçuran and Yürümez and Özer underlined that games are important and helpful for children to acquire the four language skills [14,25]. Similarly, Şahin and Akis argued that educational games played an essential role in the reading and writing education of primary school students [26].

When we examine the relevant literature, it is seen that play-based learning environments are more effective than traditional educational environments and can be used as an efficient method for children to learn by having fun while acquiring certain skills. However, very few studies have analyzed the effectiveness of play-based learning settings in the development of four basic language skills. This deficiency is the major drive behind this research.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Purpose and Question of the Study

The four basic language skills are indispensable instruments in life-long learning. In the 21st century, education has to prepare students for adapting to social and technological changes, which is mostly a function of language proficiency. In this context, language skills, especially reading, are resources of new knowledge and skills for continuing education. Reading, which starts at a very young age and becomes a long-lasting habit, is the most important gateway to the future. From this perspective, reading and other language skills are accepted as the most critical elements for personal and mental development and academic achievement. As a result, the development of reading habits in children at an early age is one of the most important tasks for parents and pedagogues.

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of play-based learning settings on the acquisition of four basic language skills. For this purpose, answers have been sought to the following question: “What is the impact of educational games on teaching four basic language skills to third grade primary school students?”.

3.2. Sample

The sample of this study consists of 20 third grade students studying at a primary school in Northern Cyprus. Prior to the study, a preliminary interview was held with the executive teachers at schools of convenience, and their opinions on the subject were obtained. Later, the names of the schools that accepted the practice were given to the Ministry of National Education, and permission was requested for applying the study at one of these schools. In line with the decision taken by the Ministry of National Education, the students in the relevant school and classroom formed the sample of the study. Primary school third grade students were selected for the study because the values to be given through educational games are included in the curriculum of this grade.

Both the play-based learning group and the traditional learning group consist of ten pupils, five girls, and five boys. The most important aspect of the study is that both groups were formed objectively by considering the pre-test scores of the students.

3.3. Data Collection and Analysis

Two data collection tools were used in this study: a questionnaire form to measure the preliminary knowledge of children as regards the themes, and a teacher observation form. Data collection tools were prepared by the researcher after receiving the opinions of three teachers and two experts, including a professor of education programs and a professor of Turkish language education.

The questionnaire form consisted of seven questions. Adjustments were made to two questions in line with the opinions of experts and teachers. This questionnaire was applied as a pre-test to determine the levels of the participants before the application and as a post-test to measure the behaviors they acquired after the application.

The teacher observation form was initially composed of 36 items but was reduced to 32 items, taking into account the opinions of experts and teachers. This observation form was prepared in Likert type with three options, “observed/not observed/partially observed”.

In the study, educational games that support the comprehension and narration skills of students were related to the subjects by the researchers after obtaining expert and teacher opinions. The purpose here was to analyze the impact of play-based learning settings on language skills. Educational games were designed in accordance with the level of the students and in relation to the outcomes. Then, play-based learning environments were created, and the outcomes were transferred to the related group through games on a weekly basis. The group was encouraged to play the games known as the bomb, creative drama, story cubes, puppets, two truths, one lie, drama, and empathy. This study was conducted to develop the targeted values of the students. In addition, the same values were explained to the other group through traditional education every week in a parallel manner.

While determining the subjects, opinions about student needs were obtained from the primary school teachers. As a result of the opinions received, the values of “Responsibility, Tolerance, Self-Confidence, Frugality, Honesty, Patriotism and Empathy” were emphasized, respectively, in both groups for 7 weeks. The texts suitable for the students’ levels were selected to work in class by taking the opinions of the experts and teachers.

3.4. Educational Games Used in the Study

The result obtained at the end of the educational games is extremely important, especially in terms of content and application. Therefore, the selected games should be used as a means in the realization process of teaching, not as an end in itself. Several theories have been developed regarding children’s games. It can be claimed that Piaget’s play theory stands out among others. Piaget considers play as “a fun behavior that emerges spontaneously, is done for pleasure and does not contain any regulation” and defines it as a part of the cognitive development of the child. Piaget’s play theory consists of three stages: practice games, symbolic games, and games with rules [27,28]. While designing and implementing educational games, teachers should consider their aims and the developmental stages of children emphasized by Piaget and manage the process meticulously. The games selected and used should be able to appeal to all students in the classroom and should be such that each student can actively participate. (Considering Piaget’s classification of games, it is seen that children are naturally more inclined to toys that will improve the skills they have acquired in their respective age period. This is so because every newly acquired skill is a game for the child. The age group determines not only what the child will play, but also how he/she will play it. As the child grows, the tools that he/she can use multiply. For example, when a book is appealing to the interest of a child, the act of reading becomes the most enjoyable game). Before we started the study, we observed the students who would participate in the research. As a result of the consultations, we conducted with their teachers and two education experts, we identified the games we explain below, taking into account the research objectives and started the implementation process.

3.4.1. The Bomb Game

In this game, which involves a toy bomb, students read a text, then form a circle with five students. The teacher then activates the toy bomb, hands it to a student and asks him/her a question about the text they have read (the questions may be about the characters, or any event or object mentioned in the text). If the student gives the correct answer, he/she passes the bomb to the next student. In this game, the children have to be fast. If a student cannot give the correct answer and holds the bomb for a long time, the probability of a bomb explosion increases. The student holding the bomb when it explodes is eliminated from the game. The teacher sets the bomb again and hands it to the next student, and the game continues until only one student remains. At the end of the game, students answer the questions in writing. You can see a sample photo from the play in Figure 1.

This game has been chosen to enhance the students’ attention, promote their quick thinking and verbal expression abilities, enable them to gain observation skills, support their creativity, develop their thinking skills, enhance their comprehension and expression abilities, and create an environment where they can learn by having fun. This game also has special importance in terms of developing the reading, speaking, writing, and listening skills of students.

3.4.2. Frozen Image

Students first move around freely in the classroom for warm-up activity. In the meantime, they plan to reflect the emotions they feel about the subject they have read. Then, the teacher explains that they should have two feelings about the subject of the text they read and asks the students to reflect them as tolerant/sympathetic and intolerant/unsympathetic. When the teacher says, “warm-up finished, freeze”, the students need to freeze in a manner appropriate to the role they will impersonate. When the teacher says “revive/unfreeze”, the student tells about an event that he/she does not tolerate. Additionally, when the “change emotion” command is given, the respective students imagine and narrate how they would approach the same event in a tolerant way. It is of great importance that students reflect on their emotional changes with their voice tones and facial expressions. When everyone has completed the frozen image, the students are asked to write down how they felt, and the game ends. You can see a sample photo from the play in Figure 2.

This game is very important in the development of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. The game has been chosen to support students’ ability to grasp different emotional states more easily and reflect them both verbally and through body language and to learn by doing the positive effects of tolerant behavior more easily.

3.4.3. Story Cubes

Story cubes consist of 9 dice, and these dice have 54 visual/symbolic images on them. For example, a smiling emoji, an angry emoji, coffee, an umbrella, a sun, and so on. Students roll the dice, make and write one or two sentences by including the image that comes up on the dice, and in this way, they continue the part of the story they have read. Then, another student rolls the dice and tries to continue the story that his/her friend previously made by using their own sentences and the image that comes up on the dice. In advance, the teacher informs the students about how many dice each student will roll and how many rounds the game will continue. The last student forms the concluding sentence, and the game ends by reading out the complete story. You can see a sample photo from the play in Figure 3.

This game enhances students’ reading, writing, narration, and listening skills and also contributes to their collaboration and cooperation. Additionally, it helps students establish semantic relationships between sentences and activates their imagination.

3.4.4. Puppet Game

At the beginning of the game, the teacher distributes puppets to the students and clusters them into five groups, with two students in each group. Then, they reconstructs the text they have read in relation to the topic of “frugality”, giving all groups time to write a short dialogue and make their puppets talk. After a brief rehearsal, the students take turns going to the board and making the puppets speak according to the given topic. At the end of the game, the students discuss how they are frugal or what they waste in real life and the lesson finishes. You can see a sample photo from the play in Figure 4.

This game not only enhances students’ reading, speaking, writing, and listening skills but also fosters their ability to take responsibility and develop empathy.

3.4.5. Two Truths—One Lie Game

The teacher clusters the students into five groups, with two students in each group. Students are asked to write three sentences about themselves, two truths and one lie, in advance. Then, the teacher asks two students to come to the blackboard. One of the students is asked to say three things to the other, two truths and one lie. The other student must find the lie his friend said in one guess. Otherwise, they will lose. They also tells two truths and one lie when it is their turn; this time the other student makes a guess. There is only one chance to guess in this game. The game ends by discussing how students feel when they lie. You can see a sample photo from the play in Figure 5.

This game is not only effective in the development of speaking, listening, and writing skills of the children but also supports children’s thinking and observation skills and contributes to their ability to use body language and tone of voice effectively, looking at events from different perspectives, developing strategies, and easily distinguishing two different concepts of honesty and lies.

3.4.6. Drama

The teacher reads a short text, then distributes some tasks to the students based on the characters in the text. Students write and prepare dialogues according to the features of their assigned characters. Afterward, each student roleplays their character through drama. You can see a sample photo from the play in Figure 6.

This activity gives students the ability to act in groups and establish cause-effect relationships. In addition, it supports their creativity and imagination and allows a better learning of the relevant subject by doing. It is believed that this game used in the study is extremely effective in the development of the listening, writing, and speaking skills of students.

