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1 

 

 
ELT FORUM 11(1) (2022) 

 

Journal of English Language Teaching 

  
http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/elt 

 
 

The impact of game-based student response system on students’ learning outcomes 

in narrative writing 

 

Yuni Dwi Susanti1, Sri Wahyuni2 

 
1,2English Education Study Program, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia

 

Article Info 
________________ 
Article History: 

Received on 8 March 
2022 

Approved on 25 March 
2022 
Published on 30 March 
2022 

________________ 
Keywords:  
Writing; narrative text; 
game-based student 
response system; learning 
outcomes 

________________ 

 

 

 

 

Abstract 
___________________________________________________________________ 
This paper is based on research aiming to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of a 

game-based student response system platform, Kahoot, for teaching narrative writing. 
By using one group pre-test and post-test design, this quantitative research invited the 

eleventh-grade students of a senior high school in the academic year of 2021/2022, to 
actively participate in the project. In this case, the researchers administered a pre-test 

and post-test for measuring the significant difference in students’ scores, before and 

after the implementation of Kahoot. Based on the paired sample t-test result, the p-
value is 0,000. In addition to that, the t-coefficient is greater than the t-table value, 

which is 18,436 > 2,030. It means that the difference between students’ skills in writing 
a narrative text before and after the use of Kahoot, is statistically significant. 

Specifically, Kahoot could enhance students’ writing in terms of organization, ideas 
development, grammar, mechanics, and writing style. Since the p-value is less than 

the significant level or 0,000 < 0,05, and the t-coefficient (18,436) is greater than the 

t-table (2,030), it can be safely concluded that Kahoot could significantly improve 
students’ writing skills, specifically in writing a narrative text.  

 
 Correspondent Address: p-ISSN 2252-6706 | e-ISSN 2721-4532 

B3 Building FBS Unnes  

Sekaran, Gunungpati, Semarang, 50229  

E-mail: yunidwisusanti@students.unnes.ac.id  



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INTRODUCTION 

Writing is considered a part of literacy and the consciousness language in today's society. In the 

context of foreign language learning, writing plays a crucial role in enhancing the other three language 

skills and language components, including vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. For English 

language learners, writing is the most important skill to master among the four basic English language 

skills. Yet, both teachers and students still argued that writing is the most difficult skill for English 

language learners (Kris et al., 2016; Permatasari, 2013). Regan et al. (2019) have discussed in their 

study, with regard to the perceived writing needs for students, that students found writing difficult in 

the context of idea generation, organization, handwriting, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and 

keyboarding. They further explained that students’ writing was full of run-on sentences and lack of 

detail. Muamaroh et al.(2020) also mentioned several factors that affect students’ writing skills, such 

as not being confident in their English writing, low grammar proficiency, low vocabulary mastery, 

and lack of writing practices. In addition, students have been finding it more difficult to improve their 

writing skills during distance learning. They stated that there is a lack of practical use of their writing 

skills during distance learning. In short, writing is recognized as the foremost problem that English 

language learners face. 

In senior high school, students are usually introduced to some English texts that could help 

them in mastering their writing skills. One of those texts is narrative text. The narrative text is usually 

taught in the eleventh grade. In this subject, the students are expected to write a good narrative story 

by themselves. However, based on the preliminary study in a senior high school, the students were 

stated that they still faced some problems in writing, especially in writing a story. The major problems 

they faced are fear of making grammatical mistakes, lack of vocabulary mastery, and problems in idea 

generation. Those problems cause them to not be interested in the writing classroom. Thus, the 

students’ writing skills still needs to be developed.  

In this case, teachers play a crucial role in developing students’ writing abilities. As stated by 

Shahsavar and Asil  (2019) in their study, teachers have to give more assistance to enhance the 

students’ writing skills. Teachers and students must realize that writing does not only require 

knowledge about grammar, ideas, and vocabulary, but writing is a process of planning, initiating, 

monitoring, and evaluating. The existence of intelligence and abilities of the students actually can 

enhance their writing skills. Thus, teachers need to apply a proper teaching strategy that can support 

the students’ learning. For instance, teachers can integrate the use of technology in the classroom. It 

is proven that the use of an ICT platform can be useful for teachers in improving their performance in 

English language teaching (Haswani, 2014; Lee, 2019; Xu et al., 2019). In addition to that, the 

technology integration into classroom practices can also enhance students’ learning as it has been a 

part of a new teaching system for supporting 21st-century skills. Furthermore, the continuation of 

technology use in the classroom is supported by the familiarity of technology among teachers and 

students (Abkarin, 2021).  

One of the technology advancements for educational purposes is a game-based student response 

system platform, Kahoot. Holbrey (2020) has defined Kahoot as a game-based student response 

system platform that is designed as a means to bring classroom engagement by providing some fun 

and enjoyable learning games design. Ruiz (2021) has noted in his research that Kahoot was developed 

in 2013 in order to help teachers in managing their teaching and learning process through any device. 

