Effectiveness of gamification in the development of lexical fluency and sustainable learning motivation among students of non-linguistic majors

Abstract

The article examines gamification as a didactically organized means of intensifying foreign language training for students of non-linguistic majors, who are characterized by heterogeneous intrinsic motivation, perception of language as a secondary discipline, and the presence of psychological barriers that limit spontaneous professional communication. The central object of analysis is lexical fluency as the ability to rapidly and contextually relevantly retrieve units from long-term memory, as well as the conditions for forming a sustainable motivational profile under the inevitable monotony of lexical work. The theoretical synthesis is based on systemic-structural and comparative-contrastive analysis of concepts of learning motivation and lexical acquisition, clarification of terminology, and modeling of the influence of game elements on processes of memorization and retrieval, with interdisciplinary grounding in the psychology of play, self-determination theory, and psycholinguistics. It is shown that the mechanics of progress visualization, immediate feedback, and repeatability of attempts support the experience of competence, reduce fear of error, and increase the frequency of lexical activation, which facilitates the transition of vocabulary from passive to active repertoire. The role of time constraints in training reaction speed, narrative scenarios in creating mnemonic “anchors” and a cognitive framework, and adaptive difficulty in maintaining a state of flow and learner autonomy is substantiated. Social formats (leaderboards, team quests) are interpreted as a resource of relatedness alongside the concurrent risk of demotivation among students with low self-efficacy; the necessity of balancing competition and cooperation is emphasized. Limitations of the approach are noted, including “point-chasing,” attentional overload by form, and ethically sensitive use of variable rewards, which necessitates the design of tasks where progress is possible only through meaningful use of vocabulary in professionally simulated situations and through the development of metacognitive self-regulation.