3.4.7. Empathy Game

In this game, there is an empathy scoreboard; four score tokens; sets of behavior cards in groups of twelve, three hundred, and forty-eight question cards; and one hourglass. The teacher clusters the students into two groups of five, turns down the hourglass, and reads the question card. Students determine which behavior card they will perform and place their cards facing down on the table. The teacher reads out the two correct answers to the question on the card. If the cards that students turn over include one of these correct answers, they receive points; otherwise, they do not receive any points. After playing the game in this manner for two rounds, the student(s) who approach the correct behavior and earn the highest points becomes the winner(s). You can see a sample photo from the play in Figure 7.

Offering a fun and free environment to the students, this game helps them express their emotions and opinions. In addition, it is believed that this game, which supports their comprehension, interpretation, and visualization skills, is also extremely effective in the development of listening skills.

4. Findings

In the tables below, teacher observations about the “Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing” skills of students are given. In addition, depending on the relevant observations, the findings are interpreted, similarities are identified, and significant differences are determined.

4.1. Data of Teacher Observations on Reading Skills

In

Table 1. Findings related to teacher observations on reading skills—Week 1.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
READING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 1
He/she can visualize what he/she read.	3	2	5	3	3	4
He/she is eager and interested in reading.	6		4	4	3	3
He/she identifies the story elements in the text.	2	3	5	2	4	4
He/she answers questions about the text.	2	6	2	3	5	2
He/she identifies the subject of the text.	3	5	2	4	3	3
He/she focuses attention on reading.	3	3	4	3	4	3
He/she outlines what he/she has read.	4	5	1	4	2	4
He/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation.		3	7	2	3	5

, as regards the item “he/she can visualize what he/she read” of Week 1, it is seen that 3 students could visualize, 2 students could partially visualize, and 5 students could not visualize what they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students could visualize, 3 students could partially visualize, and 4 students could not visualize what they read in a traditional group. As regards the “he/she is eager and interested in reading” item, it is observed that 6 students were eager and interested, whereas 4 students were not eager or interested in reading in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 4 students were eager and interested, 3 students were partially eager and interested, and 3 students were not eager or interested in reading. In the item “he/she identifies the story elements in the text”, it was observed that 2 students could identify, 3 students could partially identify, and 5 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 4 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read. In the item “he/she answers questions about the text”, it was observed that 2 students in the educational play group could answer, 6 students could partially answer, and 2 students could not answer the questions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could answer the questions related to the text they read, whereas 5 students could partially answer, and 2 students could not answer them. When the item “he/she identifies the subject of the text” is examined, it was observed that 3 students could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of the text they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students could identify the subject of the text they read, whereas 3 students could partially identify it, and 3 students could not identify it. In the item “he/she focuses attention on reading”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could focus, 3 students could partially focus, and 4 students could not focus their attention on reading. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could focus, 4 students could partially focus, and 3 students could not focus their attention on reading. As regards the findings for the item “he/she outlines he/she has read”, it was observed that 4 students could outline, 5 students could partially outline, and 1 student could not outline what they read in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 4 students could outline, 2 students could partially outline, and 4 students could not outline what they read. When it comes to the item “he/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation”, it was observed that in the educational play group, 3 students read out by partially paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 7 students did not pay attention. On the other hand, it was observed that 2 students in the traditional group read out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 3 students read out by partially paying attention, and 5 students read out by not paying attention. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was more eager to read, whereas the traditional group was better at reading by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation.

As can be seen in

Table 2. Findings related to teacher observations on reading skills—Week 2.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
READING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 2
He/she can visualize what he/she read.	2	2	6	3	4	3
He/she is eager and interested in reading.	7	2	1	4	3	3
He/she identifies the story elements in the text.	2	6	2	3	4	3
He/she answers questions about the text.	4	4	2	2	4	4
He/she identifies the subject of the text.	2	5	3	4	3	3
He/she focuses attention on reading.	3	6	1	3	4	3
He/she outlines what he/she has read.	3	7		4	3	3
He/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation.		4	6	2	4	4

, as regards the item “he/she can visualize what he/she read” of Week 2, 2 students could visualize, 2 students could partially visualize, and 6 students could not visualize what they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students could visualize, 4 students could partially visualize, and 3 students could not visualize what they read in the traditional group. As regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in reading”, it is observed that 7 students were eager and interested in, whereas 2 students were partially eager and interested in, and 1 student was not eager or interested in reading in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 4 students were eager and interested in, 3 students were partially eager and interested in, and 3 students were not eager or interested in reading. In the item “he/she identifies the story elements in the text”, it was observed that 2 students could identify, 6 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 3 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read. In the item “he/she answers questions about the text”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group could answer the questions, whereas 4 students could partially answer, and 2 students could not answer them. In the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could answer, whereas 4 students could partially answer, and 4 students could not answer the questions related to the text they read. When the item “he/she identifies the subject of the text” is examined, it was observed that 2 students could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 3 students could not identify the subject of the text they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students could identify the subject of the text they read, whereas 3 students could partially identify, and 3 students could not identify it. In the item “he/she focuses attention on reading”, it was observed 3 students in the educational play group could, 6 students partially could, and 1 student could not focus their attention on reading. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could focus, 4 students could partially focus, and 3 students could not focus their attention on reading. As regards the findings for the item “he/she outlines he/she has read”, it was observed that 3 students could outline and 7 students could partially outline what they read in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 4 students could outline, 3 students could partially outline, and 3 students could not outline what they read. When it comes to the item “he/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation”, it was observed that 4 students read out by partially paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 6 students did not pay attention to these elements in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 2 students in the traditional group read out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation, whereas 4 students read out by partially paying attention, and 4 students read out by not paying attention. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group is more willing towards reading and was more able to answer the questions related to the text, whereas traditional group is better in reading by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation.

As seen in

Table 3. Findings related to teacher observations on reading skills—Week 3.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
READING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 3
He/she can visualize what he/she read.	3	3	4	3	4	3
He/she is eager and interested in reading.	7	1	2	4	3	3
He/she identifies the story elements in the text.	4	4	2	3	4	3
He/she answers questions about the text.	3	4	3	3	5	2
He/she identifies the subject of the text.	4	4	2	4	2	4
He/she focuses attention on reading.	3	7		3	4	3
He/she outlines what he/she has read.	5	5		4	3	3
He/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation.	2	3	5	2	4	4

, as regards the item “he/she can visualize what he/she read” of Week 3, two students could visualize, 3 students could partially visualize, and 4 students could not visualize what they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students could visualize, 4 students could partially visualize, and 3 students could not visualize what they read in traditional group. As regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in reading” item, it is observed that 7 students were eager and interested in, whereas 1 student was partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in reading in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 4 students were eager and interested in reading, 3 students were partially eager and interested in reading, and 3 students were not eager or interested in reading. In the item “he/she identifies the story elements in the text”, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 3 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read. In the item “he/she answers questions about the text”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could answer, whereas 4 students could partially answer, and 3 students could not answer the questions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could answer, whereas 5 students could partially answer, and 2 students could not answer the questions related to the text they read. When the item “he/she identifies the subject of the text” is examined, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of the text they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 2 students could partially identify, and 4 students could not identify the subject of the text they read. In the item “he/she focuses attention on reading”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could focus, and 7 students could partially focus their attention on reading. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could focus, 4 students could partially focus, and 3 students could not focus their attention on reading. As regards the findings for the item “he/she outlines he/she has read”, it was observed that 5 students could outline, and 5 students could partially outline what they read in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 4 students could outline, 3 students could partially outline, and 3 students could not outline what they read. When it comes to the findings of “he/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation” item, it was observed that 2 students read out by paying attention, 3 students read out by partially paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 5 students did not pay attention in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 2 students in the traditional group read out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 4 students read out by partially paying attention, and 4 students read out by not paying attention. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group students are more eager for and interested in reading, identify the story elements in the text, and better outlining what they have read.

As seen in

Table 4. Findings related to teacher observations on reading skills—Week 4.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
READING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 4
He/she can visualize what he/she read.	5	3	2	3	3	4
He/she is eager and interested in reading.	8	1	1	4	2	4
He/she identifies the story elements in the text.	4	3	3	3	4	3
He/she answers questions about the text.	3	6	1	3	5	2
He/she identifies the subject of the text.	4	4	2	4	2	4
He/she focuses attention on reading.	4	6		3	4	3
He/she outlines what he/she has read.	4	6		5	2	3
He/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation.	2	3	5	2	5	3

, as regards the item “he/she can visualize what he/she read” of Week 4, 5 students could visualize, 3 students could partially visualize, and 2 students could not visualize what they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students could visualize, 3 students could partially visualize, and 4 students could not visualize what they read in traditional group. As regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in reading”, it is observed that 8 students were eager and interested, whereas 1 student was partially eager and interested and 1 student was not eager and interested in reading in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 4 students were eager and interested, 2 students were partially eager and interested, and 4 students were not eager or interested in reading. In the item “he/she identifies the story elements in the text”, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 3 students could partially identify, and 3 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 3 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read. In the item “he/she answers questions about the text”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could answer, whereas 6 students could partially answer, and 1 student could not answer the questions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could answer the questions related to the text they read, whereas 5 students could partially answer, and 2 students could not answer the questions. When the item “he/she identifies the subject of the text” is examined, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of the text they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 2 students could partially identify, and 4 students could not identify the subject of the text they read. In the item “he/she focuses attention on reading”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group could focus, and 6 students could partially focus their attention on reading. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could focus, 4 students could partially focus, and 3 students could not focus their attention on reading. As regards the findings for the item “he/she outlines he/she has read”, it was observed that 4 students could outline, and 6 students could partially outline what they read in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 5 students could outline, 2 students could partially outline, and 3 students could not outline what they read. When it comes to the findings of “he/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation” item, it was observed that 2 students read out by paying attention, 3 students read out by partially paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 5 students did not pay attention in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 2 students in the traditional group read out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 5 students read out by partially paying attention, and 3 students read out by not paying attention. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group students can visualize what they have read better, are more eager for and interested in reading, identify the story elements in the text better, and pay more attention to reading. On the other hand, traditional group students better outline what they have read.