According to Bawa (2019), there are some interesting and changing values that make Kahoot closely 

relate to effective teaching and learning, including motivating, learning assistance, helpful, exciting, 

entertaining, difficult, and competitive. As a free student response system tool, there are some things 

that a teacher could do by using Kahoot. Firstly, a teacher could use Kahoot for introducing new 

content. Secondly, a teacher can use Kahoot for reviewing content. Next, Kahoot can be used for 

reaching the students who aren’t at school. Besides, Kahoot can be used for teaching interactive 

lessons. Additionally, a teacher can use Kahoot for reinforcing knowledge. Furthermore, Kahoot can 

be used for running a formative assessment. In addition to that, Kahoot can be used for collecting 

students’ opinions. Lastly, Kahoot can be used for fostering creativity and teamwork.  

In classroom practices, Kahoot is commonly used for running a formative assessment 

(Elkhamisy & Wassef, 2021; Kohnke & Moorhouse, 2021; Wang & Tahir, 2020). They further 

mentioned that Kahoot is valuable as an assessment tool, for increasing students’ academic 

performance. In line with that, Goksun and Gursoy (2019) also compared the use of Kahoot and 

Quizzes as an assessment tool. The result showed that Kahoot has a better impact than quizzes. Next, 

in the language classroom, Kahoot has been used for increasing students’ motivation and engagement 



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(Baszuk & Heath, 2020; Piskorz, 2016; Yunus et al., 2019). Those previous findings indicate that not 

all teachers utilize Kahoot for enhancing their teaching performance.  

Based on several studies that have been reviewed, there are still several gaps that have to be 

filled in. Firstly, most previous studies examined the use of game-based student response system 

platform Kahoot, as an assessment tool rather than as a teaching tool. It indicates that Kahoot is 

commonly utilized for administering formative assessment. Secondly, the majority of previous studies 

focused on investigating the use of Kahoot as a tool to improve students’ engagement and classroom 

dynamics, rather than as a tool to improve students’ academic performance. Thirdly, in the language 

classroom, Kahoot was commonly used as a tool to increase students’ motivation and interest rather 

than to increase students’ language skills. Lastly, there is a lack of research that examines the use of 

Kahoot for teaching writing. In short, there has been limited research done on using Kahoot as a 

teaching and learning aid for increasing students’ academic performance in language learning. 

Therefore, the present study responds to a call for investigating the role of Kahoot, as a teaching and 

learning tool, in increasing students’ skills in writing narrative text.  

The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a game-based student response system 

platform, Kahoot, which is used for teaching narrative writing. Thus, the result of the study could 

hopefully be empirical evidence for teachers and students to integrate a game-based student response 

system platform in a more purposeful way towards English language teaching and learning, especially 

for writing class. 

 

METHODS 

The present study is quantitative research which applied the one-group pretest-posttest design. It was 

carried out in a senior high school by inviting thirty-six students of the eleventh-grade, to participate 

in the research. Furthermore, the instrument used for gathering the research data was test, in which 

the students were asked to write a narrative text. This test was developed based on the basic 

competence 4.5, which is stated in the English syllabus for the eleventh-grade students in the academic 

year 2021/2022. Also, the test has been validated by experts before being administered. In relation to 

that, Kahoot was used as the treatment or intervention, for supporting students’ learning. In this case, 

the researchers integrated the teaching materials about narrative writing in the form of Blind 

Kahoot’Ing. By using this concept, the researchers designed the teaching materials for narrative 

writing, which consist of tricky questions and presentation slides. The teaching materials prepared 

were mainly about narrative text and the steps in writing a narrative text.  

Table 1. A Visual Representation of a One-Group Pretest-Posttest Research Design (Allen, 2017) 

Pretest Treatment Posttest 

O1 X O2 

In which: 

O1 : Pretest on the students' writing skills before the treatment is implemented 

O2 : Posttest on the students’ writing skills after the treatment is implemented 

X : Treatment that will be given for the students regarding narrative writing 

 

According to Allen (2017), a one-group pretest-posttest design is carried out in three phases, 

which are pretest, treatment, and posttest. In this study, the pretest was carried out in the first meeting. 

In this case, the students were distributed a paragraph constructing task, that they have to individually 

write a narrative text based on their personal experiences. In addition to that, the researchers provided 

a writing template to use and four writing topics to choose, including childhood memory, funny story, 

embarrassing story, and school memory. Actually, the test is an online assessment that was distributed 

through the class team in Microsoft Teams, and the students compiled their works within three days 

by sending it via email. The next phase was the implementation of a game-based student response 

system platform, Kahoot. In this study, the use of Kahoot was implemented in the second to the fifth 

meeting. Also, it was implemented through discovery learning model, specifically in the problem 

statement stage, data collection stage, data process stage, and verification stage. In this 

implementation phase, the researchers hosted the Kahoot, and the students took a role as the Kahoot 

players. Following the treatment, the posttest was administered in the sixth meeting. For the posttest, 

the students were asked to write a personal narrative text based on one of the four writing topics 



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provided, including place they traveled, surprising story, betrayal, and great accomplishment. 

