The game as a didactic and fun method adapted to Southern Thai students

Abstract

Since its creation, the Prince of Songkla University, Pattani campus, has offered French teaching. However, in recent years, the institution has faced a shortage of native speakers, affecting students' oral skills development. Located alongside Yala and Narathiwat, Pattani faces cultural, political, and security challenges. According to ethnologist Pierre Le Roux (1998), local communities, such as the Jawi, experience marginalization and attempts at assimilation by the state, fostering distrust toward foreigners and complicating exchanges. These dynamics hinder the recruitment of native teachers and slow the development of the educational landscape. In addition to cultural challenges, Pattani remains classified as a red zone by the French Embassy in 2024, with non-essential travel strongly discouraged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This further limit the arrival of external participants, especially native teachers.

Since the beginning of her teaching in Pattani, the author observed that her students, from diverse religious backgrounds—both Buddhist Thais and Muslims—lack oral practice and fluency. While passionate about learning French, students find the traditional teaching approach tedious and monotonous, necessitating an adaptation of pedagogical practices.

In response to these challenges, a playful and interactive pedagogical approach was introduced, incorporating video games, board games, word games, and charades. This approach sparked students' curiosity, creativity, and motivation, promoting exchanges among them and enhancing their comprehension and retention of the language. This article presents an exploratory study on the impact of playful pedagogy in teaching French in a multicultural and security-sensitive context. The methodology is based on classroom observations, discussions with students, and an analysis of end-of-semester student evaluations. These evaluations provide qualitative feedback on the course methods and the chosen pedagogical approach, revealing that, although applied only partially in each session, this approach was perceived by students as motivating and engaging, fostering their learning and progress.