Influence of Students’ Self-Perception of Success or Failure on Their Response to Positive and Negative Feedback During Spanish Learning Activities on Kahoot

Abstract

Kahoot is an educational platform that improves student motivation by incorporating social gaming elements into their learning experiences. Although assessed in many subjects at secondary and tertiary levels, limited studies have investigated student perception of the strategy, particularly in language learning. In addition to the student-focused limitations in the literature, it is evident that the significance of analyzing student perception of game-based activities, particularly regarding the varying types of feedback given, is being severely undervalued. This observation is particularly evident in the Spanish learning space, which is significant, as the individual field has been identified as particularly well aligned with the gaming paradigm. Therefore, this study aimed to address this shortcoming and investigate how students' self-perception of success or failure influences their response to positive and negative feedback through Kahoot! during Spanish learning activities. The survey's findings involving 132 students and teachers showed students generally exhibit strong positive emotional responses to favorable feedback, contributing to confidence and optimism. Negative feedback tends to evoke feelings like hopelessness, shame, or disengagement. Students who perceive themselves as successful are more likely to engage constructively with positive and negative feedback, while those perceiving failure may struggle to maintain engagement. Combining immediate, corrective feedback from Kahoot! with elaborative teacher feedback is essential to maximize learning. Teachers also need to design feedback to minimize negative emotional impact, possibly by framing mistakes as opportunities for growth and providing additional resources or encouragement for students with lower self-perception to foster resilience against negative feedback.