As seen in

Table 5. Findings related to teacher observations on reading skills—Week 5.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
READING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 5
He/she can visualize what he/she read.	5	4	1	4	3	3
He/she is eager and interested in reading.	9	1		3	4	3
He/she identifies the story elements in the text.	4	5	1	3	5	2
He/she answers questions about the text.	5	5		4	2	4
He/she identifies the subject of the text.	8	2		3	4	3
He/she focuses attention on reading.	5	5		2	5	3
He/she outlines what he/she has read.	8	2		3	4	3
He/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation.	4	1	5	4	3	3

, as regards the item “he/she can visualize what he/she read” of Week 5, five students could visualize, 4 students could partially visualize, and 1 student could not visualize what they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 4 students could visualize, 3 students could partially visualize, and 3 students could not visualize what they read in a traditional group. As regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in reading”, it is observed that 9 students were eager and interested, and 1 student was partially eager and interested in reading in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 3 students were eager and interested, 4 students were partially eager and interested in, and 3 students were not eager or interested in reading. In the item “he/she identifies the story elements in the text”, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 1 student could not identify the story elements in the text they read in the educational play group. With regards to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read. In the item “he/she answers questions about the text”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group could answer the questions, whereas 5 students could partially answer them. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students could answer, 2 students could partially answer, and 4 students could not answer the questions related to the text they read. When the item “he/she identifies the subject of the text” is examined, it was observed that 8 students could identify, and 2 students could partially identify the subject in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 3 students could not identify the subject of the text they read. In the item “he/she focuses attention on reading”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group could focus, and 5 students could partially focus their attention on reading. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 2 students could focus, 5 students could partially focus, and 3 students could not focus their attention on reading. As regards the findings for the item “he/she outlines he/she has read”, it was observed that 8 students could outline, and 2 students could partially outline what they read in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could outline, 4 students could partially outline, and 3 students could not outline what they read. When it comes to the findings of “he/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation” item, it was observed that 4 students read out by paying attention; 1 student reads out by partially paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation; whereas 5 students did not pay attention in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 4 students in the traditional group read out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 3 students read out by partially paying attention, and 3 students read out by not paying attention. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better in all the items but the last item.

As seen in

Table 6. Findings related to teacher observations on reading skills—Week 6.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
READING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 6
He/she can visualize what he/she read.	5	2	3	4	4	2
He/she is eager and interested in reading.	10			2	5	3
He/she identifies the story elements in the text.	6	4		3	5	2
He/she answers questions about the text.	7	3		3	3	4
He/she identifies the subject of the text.	7	3		4	4	2
He/she focuses attention on reading.	4	6		2	5	3
He/she outlines what he/she has read.	8	2		2	4	4
He/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation.	4	1	5	4	4	2

, as regards the item “he/she can visualize what he/she read” of Week 6, 5 students could visualize, 2 students could partially visualize, and 3 students could not visualize what they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 4 students could visualize, 4 students could partially visualize, and 2 students could not visualize what they read in traditional group. As regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in reading”, it is observed that all 10 students were eager and interested in reading in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 2 students were eager and interested in, 5 students were partially eager and interested in, and 3 students were not eager or interested in reading. In the item “he/she identifies the story elements in the text”, it was observed that 6 students could identify, and 4 students could partially identify the story elements in the text they read in the educational play group. With regards to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read. In the item “he/she answers questions about the text”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group could answer the questions, whereas 3 students could partially answer them. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could answer, whereas 3 students could partially answer, and 4 students could not answer the questions related to the text they read. When the item “he/she identifies the subject of the text” is examined, it was observed that 7 students could identify, and 3 students could partially identify the subject in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examine the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of the text they read. In the item “he/she focuses attention on reading”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group could focus, and 6 students could partially focus their attention on reading. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 2 students could focus, 5 students could partially focus, and 3 students could not focus their attention on reading. As regards the findings for the item “he/she outlines he/she has read”, it was observed that 8 students could outline, and 2 students could partially outline what they read in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 2 students could outline, 4 students could partially outline, and 4 students could not outline what they read. When it comes to the findings of “he/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation” item, it was observed that 4 students read out by paying attention, 1 student reads out by partially paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 5 students did not pay attention in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 4 students in the traditional group read out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 4 students read out by partially paying attention, and 2 students read out by not paying attention. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better in all the items with the exception of the last item.

As seen in

Table 7. Findings related to teacher observations on reading skills—Week 7.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
READING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 7
He/she can visualize what he/she read.	3	3	4	4	3	3
He/she is eager and interested in reading.	10			2	4	4
He/she identifies the story elements in the text.	7	3		3	2	5
He/she answers questions about the text.	9	1		4	2	4
He/she identifies the subject of the text.	9	1		4	5	1
He/she focuses attention on reading.	7	3		2	3	5
He/she outlines what he/she has read.	7	3		2	4	4
He/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation.	3	5	2	4	3	3

, with regards to the item “he/she can visualize what he/she read” of Week 7, 3 students could visualize, 3 students could partially visualize, and 4 students could not visualize what they read in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 4 students could visualize, 3 students could partially visualize, and 3 students could not visualize what they read in traditional group. As regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in reading”, it is observed that all students were eager and interested in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 2 students were eager and interested in, 4 students were partially eager and interested in, and 4 students were not eager or interested in reading. In the item “he/she identifies the story elements in the text”, it was observed that 7 students could identify, whereas 3 students could partially identify the story elements in the text they read in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could identify, 2 students could partially identify, and 5 students could not identify the story elements in the text they read. In the item “he/she answers questions about the text”, it was observed that 9 students in the educational play group could answer, whereas 1 student could partially answer the questions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students could answer, 2 students could partially answer, and 4 students could not answer the questions related to the text they read. When the item “he/she identifies the subject of the text” is examined, it was observed that 9 students could identify, and 1 student could partially identify the subject in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 1 student could not identify the subject of the text they read. In the item “he/she focuses attention on reading”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group could focus, and 3 students could partially focus their attention on reading. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 2 students could focus, 3 students could partially focus, and 5 students could not focus their attention on reading. As regards the findings for the item “he/she outlines he/she has read”, it was observed that 7 students could outline, and 3 students could partially outline what they read in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 2 students could outline, 4 students could partially outline, and 4 students could not outline what they read. When it comes to the findings of “he/she reads out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation” item, it was observed that 3 students read out by paying attention; 5 students read out by partially paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation and punctuation; whereas 2 students did not pay attention in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 4 students in the traditional group read out by paying attention to stress, intonation, pronunciation, and punctuation, whereas 3 students read out by partially paying attention, and 3 students read out by not paying attention.

Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group was better in the items “he/she is eager and interested in reading”, “he/she identifies the story elements in the text”, “he/she answers questions about the text”, “he/she identifies the subject of the text”, “he/she focuses attention on reading”, and “he/she outlines what he/she has read”.

4.2. Data of Teacher Observations on Listening Skills

As can be seen in

Table 8. Findings related to teacher observations on listening skills—Week 1.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
LISTENING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 1
He/she is eager and interested in listening.	6	1	3	3	3	4
He/she focuses attention on listening.	2	5	3	2	4	4
He/she outlines what he/she listened/watched.	1	7	2	2	5	3
He/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched.	3	3	4	3	5	2
He/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched.	1	7	2	2	5	3
He/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched.	3		7	3	2	5
He/she follows verbal instructions.	4	3	3	3	4	3
He/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages.	2	5	3	2	2	6

, as regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in listening” of Week 1, 6 students were eager and interested, 2 students were partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 6 students were eager and interested, 2 students were partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the traditional group. As regards the item “he/she focuses attention on listening”, it is observed that 2 students focused their attention, 5 students could partially focus their attention, and 3 students could not focus their attention on listening in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 2 students focused their attention, 4 students could partially focus their attention, and 4 students could not focus their attention on listening. In the item “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 1 student could outline, 7 students could partially outline, and 2 students could not outline what they listened/watched in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could outline, 5 students could partially outline, and 3 students could not outline what they listened/watched. In the item “he/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, whereas 3 students could partially identify, and 4 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. When the item “he/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched” is examined, it was observed that 1 student could answer, 7 students could partially answer, and 2 students could not answer these questions in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 3 students could not answer these questions. In the item “he/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could express their opinions, whereas 7 students could not express their opinions. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could express, 2 students could partially express, and 5 students could not express their opinions. As regards the findings for the item “he/she follows verbal instructions”, it was observed that 4 students could follow, 3 students could partially follow, and 3 students could not follow verbal instructions. In the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could follow, 4 students could partially follow, and 3 students could not follow verbal instructions. When it comes to the item “he/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages”, it was observed that 2 students comprehended, 5 students partially comprehended, and 3 students did not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that in the traditional group, 2 students comprehended, 2 students partially comprehended, and 6 students did not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages. Based on the findings, it was observed that the traditional group is better in terms of outlining the text they listened to/watched and answering questions related to what they listened to/watched, whereas the educational play group was found to be better in terms of eagerness and interest in listening and following verbal instructions.

