ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AND THE PEDAGOGICAL BENEFITS OF USING QUIZIZZ: A BRAZILIAN CASE STUDY WITH INTERNATIONAL POTENTIAL

Karlucy Farias de Sousa; Andy Goodwyn

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Paper Title

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AND THE PEDAGOGICAL BENEFITS OF USING QUIZIZZ: A BRAZILIAN CASE STUDY WITH INTERNATIONAL POTENTIAL

Authors

Karlucy Farias de Sousa
Andy Goodwyn

Modality

Paper

Subject area

Higher Education Research

Country of Publishing

Brasil

Language of Publishing

en-US

Paper Page

https://www.even3.com.br/anais/wera-focal-meeting-2025/1071846-english-for-specific-purposes-and-the-pedagogical-benefits-of-using-quizizz--a-brazilian-case-study-with-interna

ISBN

978-65-272-1943-9

Keywords

English language teaching, Digital Learning Resources, English for Specific Purposes, evaluation tool, suggestions of activities

Summary

For twenty-first century educators worldwide, using technology in the classroom effectively is a fundamental task since technology has been affecting the way we behave, think, and study. The educational system does not seem to be updated to our current generation of learners. In formal education, for example, reluctant learners are easily identified in our classrooms and institutions around the world. We need to face the challenge of creating motivation, focus and concentration. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a vital element in Higher Education and a global phenomenon, but its value is not always recognised by students. As experienced teachers, we came to the realisation that most higher education students at the Limoeiro do Norte Campus of the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Ceará (IFCE) did not recognise the importance of studying English. They believe they will only need English if they intend to live abroad and they could not see the connection between an ESP course — generally offered in the first semester — and the other subjects they study throughout their respective undergraduate programs. This realisation motivated our research. In attempting to change this reality, we envision the possibility of promoting pedagogical practices through the use of technology. Within this realm, there are Digital Learning Resources (DLR), such as Quizizz, which is promoted on its website (https://quizizz.com/) as a tool capable of enabling assessment, instruction, and practice activities, being used by more than 50 million people in over 150 countries. Therefore, we identified the need to study the intertwining of Quizizz and the teaching of ESP. To achieve this purpose, we outlined two specific objectives: i) To propose an evaluation tool for the pedagogical aspects of DLRs in ESP teaching and ii) To develop activities on Quizizz based on the contents listed in the syllabuses of the mandatory ESP courses at IFCE Limoeiro do Norte Campus. This study is grounded in two theoretical frameworks: English for Specific Purposes, in light of Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Carvalho (2022) and Celani (2009), and Digital Learning Resources, from the perspective of Araújo (2019), Freitas (2019) and Sabota and Pereira (2017). We designed and conducted an applied case study with a qualitative approach, incorporating elements of Exploratory Practice and featuring documentary and descriptive features. The evaluation tool we propose has ten criteria for analysing the pedagogical aspects of DLRs in ESP teaching: 1. Adaptation of activities for students with heterogeneous linguistic proficiency; 2. Affectivity; 3. Benefits of use for students; 4. Capturing students' attention; 5. Assessment conception; 6. Ease of use; 7. Interaction and interactivity; 8. Reusability; 9. Simplification of content learning; 10. Potential for working with the contents listed in the ESP syllabuses. The analyses indicate that Quizizz is a pedagogically relevant DLR for ESP teaching, even though it is not exclusively designed for language teaching. Although this research was based on one institution in Brazil, Quizizz is globally used, which makes this case study a good example for institutions in any country which face similar concerns. In order to prepare activities on Quizizz, we needed to carefully analyse the syllabuses of two undergraduate courses: Food Technology and Environmental Sanitation. There are four common topics in both courses: Noun Phrases, Prediction, Skimming, and Scanning. We outlined an innovative pedagogical proposal for the teaching practice of ESP educators, anchored in our experiences as English teachers. Considering the potential and limitations of Quizizz, we selected the topics of the three reading strategies directly related to activity completion: Prediction, Skimming, and Scanning. The activities were designed as supplementary material for ESP classes, and they can be applied either in the classroom or used for extracurricular study (in order to practice and/or review the topics which were studied). One point to highlight is that the need for internet access is a limitation of Quizizz. By proposing activities using DLRs, this research has advanced the demystifying of the challenge of integrating technological resources into our classrooms. The research findings contribute to the integration of DLRs into teaching, regardless of learners' proficiency levels or fields of study, as DLRs may help in academic subjects in which students face high failure rates or learning difficulties. This case adds to the emerging knowledge in the field of ESP and provides a replicable example for teachers and researchers around the world. The expectation is that future investigations in the field of Applied Linguistics, focusing on ESP and/or DLRs, will continue the research we have initiated.

Title of the Event: Wera Focal Meeting 2025
City of the Event: João Pessoa
Title of the Proceedings of the event: Anais do Wera Focal Meeting 2025
Name of the Publisher: Even3
Means of Dissemination: Meio Digital

How to cite

SOUSA, Karlucy Farias de; GOODWYN, Andy. ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AND THE PEDAGOGICAL BENEFITS OF USING QUIZIZZ: A BRAZILIAN CASE STUDY WITH INTERNATIONAL POTENTIAL.. In: Anaia do Wera Focal Meeting 2025. Anais...João Pessoa(PB) UFPB, 2025. Available in: https//www.even3.com.br/anais/wera-focal-meeting-2025/1071846-ENGLISH-FOR-SPECIFIC-PURPOSES-AND-THE-PEDAGOGICAL-BENEFITS-OF-USING-QUIZIZZ--A-BRAZILIAN-CASE-STUDY-WITH-INTERNA. Access in: 15/07/2026