As can be seen in

Table 9. Findings related to teacher observations on listening skills—Week 2.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
LISTENING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 2
He/she is eager and interested in listening.	7	2	1	3	3	4
He/she focuses attention on listening.	3	5	2	3	3	4
He/she outlines what he/she listened/watched.	1	8	1	2	4	4
He/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched.	3	4	3	3	5	2
He/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched.	2	7	1	2	5	3
He/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched.	3	6	1	3	2	5
He/she follows verbal instructions.	6	3	1	3	4	3
He/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages.	3	7		2	2	6

, as regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in listening” of Week 2, 7 students were eager and interested, 2 students were partially eager and interested, and 1 student was not eager and interested in listening in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students were eager and interested, 3 students were partially eager and interested, and 4 students were not eager or interested in listening in traditional groups. As regards the item “he/she focuses attention on listening”, it is observed that 3 students focused their attention, 5 students could partially focus their attention, and 2 students could not focus their attention on listening in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 3 students focused their attention, 3 students could partially focus their attention, and 4 students could not focus their attention on listening. In the item “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 1 student could outline, 8 students could partially outline, and 1 student could not outline what they listened/watched in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could outline, 4 students could partially outline, and 4 students could not outline what they listened/watched. In the item “he/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 3 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. When the item “he/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched” is examined, it was observed that 2 students could answer, 7 students could partially answer, and 1 student could not answer these questions in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examine the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 3 students could not answer these questions. In the item “he/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could express their opinions whereas 6 students could express their opinions partially and 1 student could not express his/her opinions. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could express, 2 students could partially express, and 5 students could not express their opinions. As regards the findings for the item “he/she follows verbal instructions”, it was observed that 6 students could follow, 3 students could partially follow, and 1 student could not follow verbal instructions. In the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could follow, 4 students could partially follow, and 3 students could not follow verbal instructions. When it comes to the item “he/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages”, it was observed that 3 students comprehended, and 7 students partially comprehended the speaker’s non-verbal messages in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that in the traditional group, 2 students comprehended, 2 students partially comprehended, and 6 students did not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages.

As can be seen in

Table 10. Findings related to teacher observations on listening skills—Week 3.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
LISTENING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 3
He/she is eager and interested in listening.	5	4	1	3	3	4
He/she focuses attention on listening.	3	5	2	2	4	4
He/she outlines what he/she listened/watched.	1	8	1	2	5	3
He/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched.	3	6	1	3	5	2
He/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched.	3	5	2	2	5	3
He/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched.	3	7		3	2	5
He/she follows verbal instructions.	6	3	1	3	4	3
He/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages.	4	6		2	2	6

, as regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in listening” of Week 3, 5 students were eager and interested, 4 students were partially eager and interested, and 1 student was not eager and interested in listening in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students were eager and interested, 3 students were partially eager and interested, and 4 students were not eager or interested in listening in the traditional group. As regards the item “he/she focuses attention on listening”, it is observed that 3 students focused their attention, 5 students could partially focus their attention, and 2 students could not focus their attention on listening in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 2 students focused their attention, 4 students could partially focus their attention, and 4 students could not focus their attention on listening. In the item “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 1 student could outline, 8 students could partially outline, and 1 student could not outline what they listened/watched in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could outline, 5 students could partially outline, and 3 students could not outline what they listened/watched. In the item “he/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 6 students could partially identify, and 1 student could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. When the item “he/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched” is examined, it was observed that 3 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 2 students could not answer these questions in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 3 students could not answer these questions. In the item “he/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could express their opinions, whereas 7 students could partially express their opinions. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could express, 2 students could partially express, and 5 students could not express their opinions. As regards the item “he/she follows verbal instructions”, it was observed that 6 students could follow, 3 students could partially follow, and 1 student could not follow verbal instructions. In the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could follow, 4 students could partially follow, and 3 students could not follow verbal instructions. When it comes to the item “he/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages”, it was observed that 4 students comprehended and 6 students partially comprehended the speaker’s non-verbal messages in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that in the traditional group, 2 students comprehended, 2 students partially comprehended, and 6 students did not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group was found to be better in terms of eagerness and interest in listening, focusing attention on listening, answering the questions related to what he/she listened/watched, following verbal instructions, and comprehending the speaker’s non-verbal messages whereas a traditional group is better in terms of outlining what they listened to/watched.

As can be seen in

Table 11. Findings related to teacher observations on listening skills—Week 4.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
LISTENING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 4
He/she is eager and interested in listening.	7	1	2	3	5	2
He/she focuses attention on listening.	4	5	1	3	3	4
He/she outlines what he/she listened/watched.	3	7		3	6	1
He/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched.	3	6	1	3	5	2
He/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched.	4	5	1	2	5	3
He/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched.	5	4	1	3	2	5
He/she follows verbal instructions.	6	4		3	4	3
He/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages.	7	3		2	4	4

, as regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in listening” of Week 4, 7 students were eager and interested, 1 student was partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students were eager and interested, 5 students were partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the traditional group. As regards the item “he/she focuses attention on listening”, it is observed that 4 students focused their attention, 5 students could partially focus their attention, and 1 student could not focus their attention on listening in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 3 students focused their attention, 3 students could partially focus their attention, and 4 students could not focus their attention on listening. In the item “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students could outline, 7 students could partially outline in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could outline, 6 students could partially outline, and 1 student could not outline what they listened/watched. In the item “he/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 6 students could partially identify, and 1 student could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. When the item “he/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched” is examined, it was observed that 4 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 1 student could not answer these questions in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 3 students could not answer these questions. In the item “he/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group could express, 4 students could partially express, and 1 student could not express their opinions. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could express, 2 students could partially express, and 5 students could not express their opinions. As regards the findings for the item “he/she follows verbal instructions”, it was observed that 6 students could follow, and 4 students could partially follow verbal instructions in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could follow, 4 students could partially follow, and 3 students could not follow verbal instructions. When it comes to the item “he/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages”, it was observed that 7 students comprehended, and 3 students partially comprehended the speaker’s non-verbal messages in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that in the traditional group, 2 students comprehended, 4 students partially comprehended, and 4 students did not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group was found to be better in terms of eagerness and interest in listening, focusing attention on listening, answering the questions related to what he/she listened/watched, expressing his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched, following verbal instructions, and comprehending the speaker’s non-verbal messages whereas a traditional group is better in terms of outlining what they listened to/watched.

As can be seen in

Table 12. Findings related to teacher observations on listening skills—Week 5.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
LISTENING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 5
He/she is eager and interested in listening.	7	1	2	3	5	2
He/she focuses attention on listening.	6	2	2	3	5	2
He/she outlines what he/she listened/watched.	2	7	1	3	6	1
He/she idenfities the subject of what he/she listened/watched.	4	5	1	3	5	2
He/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched.	4	6		2	5	3
He/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched.	5	4	1	3	2	5
He/she follows verbal instructions.	7	3		3	4	3
He/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages.	5	5		4	2	4

, as regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in listening” of Week 5, 7 students were eager and interested, 1 student was partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students were eager and interested, 5 students were partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the traditional group. As regards the item “he/she focuses attention on listening”, it is observed that 6 students focused their attention, whereas 2 students could partially focus their attention and 2 students could not focus their attention on listening in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 3 students focused their attention, 5 students could partially focus their attention, and 2 students could not focus their attention on listening. In the item “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 2 students could outline, 7 students could partially outline in the educational play group, and 1 student could not outline. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could outline, 6 students could partially outline, and 1 student could not outline what they listened/watched. In the item “he/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 1 student could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. When the item “he/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched” is examined, it was observed that 4 students could answer, and 6 students could partially answer these questions in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 3 students could not answer these questions. In the item “he/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group could express, 4 students could partially express, and 1 student could not express their opinions. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could express, 2 students could partially express, and 5 students could not express their opinions. As regards the findings for the item “he/she follows verbal instructions”, it was observed that 7 students could follow, and 3 students could partially follow verbal instructions in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could follow, 4 students could partially follow, and 3 students could not follow verbal instructions. When it comes to the item “he/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages”, it was observed that 5 students comprehended, and 5 students partially comprehended the speaker’s non-verbal messages in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that in the traditional group, 4 students comprehended, 2 students partially comprehended, and 4 students did not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group was better in all the items but “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”.

As can be seen in

Table 13. Findings related to teacher observations on listening skills—Week 6.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
LISTENING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 6
He/she is eager and interested in listening.	7	2	1	3	5	2
He/she focuses attention on listening.	5	4	1	3	5	2
He/she outlines what he/she listened/watched.	5	5		3	6	1
He/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched.	5	4	1	3	5	2
He/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched.	5	4	1	2	5	3
He/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched.	4	6		3	6	1
He/she follows verbal instructions.	8	2		5	2	3
He/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages.	6	3	1	4	5	1

, as regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in listening” of Week 6, 7 students were eager and interested, 2 students were partially eager and interested, and 1 student was not eager and interested in listening in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 3 students were eager and interested, 5 students were partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the traditional group. As regards the item “he/she focuses attention on listening”, it is observed that 5 students focused their attention, 4 students could partially focus their attention, and 1 student could not focus their attention on listening in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 3 students focused their attention, 5 students could partially focus their attention, and 2 students could not focus their attention on listening. In another item, “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 5 students could outand line, 5 students could partially outline in the educational play group. With regards to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could outline, 6 students could partially outline, and 1 student could not outline what they listened/watched. In the item “he/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group could identify, 4 students could partially identify, and 1 student could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. When the item “he/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched” is examined, it was observed that 5 students could answer, 4 students could partially answer, and 1 student could not answer these questions in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 3 students could not answer these questions. In the item “he/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group could express their opinions, whereas 6 students could partially express their opinions. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could express, 6 students could partially express, and 1 student could not express their opinions. As regards the findings for the item “he/she follows verbal instructions”, it was observed that 8 students could follow, and 2 students could partially follow verbal instructions in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 5 students could follow, 2 students could partially follow, and 3 students could not follow verbal instructions. When it comes to the item “he/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages”, it was observed that 6 students comprehended, 3 students partially comprehended, and 1 student could not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that in the traditional group, 4 students comprehended, 5 students partially comprehended, and 1 student did not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group was found to be better in all the items.

As can be seen in

Table 14. Findings related to teacher observations on listening skills—Week 7.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
LISTENING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 7
He/she is eager and interested in listening.	8		2	4	4	2
He/she focuses attention on listening.	5	4	1	3	5	2
He/she outlines what he/she listened/watched.	3	7		3	6	1
He/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched.	4	5	1	3	5	2
He/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched.	3	5	2	2	5	3
He/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched.	5	5		3	6	1
He/she follows verbal instructions.	8	1	1	5	2	3
He/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages.	8	1	1	4	5	1

, as regards the item “he/she is eager and interested in listening” of Week 7, 8 students were eager and interested and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that 4 students were eager and interested, 4 students were partially eager and interested, and 2 students were not eager or interested in listening in the traditional group. As regards the item “he/she focuses attention on listening”, it is observed that 5 students focused their attention, 4 students could partially focus their attention, and 1 student could not focus their attention on listening in the educational play group. When it comes to the traditional group, it is observed that 3 students focused their attention, 5 students could partially focus their attention, and 2 students could not focus their attention on listening. In the item “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 3 students could outline, and 7 students could partially outline in the educational play group. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students could outline, 6 students could partially outline, and 1 student could not outline what they listened/watched. In the item “he/she identifies the subject of what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group could identify, 5 students could partially identify, and 1 student could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group could identify 5 students could partially identify, and 2 students could not identify the subject of what they listened/watched. When the item “he/she answers to questions related to what he/she listened/watched” is examined, it was observed that 3 students could answer, 5 students could partially answer, and 2 students could not answer these questions in the educational play group. On the other hand, when we examined the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students could answer, whereas 5 students could partially answer, and 3 students could not answer these questions. In the item “he/she can express his/her opinions about what he/she listened/watched”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group could express their opinions, whereas 5 students could partially express their opinions. When it comes to the traditional group, it was found that 3 students could express, 6 students could partially express, and 1 student could not express their opinions. As regards the item “he/she follows verbal instructions”, it was observed that 8 students could follow, 1 student could partially follow, and 1 student could not follow verbal instructions in the educational play group. In the traditional group, it was found that 5 students could follow, 2 students could partially follow, and 3 students could not follow verbal instructions. When it comes to the item “he/she comprehends the speaker’s non-verbal messages”, it was observed that 8 students comprehended, 1 student partially comprehended, and 1 student could not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages in the educational play group. On the other hand, it was observed that in the traditional group, 4 students comprehended, 5 students partially comprehended, and 1 student did not comprehend the speaker’s non-verbal messages. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group was found to be better in all the items with the exception of the item “he/she outlines what he/she listened/watched”.

4.3. Findings Related to Teacher Observations on Speaking Skill

As can be seen in

Table 15. Findings related to teacher observations on speaking skills—Week 1.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
SPEAKING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 1
Uses words in accordance with their meanings.	3	7		3	6	1
Participates in class discussions and conversations.	3	1	6	3	2	5
Pronounces words correctly.	3	6	1	3	4	3
Uses gestures and facial expressions.	3	5	2	3	4	3
Speaks with an audible tone of voice.	4	2	4	3	3	4
Adds an emotional tone to his/her voice.	3	4	3	4	3	3
Speaks with confidence.	3		7	2	2	6
Speaks without going off-topic.	1	5	4	2	4	4

, as regards speaking skill, in the item “uses words in accordance with their meanings” in Week 1, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group used, whereas 7 students did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 6 students partially used, and 1 student did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the item “participates in class discussions and conversations”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group participated, 1 student partially participated, and 6 students did not participate in class discussions and conversations. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students participated, 2 students partially participated, and 5 students did not participate in class discussions and conversations. As regards the item “pronounces words correctly”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational group pronounced, 6 students partially pronounced, and 1 student did not pronounce words correctly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students pronounced, 4 students partially pronounced, and 3 students could not pronounce words correctly. In the item “uses gestures and facial expressions”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group used, 5 students partially used, and 2 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 4 students partially used, and 3 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. When we look at the item “speaks with an audible tone of voice”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group spoke, 2 students partially spoke, and 4 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students spoke, 3 students partially spoke, and 4 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the item “adds emotional tone to his/her voice”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group added, 4 students partially added, and 3 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. In the traditional group, on the other hand, it was observed that 4 students added, 3 students partially added, and 3 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. As regards the item “speaks with confidence”, it was observed that 3 students in educational play group spoke, whereas 7 students did not speak with confidence. In the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students spoke, 2 students partially spoke, and 6 students did not speak with confidence. The findings of the last item, “speaks without going off topic” show that, in the educational play group, 1 student spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 4 students did not speak without going off-topic. It was observed that in the traditional group, 2 students spoke, 4 students partially spoke, and 4 students did not speak without going off-topic.

As can be seen in

Table 16. Findings related to teacher observations on speaking skills—Week 2.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
SPEAKING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 2
Uses words in accordance with their meanings.	3	6	1	4	3	3
Participates in class discussions and conversations.	3	7		3	2	5
Pronounces words correctly.	4	6		4	2	4
Uses gestures and facial expressions.	6	1	3	5	1	4
Speaks with an audible tone of voice.	4	4	2	4	3	3
Adds emotional tone to his/her voice.	4	1	5	4	2	4
Speaks with confidence.	4	1	5	4		6
Speaks without going off-topic.	2	6	2	3	5	2

, as regards speaking skill, in the item “uses words in accordance with their meanings” in Week 2, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group used, 6 students partially used, and 1 student did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students used, 3 students partially used, and 3 students did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the item “participates in class discussions and conversations”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group participated, and 7 students did not participate in class discussions and conversations. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students participated, 2 students partially participated, and 5 students did not participate in class discussions and conversations. As regards the item “pronounces words correctly”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational group pronounced words correctly, and 6 students pronounced them partially correctly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students pronounced words correctly, 2 students pronounced words partially correctly, and 4 students could not pronounce them correctly. In the item “uses gestures and facial expressions”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group used, 1 student partially used, and 3 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students used, 1 student partially used, and 4 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. When we look at the “speaks with an audible tone of voice” item, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group spoke, 4 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 3 students partially spoke, and 3 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the item “adds emotional tone to his/her voice”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group added, 1 student partially added, and 5 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. In the traditional group, on the other hand, it was observed that 4 students added, 2 students partially added, and 4 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. As regards the item “speaks with confidence”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group spoke, 1 student partially spoke, and 5 students did not speak with confidence. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, and 6 students did not speak with confidence. The findings of the last item, “speaks without going off topic” show that, in the educational play group, 2 students spoke, 6 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic. It was observed that in the traditional group, 3 students spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic.

As can be seen in

Table 17. Findings related to teacher observations on speaking skills—Week 3.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
SPEAKING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 3
Uses words in accordance with their meanings.	3	5	2	4	3	3
Participates in class discussions and conversations.	6	3	1	3	2	5
Pronounces words correctly.	4	5	1	4	2	4
Uses gestures and facial expressions.	7		3	5	1	4
Speaks with an audible tone of voice.	5	4	1	4	3	3
Adds emotional tone to his/her voice.	4	5	1	4	2	4
Speaks with confidence.	4	1	5	4		6
Speaks without going off-topic.	2	6	2	3	5	2

, as regards speaking skill, in the item “uses words in accordance with their meanings” in Week 3, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group used, 5 students partially used, and 2 students did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students used, 3 students partially used, and 3 students did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the item “participates in class discussions and conversations”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group participated, 3 students partially participated, and 1 student did not participate in class discussions and conversations. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students participated, 2 students partially participated, and 5 students did not participate in class discussions and conversations. As regards the item “pronounces words correctly”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational group pronounced words correctly, 5 students pronounced words partially correctly, and 1 student pronounced them incorrectly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students pronounced words correctly, 2 students pronounced words partially correctly, and 4 students could not pronounce them correctly. In the item “uses gestures and facial expressions”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group used, and 3 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students used, 1 student partially used, and 4 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. When we look at the “item speaks with an audible tone of voice”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group spoke, 4 students partially spoke, and 1 student did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 3 students partially spoke, and 3 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the item “adds emotional tone to his/her voice”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group added, 5 students partially added, and 1 student did not add an emotional tone to their voice. In the traditional group, on the other hand, it was observed that 4 students added, 2 students partially added, and 4 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. As regards the item “speaks with confidence”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group spoke, 1 student partially spoke, and 5 students did not speak with confidence. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, and 6 students did not speak with confidence. The findings of the last item “speaks without going off topic” show that, in the educational play group, 2 students spoke, 6 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic. It was observed that in the traditional group, 3 students spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better at participating in class discussions and conversations, using gestures and facial expressions, and speaking with an audible tone of voice, whereas the traditional group was better at using words in accordance with their meanings and speaking without going off-topic.

As can be seen in

Table 18. Findings related to teacher observations on speaking skills—Week 4.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
SPEAKING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 4
Uses words in accordance with their meanings.	5	4	1	4	4	2
Participates in class discussions and conversations.	6	3	1	3	3	4
Pronounces words correctly.	7	3		5	2	3
Uses gestures and facial expressions.	8	1	1	5	2	3
Speaks with an audible tone of voice.	4	6		4	3	3
Adds emotional tone to his/her voice.	6		4	4	1	5
Speaks with confidence.	4	5	1	4	1	5
Speaks without going off-topic.	2	6	2	3	5	2

, as regards speaking skill, in the item “uses words in accordance with their meanings” in Week 4, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group used, 4 students partially used, and 1 student did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students used, 4 students partially used, and 2 students did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the item “participates in class discussions and conversations”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group participated, 3 students partially participated, and 1 student did not participate in class discussions and conversations. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students participated, 3 students partially participated, and 4 students did not participate in class discussions and conversations. As regards the item “pronounces words correctly”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational group pronounced words correctly, whereas 3 students pronounced them partially correctly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students pronounced words correctly, 2 students pronounced words partially correctly, and 3 students could not pronounce them correctly. In the item “uses gestures and facial expressions”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group used, 1 student partially used, and 1 student did not use gestures and facial expressions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students used, 2 students partially used, and 3 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. When we look at the item “speaks with an audible tone of voice”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group spoke, and 6 students partially spoke with an audible tone of voice. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 3 students partially spoke, and 3 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the item “adds emotional tone to his/her voice”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group added, and 4 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. In the traditional group, on the other hand, it was observed that 4 students added, 1 student partially added, and 5 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. As regards the findings for the item “speaks with confidence”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 1 student did not speak with confidence. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 1 student partially spoke, and 5 students did not speak with confidence. The findings of the last item, “speaks without going off topic” show that, in the educational play group, 2 students spoke, 6 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic. It was observed that in the traditional group, 3 students spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better at using words in accordance with their meanings, participating in class discussions and conversations, pronouncing words correctly, using gestures and facial expressions, and adding an emotional tone to their voice, whereas the traditional group was better in speaking without going off-topic.

As can be seen in

Table 19. Findings related to teacher observations on speaking skills—Week 5.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
SPEAKING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 5
Uses words in accordance with their meanings.	7	3		4	5	1
Participates in class discussions and conversations.	8	2		4	4	2
Pronounces words correctly.	7	3		5	3	2
Uses gestures and facial expressions.	9		1	5	2	3
Speaks with an audible tone of voice.	7	3		4	3	3
Adds emotional tone to his/her voice.	5	1	4	4	1	5
Speaks with confidence.	4	5	1	4	2	4
Speaks without going off-topic.	2	5	3	3	5	2

, as regards speaking skill, in the item “uses words in accordance with their meanings” in Week 5, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group used, and 3 students partially used words in accordance with their meaning. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students used, 5 students partially used, and 1 student did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the item “participates in class discussions and conversations”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group participated, and 2 students partially participated in class discussions and conversations. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students participated, 4 students partially participated, and 2 students did not participate in class discussions and conversations. As regards the item “pronounces words correctly”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational group pronounced words correctly, whereas 3 students pronounced them partially correctly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students pronounced words correctly, 3 students pronounced them partially correctly, and 2 students could not pronounce them correctly. In the item “uses gestures and facial expressions”, it was observed that 9 students in the educational play group used, and 1 student did not use gestures and facial expressions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students used, 2 students partially used, and 3 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. When we look at the “speaks with an audible tone of voice” item, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group spoke, and 3 students partially spoke with an audible tone of voice. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 3 students partially spoke, and 3 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the item “adds emotional tone to his/her voice”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group added, 1 student partially added, and 4 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. In the traditional group, on the other hand, it was observed that 4 students added, 1 student partially added, and 5 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. With regards to the findings for the “speaks with confidence” item, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group spoke, 5 students partially spoke with confidence, and 1 student did not speak with confidence. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 2 students partially spoke, and 4 students did not speak with confidence. The findings of the last item, “speaks without going off topic”, show that, in the educational play group, 2 students spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 3 students did not speak without going off-topic. It was observed that in the traditional group, 3 students spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better at using words in accordance with their meanings, participating in class discussions and conversations, pronouncing words correctly, using gestures and facial expressions, speaking with an audible tone of voice, and adding emotional tone to his/her voice whereas the traditional group was better in speaking without going off-topic.

As can be seen in

Table 20. Findings related to teacher observations on speaking skills—Week 6.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
SPEAKING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 6
Uses words in accordance with their meanings.	8	2		4	5	1
Participates in class discussions and conversations.	8	2		4	4	2
Pronounces words correctly.	8	2		5	3	2
Uses gestures and facial expressions.	9		1	5	2	3
Speaks with an audible tone of voice.	7	3		4	3	3
Adds emotional tone to his/her voice.	6	1	3	4	1	5
Speaks with confidence.	4	6		4	2	4
Speaks without going off-topic.	3	7		3	5	2

, as regards speaking skill, in the item “uses words in accordance with their meanings” in Week 6, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group used, and 2 students partially used words in accordance with their meaning. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students used, 5 partially used, and 1 student did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the item “participates in class discussions and conversations”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group participated, and 2 students partially participated in class discussions and conversations. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students participated, 4 students partially participated, and 2 students did not participate in class discussions and conversations. As regards the item “pronounces words correctly”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational group pronounced words correctly, and 2 students pronounced them partially correctly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students pronounced correctly, 3 students pronounced partially correctly, and 2 students could not pronounce correctly. In the item “uses gestures and facial expressions”, it was observed that 9 students in the educational play group used, and 1 student did not use gestures and facial expressions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students used, 2 students partially used, and 3 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. When we look at the “speaks with an audible tone of voice” item, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group spoke, and 3 students partially spoke with an audible tone of voice. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 3 students partially spoke, and 3 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the item “adds emotional tone to his/her voice”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group added, 1 student partially added, and 3 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. In the traditional group, on the other hand, it was observed that 4 students added, 1 student partially added, and 5 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. As regards the findings for the “speaks with confidence” item, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group spoke, whereas 6 students partially spoke with confidence. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 2 students partially spoke, and 4 students did not speak with confidence. The findings of the last item, “speaks without going off topic”, show that, in the educational play group, 3 students spoke, and 7 students partially spoke without going off-topic. It was observed that in the traditional group, 3 students spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better in using words in accordance with their meanings, participating in class discussions and conversations, pronouncing words correctly, using gestures and facial expressions, speaking with an audible tone of voice and adding emotional tone to his/her voice.

As can be seen in

Table 21. Findings related to teacher observations on speaking skills—Week 7.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
SPEAKING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 7
Uses words in accordance with their meanings.	7	3		4	5	1
Participates in class discussions and conversations.	8	2		4	5	1
Pronounces words correctly.	7	3		5	3	2
Uses gestures and facial expressions.	8	2		5	2	3
Speaks with an audible tone of voice.	7	3		4	4	2
Adds an emotional tone to his/her voice.	6	3	1	4	1	5
Speaks with confidence.	5	5		4	2	4
Speaks without going off-topic.	3	7		3	5	2

, as regards speaking skill, in the item “uses words in accordance with their meanings” in Week 7, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group used, and 3 students partially used words in accordance with their meaning. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students used, 5 students partially used, and 1 student did not use words in accordance with their meaning. In the item “participates in class discussions and conversations”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group participated, and 2 students partially participated in class discussions and conversations. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students participated, 5 students partially participated, and 1 student did not participate in class discussions and conversations. As regards the item “pronounces words correctly”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational group pronounced words correctly, whereas 3 students pronounced words partially correctly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students pronounced words correctly, 3 students pronounced them partially correctly, and 2 students could not pronounce them correctly. In the item “uses gestures and facial expressions”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group used and 2 partially used gestures and facial expressions. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students used, 2 students partially used, and 3 students did not use gestures and facial expressions. When we look at the “speaks with an audible tone of voice” item, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group spoke, and 3 students partially spoke with an audible tone of voice. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 4 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak with an audible tone of voice. In the item “adds emotional tone to his/her voice”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group added, 3 students partially added, and 1 student did not add an emotional tone to their voice. In the traditional group, on the other hand, it was observed that 4 students added, 1 student partially added, and 5 students did not add an emotional tone to their voice. As regards the findings for the “speaks with confidence” item, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group spoke, whereas 5 students partially spoke with confidence. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students spoke, 2 students partially spoke, and 4 students did not speak with confidence. The findings of the last item, “speaks without going off topic”, show that, in the educational play group, 3 students spoke, and 7 students partially spoke without going off-topic. It was observed that in the traditional group, 3 students spoke, 5 students partially spoke, and 2 students did not speak without going off-topic. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better in all the items except the “speaks without going off topic” item.

4.4. Findings Related to Teacher Observations on Writing Skill

As can be seen in

Table 22. Findings related to teacher observations on writing skills—Week 1.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
WRITING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 1
Writes short texts.	3	6	1	4	4	2
Uses capital letters properly.	2	7	1	3	5	2
Uses punctuation marks properly.	2	4	4	3	3	4
Designated a title suitable for the content of the essay.	2	5	3	2	4	4
Writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject.	2	4	4	3	4	3
Completes the essay by the deadline.	2	5	3	3	3	4
Writes original essays.	3	5	2	4	3	3
He/she is interested in writing.	3	3	4	4	4	2

, as regards writing skill, in Week 1, in the item “writes short texts”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group wrote, 6 students partially wrote, and 1 student did not write short texts. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 2 students did not write short texts. In the item “uses capital letters properly”, it was observed that 2 students in the educational play group used, 7 students partially used, and 1 student did not use capital letters properly. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 5 students partially used, and 2 students did not use capital letters properly. In the item “uses punctuation marks properly”, it was observed that 2 students in educational play group used, 4 students partially used, and 4 students did not use punctuation marks properly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 3 students partially used, and 4 students did not use punctuation marks properly. In the item “designates a title suitable for the content of the essay”, it was observed that 2 students in the educational play group designated, 3 students partially designated, and 5 students did not designate a title suitable for the content of the essay. In the traditional group, it was observed that 2 students designated, 4 students partially designated, and 4 students did not designate a title suitable for the content of the essay. When we look at the item “writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject”, it was found that 2 students in the educational play group wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 4 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the item “completes the essay by the deadline”, it was observed that 2 students in the educational play group completed, 5 students partially completed, and 3 students did not complete the essay by the deadline. When we look at the traditional group, it was found that 3 students completed, 3 students partially completed, and 4 students did not complete the essay by the deadline. In terms of the item “writes original essays”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group wrote, 5 students partially wrote, and 2 students did not write original essays. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 3 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write original essays. According to the last item, “he/she is interested in writing”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group were interested, 3 students were partially interested, and 4 students were not interested in writing. As regards the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students were interested, 4 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing.

As can be seen in

Table 23. Findings related to teacher observations on writing skills—Week 2.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
WRITING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 2
Writes short texts.	4	4	2	4	4	2
Uses capital letters properly.	3	6	1	3	5	2
Uses punctuation marks properly.	2	5	3	3	3	4
Designates a title suitable for the content of the essay.	5	3	2	4	4	2
Writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject.	3	5	2	3	4	3
Completes the essay by the deadline.	7		3	5	3	2
Writes original essays.	6	2	2	4	3	3
He/she is interested in writing.	2	5	3	4	4	2

, as regards writing skill, in Week 2, in the item “writes short texts”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 2 students did not write short texts. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 2 students did not write short texts. In the item “uses capital letters properly”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group used, 6 students partially used, and 1 student did not use capital letters properly. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 5 students partially used, and 2 students did not use capital letters properly. In the item “uses punctuation marks properly”, it was observed that 2 students in the educational play group used, 5 students partially used, and 3 students did not use punctuation marks properly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 3 students partially used, and 4 students did not use punctuation marks properly. In the item “designates a title suitable for the content of the essay”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group designated, 3 students partially designated, and 3 students did not designate a title suitable for the content of the essay. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students designated, 4 students partially designated, and 3 students did not designate a title suitable for the content of the essay. When we look at the item “writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject”, it was found that 3 students in the educational play group wrote, 5 students partially wrote, and 2 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the item “completes the essay by the deadline”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group completed and 3 students did not complete the essay by the deadline. When we look at the traditional group, it was found that 5 students completed, 3 students partially completed, and 2 students did not complete the essay by the deadline. In terms of the item “writes original essays”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group wrote, 2 students partially wrote, and 2 students did not write original essays. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 3 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write original essays. According to the last item, “he/she is interested in writing”, it was observed that 2 students in the educational play group were interested, 5 students were partially interested, and 3 students were not interested in writing. With regards to the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students were interested, 4 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing.

As can be seen in

Table 24. Findings related to teacher observations on writing skills—Week 3.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
WRITING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 3
Writes short texts.	7		3	5		5
Uses capital letters properly.	4	4	2	3	5	2
Uses punctuation marks properly.	1	6	3	3	3	4
Designates a title suitable for the content of the essay.	3	4	3	5	5
Writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject.	4	3	3	3	4	3
Completes the essay by the deadline.	6	2	2	5	5
Writes original essays.	3	4	3	4	3	3
He/she is interested in writing.	3	4	3	4	4	2

, as regards writing skill, in Week 3, in the item “writes short texts”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group wrote, and 3 students did not write short texts. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students wrote, and 5 students did not write short texts. In the item “uses capital letters properly”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group used, 4 students partially used, and 2 students did not use capital letters properly. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 5 students partially used, and 2 students did not use capital letters properly. In the item “uses punctuation marks properly”, it was observed that 1 student in the educational play group used, 6 students partially used, and 3 students did not use punctuation marks properly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 3 students partially used, and 4 students did not use punctuation marks properly. In the item “designates a title suitable for the content of the essay”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group designated, 4 students partially designated, and 3 students did not designate a title suitable for the content of the essay. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students designated, and 5 students partially designated a title suitable for the content of the essay. When we look at the item “writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject”, it was found that 4 students in the educational play group wrote, 3 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the item “completes the essay by the deadline”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group completed, 2 students partially completed, and 2 students did not complete the essay by the deadline. When we look at the traditional group, it was found that 5 students completed, and 5 students partially completed the essay by the deadline. In terms of the findings of “writes original essays” item, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write original essays. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 3 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write original essays. According to the last item, “he/she is interested in writing”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group were interested, 4 students were partially interested, and 3 students were not interested in writing. With regards to the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students were interested, 4 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better at writing short texts, using capital letters properly, writing in accordance with the integrity of the subject, and completing the essay by the deadline items whereas the traditional group was better in using punctuation marks properly, designating a title suitable for the content of the essay, writing original essays and being interested in writing.

As can be seen in

Table 25. Findings related to teacher observations on writing skills—Week 4.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
WRITING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 4
Writes short texts.	3	3	4	5		5
Uses capital letters properly.	3	7		3	5	2
Uses punctuation marks properly.	3	5	2	3	3	4
Designates a title suitable for the content of the essay.	6	4		5	5
Writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject.	4	3	3	3	4	3
Completes the essay by the deadline.	7		3	5	5
Writes original essays.	5	5		4	3	3
He/she is interested in writing.	4	5	1	4	4	2

, as regards writing skill, in Week 4, in the item “writes short texts”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group wrote, 3 students partially wrote, and 4 students did not write short texts. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students wrote short texts, and 5 students did not write short texts. In the item “uses capital letters properly”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group used, and 7 students partially used capital letters properly. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 5 students partially used, and 2 students did not use capital letters properly. In the item “uses punctuation marks properly”, it was observed that 3 students in the educational play group used, 5 students partially used, and 2 students did not use punctuation marks properly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 3 students partially used, and 4 students did not use punctuation marks properly. In the item “designates a title suitable for the content of the essay”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group designated, and 4 students partially designated a title suitable for the content of the essay. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students designated, and 5 students partially designated a title suitable for the content of the essay. When we look at the item “writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject”, it was found that 4 students in the educational play group wrote, 3 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the item “completes the essay by the deadline”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group completed, whereas 3 students did not complete the essay by the deadline. When we look at the traditional group, it was found that 5 students completed, and 5 students partially completed the essay by the deadline. In terms of the findings of “writes original essays” item, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group wrote, and 5 students wrote partially original essays. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 3 students partially wrote, and 3 students did not write original essays. According to the last item, “he/she is interested in writing”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group were interested, 5 students were partially interested, and 1 student was not interested in writing. With regards to the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students were interested, 4 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better at designating a title suitable for the content of the essay, writing in accordance with the integrity of the subject, completing the essay by the deadline, and writing original essays whereas the traditional group was better in writing short texts.

As can be seen in

Table 26. Findings related to teacher observations on writing skills—Week 5.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
WRITING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 5
Writes short texts.	9	1		6		4
Uses capital letters properly.	5	5		3	6	1
Uses punctuation marks properly.	2	8		3	3	4
Designates a title suitable for the content of the essay.	8	2		5	5
Writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject.	6	3	1	5		5
Completes the essay by the deadline.	5	2	3	5	5
Writes original essays.	4	6		4	5	1
He/she is interested in writing.	6	2	2	4	4	2

, as regards writing skill, in Week 5, in the item “writes short texts”, it was observed that 9 students in the educational play group wrote short texts, and 1 student partially wrote short texts. In the traditional group, it was observed that 6 students wrote short texts, and 4 students did not write short texts. In the item “uses capital letters properly”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group used, and 5 students partially used capital letters properly. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 6 students partially used, and 1 student did not use capital letters properly. In the item “uses punctuation marks properly”, it was observed that 2 students in the educational play group used, and 8 students partially used punctuation marks properly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 3 students partially used, and 4 students did not use punctuation marks properly. In the item “designates a title suitable for the content of the essay”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group designated, whereas 2 students partially did not designate a title suitable for the content. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students designated, and 5 students partially designated a title suitable for the content of the essay. When we look at the item “writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject”, it was found that 6 students in the educational play group wrote, 3 students partially wrote, and 1 student did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students wrote, and 5 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the item “completes the essay by the deadline”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group completed, 2 students partially completed, and 3 students did not complete the essay by the deadline. When we look at the traditional group, it was found that 5 students completed 5 students partially completed the essay by the deadline. In terms of the findings of “writes original essays” item, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group wrote original essays, and 6 students partially wrote original essays. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 5 students partially wrote, and 1 student did not write original essays. According to the last item, “he/she is interested in writing”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group were interested, 2 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing. As regards traditional group, it was observed that 4 students were interested, 4 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group was better in writing short texts, using capital letters properly, designating a title suitable for the content of the essay, writing in accordance with the integrity of the subject and being interested in writing. However, traditional group was better in using punctuation marks properly.

As can be seen in

Table 27. Findings related to teacher observations on writing skills—Week 6.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
WRITING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 6
Writes short texts.	7		3	6		4
Uses capital letters properly.	5	5		3	6	1
Uses punctuation marks properly.	5	5		3	3	4
Designates a title suitable for the content of the essay.	7	3		5	5
Writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject.	5	4	1	5		5
Completes the essay by the deadline.	7		3	5	5
Writes original essays.	6	4		4	5	1
He/she is interested in writing.	5	5		4	4	2

, as regards writing skill, in Week 6, in the item “writes short texts”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group wrote short texts, and 3 students did not write short texts. In the traditional group, it was observed that 6 students wrote short texts, and 4 students did not write short texts. In the item “uses capital letters properly”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group used, 5 students partially used capital letters properly. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 6 students partially used, and 1 student did not use capital letters properly. In the item “uses punctuation marks properly”, it was observed that 5 students in educational play group used, and 5 students partially used punctuation marks properly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 3 students partially used, and 4 students did not use punctuation marks properly. In the item “designates a title suitable for the content of the essay”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group designated, whereas 3 students partially designated a title suitable for the content. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students designated, and 5 students partially designated a title suitable for the content of the essay. When we look at the item “writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject”, it was found that 5 students in the educational play group wrote, 4 students partially wrote, and 1 student did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students wrote, and 5 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the item “completes the essay by the deadline”, it was observed that 7 students in the educational play group completed, and 3 students did not complete the essay by the deadline. When we look at the traditional group, it was found that 5 students completed, and 5 students partially completed the essay by the deadline. In terms of the findings of “writes original essays” item, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group wrote, and 4 students partially wrote original essays. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 5 students partially wrote, and 1 student did not write original essays. According to the last item, “he/she is interested in writing”, it was observed that 5 students in the educational play group were interested, and 5 students were partially interested in writing. As regards traditional group, it was observed that 4 students were interested, 4 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing. Based on the findings, it was observed that educational play group was better in all the items with the exception of writing in accordance with the integrity of the subject.

As can be seen in

Table 28. Findings related to teacher observations on writing skills—Week 7.

	Educational Play Group			Traditional Group
WRITING	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed	Observed	Partially Observed	Not Observed
Week 7
Writes short texts.	6	2	2	6		4
Uses capital letters properly.	6	4		3	6	1
Uses punctuation marks properly.	5	5		3	3	4
Designates a title suitable for the content of the essay.	8	2		5	5
Writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject.	7	3		5		5
Completes the essay by the deadline.	8	1	1	5	5
Writes original essays.	6	4		4	5	1
He/she is interested in writing.	4	4	2	4	4	2

, as regards writing skill, in Week 7, in the item “writes short texts”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group wrote, 2 students partially wrote, and 2 students did not write short texts. In the traditional group, it was observed that 6 students wrote, and 4 students did not write short texts. In the item “uses capital letters properly”, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group used, and 4 students partially used capital letters properly. In the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 6 students partially used, and 1 student did not use capital letters properly. In the item “uses punctuation marks properly”, it was observed that 5 students in educational play group used, and 5 students partially used punctuation marks properly. When it comes to the traditional group, it was observed that 3 students used, 3 students partially used, and 4 students did not use punctuation marks properly. In the item “designates a title suitable for the content of the essay”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group designated, and 2 students partially designated a title suitable for the content. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students designated, and 5 students partially designated a title suitable for the content of the essay. When we look at the item “writes in accordance with the integrity of the subject”, it was found that 7 students in the educational play group wrote and 3 students partially wrote in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the traditional group, it was observed that 5 students wrote, and 5 students did not write in accordance with the integrity of the subject. In the item “completes the essay by the deadline”, it was observed that 8 students in the educational play group completed, 1 student partially completed, and 1 student did not complete the essay by the deadline. When we look at the traditional group, it was found that 5 students completed, and 5 students partially completed the essay by the deadline. In terms of the item “writes original essays” item, it was observed that 6 students in the educational play group wrote, and 4 students partially wrote original essays. In the traditional group, it was observed that 4 students wrote, 5 students partially wrote, and 1 student did not write original essays. According to the last item, “he/she is interested in writing”, it was observed that 4 students in the educational play group were interested in writing, 4 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing. As regards traditional group, it was observed that 4 students were interested, 4 students were partially interested, and 2 students were not interested in writing. Based on the findings, it was observed that the educational play group was better in all the items except being interested in writing.

5. Limitations

The number of educational games used in the research and the length of the study (7 weeks) were considered sufficient. However, two limitations of the study are that it was conducted with few students (20) in the third grade of primary school, and only the teacher observation form was used as data collection tool. In future studies on the effect of educational games on language skills, the number of participants can be increased, and researchers can use different data collection tools. Despite all the limitations, this study reveals the importance of educational games on the development of four basic language skills and contributes to the literature in this sense.

6. Discussion and Conclusions

In the study, course plans were prepared to answer the question “What is the effect of educational games on teaching four basic language skills to third grade primary school students?” which is the main problem of the study. These plans were applied in the sample classroom for seven weeks using the educational game method. Interesting and significant findings were obtained in this process which revealed the effect of play-based learning environments on four basic language skills. It is seen that play-based learning settings are extremely effective on the sustainability of education, and that these settings increase student motivation considerably especially in the development of language skills, such as speaking, writing, reading, and listening.

Toraman, Çelik, and Çakmak have emphasized in their article that game-based learning settings increase learning, motivation, and self-efficacy [29]. In addition, they observed that as the weeks progressed in the acquisition of reading skills, the stress and anxiety levels of the students who were educated in game-based learning environments decreased significantly, and they gathered their attention and interest faster than the students who received traditional teaching. Şahin and Başak emphasized in their study that games reduce anxiety and perform a very important role for students to adapt to stressful environments [30].

In the development of listening skills, students need to focus their attention and concentrate more intensively on the education provided compared to other skills. By the final week, it was observed that the educational game group had a better grasp of what they heard and showed more enthusiasm towards the instruction, similar to reading. Gülşah Mete also mentioned in her article that games played in groups are important in developing children’s comprehension and expression skills [18].

In this study, it was observed that the students who were educated in the game-based learning setting were much more confident in speaking and expressing themselves than students who received traditional education. Berrin Genç Ersoy [31] similarly emphasized that games contribute to the socialization of individuals and improve their self-confidence. Additionally, Karataş [32] stated in his thesis that games play an essential role in the development of self-confidence. In this study, it was seen that students who were educated in game-based learning environments were more successful in expressing themselves than the other group. Erol stated in his doctoral thesis [33] that, parallel with the result of this study, educational games are important for students to express themselves confidently.

Today, being creative is one of the most important qualifications expected from both adults and children. Creativity or originality is also one of the most fundamental characteristics of a successful narration. In this context, revealing different and novel aspects is one of the must-have features of a good essay. In this information age, it is essential to receive a good education at a young age in order to produce new and original things.

Writing skill develops more slowly than other language skills. In this study, it was revealed that game-based learning environments enhance children’s creativity and consequently contribute to the development of their writing skills. In the study conducted by Mahir Kalfa [34], it has been stated that well-designed and implemented educational games play a crucial role in enhancing writing skills. In her master’s thesis prepared at Marmara University in 2019, Arzu Özergül [35] similarly emphasized that games in French language textbooks at the primary school level are effective in improving children’s writing skills.

In successful and permanent language learning, practicing the language plays essential role in addition to internalizing grammar rules. Therefore, educational games are among the indispensable elements of language teaching as they facilitate children’s learning by doing in a fun way and in context by providing an effective communication environment. Through educational games, children become an active part of the learning process. At the same time, children’s abilities, such as working in cooperation, taking responsibility, deliberating, making decisions, and creativity, can develop with these games. Today, it is observed that teachers face serious difficulties in ensuring permanence in language teaching, especially foreign language teaching, which is mostly offered with traditional methods. As education and teaching methods are evolving on a daily basis, it has become a necessity for teachers to benefit from educational games in order to provide user-friendly and effective language teaching to students and to improve their communication skills. It is seen that teachers choosing fit-for-purpose games in the development of language skills and applying them accurately will improve language learning of children. While the games develop basic language skills of students, such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing, they also improve their vocabulary and grammar knowledge, which are directly related to these skills.

7. Recommendations

• This study was limited to 20 students (10 experimental, 10 control) enrolled at the third grade of a primary school. Other researchers can perform a similar study in different age groups and compare their findings with the results of this research.
• In this study, only teacher observation form was used as a data collection tool. By using different data collection tools in older age groups, other researchers can observe the roles played by educational games in the development of language skills and compare their findings with the results of this study.
• Projects on the use of educational games in language teaching can be developed in cooperation with institutions and organizations working on language teaching.
• Different games that will contribute to the development of the four basic language skills in the longer term can be designed and implemented considering the expectations of students.
• Courses can be made more enjoyable by including educational games in the textbooks especially prepared for primary education and used for language teaching.
• Considering that we live in the age of technology, computer-assisted and internet-based educational games can be developed for language teaching.
• It is of vital importance to inform foreign language teachers about educational games, and if necessary, to provide in-service trainings on this topic. It is important for them to select and design the relevant games, and effectively implement them in the classroom.