Basically, the post-test is still the same as the pre-test, which was administered online, and the students 

compiled their work within three days by sending it via email. Moreover, the pre-test and post-test 

scores were needed for testing the research hypotheses, which are the null hypothesis and the 

alternative hypothesis. In this case, the null hypothesis states that there is no significant impact of a 

game-based student response system platform, Kahoot, on students’ writing skills. Whereas, the 

alternative hypothesis states that there is a significant impact of a game-based student response system 

platform, Kahoot, on students’ writing skills. 

There were three phases of data analysis, namely assessing students’ writing, testing the 

normality of the research data, testing the homogeneity of variances, and conducting a paired t-test. 

Firstly, the researchers used a scoring rubric adopted from Brown and Bailey (1984, as cited in Brown 

& Abeywickrama, 2018), that has been validated by experts, for assessing students’ writing. This 

scoring rubric highlights some elements of writing, including organization, writing ideas, grammar, 

mechanics, and style of writing. Secondly, the normality test was conducted in order to know whether 

or not the research data is normally distributed, before administering the paired t-test. This test was 

done using SPSS, specifically used Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The result showed that the research 

data was normally distributed, that then can be analysed using parametric test. Lastly, the paired t-

test was administered for measuring the pretest and posttest scores of students’ writing so that it could 

be known if there is a significant change. The paired t-test was also done using SPSS. 

 

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 

Findings 

The research question that has been investigated by the researchers is how effective a game-based 

student response system platform is in enhancing students’ skills in writing narrative text. In order to 

explore and answer this question, the researchers administered two tests, namely pre-test and post-

test. The student’s individual scores in pre-test and post-test are attached in the Appendix B. Next, the 

test results were analyzed in three phases, namely normality test, homogeneity of variance test, and 

paired samples t-test. For analyzing the normality distribution of the pre-test and the post-test scores, 

the researchers used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The result of the normality test is shown in Table 

2. 

Table 2. The Normality Test Result 
One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test 

 PreTest PostTest 

N 36 36 

Normal Parameters a,b Mean 53.1944 76.8056 

 Std. Deviation 9.41373 5.18690 

Most Extreme Differences Absolute .105 .092 

 Positive .105 .089 

 Negative -.081 -.092 

Test Statistic .105 .092 

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .200c,d .200c,d 

a. Test distribution is Normal. 

b. Calculated from data. 

c. Lilliefors Significance Correction. 

d. This is a lower bound of the true significance. 

 

Generally speaking, a normality test is required to determine whether the research data will be 

analyzed using a parametric test or a non-parametric test. The rule of this test states that the data will 

be analyzed using a parametric test only if the research data is normally distributed. Whereas, the data 

will be analyzed using a non-parametric test if the data is not distributed normally. In line with that, 

the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test’ rule mentions that a research data is considered normally distributed 

if the p-value is more than 0,05. On the other hand, the test is considered not distributed normally if 

the p-value is less than 0,05. As shown in Table 2, the test distribution result is normal as the 

significance value or the p-value is 0,200. Thus, the research data in the present study could be 

analyzed using a parametric test. 

In addition to the normality test, the researchers also tested the homogeneity of variance of the 

research data. The result shows in Table 3. 



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Table 3. The Homogeneity of Variances Test Result 
Test of Homogeneity of Variances 

 Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig. 

PreTest Based on Mean 3.909 9 16 .009 

Based on Median 2.525 9 16 .051 

Based on Median and with 
adjusted df 

2.525 9 8.717 .095 

Based on trimmed mean 3.834 9 16 .009 

PostTest Based on Mean 3.909 9 16 .009 

Based on Median 2.525 9 16 .051 

Based on Median and with 

adjusted df 

2.525 9 8.717 .095 

Based on trimmed mean 3.834 9 16 .009 

 

Based on Table 3, it can be seen that the p-value is 0,009. It means that we have violated the 

assumption of homogeneity of variance since the p-value is less than 0,05. In other words, the data 

from the pre-test and post-test results are unequal. 

Since the research data is normally distributed, the parametric test used by the researchers to 

analyze the pre-test and post-test was paired-sample t-test. The purpose of using this parametric test is 

to compare students’ pre-test and post-test scores so that it could be seen whether there is a significant 

difference in students’ scores, before and after the treatment was implemented. The paired-sample t-

test rules state that the difference score is considered significantly improved if the significant value of 

paired samples test result is less than 0,05. Whereas, there is no significant difference if the significant 

value is more than 0,05. The result of the paired-sample t-test in the present study is shown in Table 

4.  

Table 4. The T-Test Result of Pre-Test and Post-Test Scores 
Paired Samples Test 

 

Paired Differences 

t df 
Sig. (2-
tailed) Mean 

Std. 

Deviation 

Std. 

Error 
Mean 

95% Confidence 
Interval of the 

Difference 

Lower Upper 

Pair 
1 

PreTest - 
PostTest 

-23.61111 7.68404 1.28067 -26.21102 -21.01121 -18.436 35 .000 

 

As shown in Table 4, the p-value or the Sig. (2-tailed) is 0,000. It means that there is a significant 

difference between the students’ pre-test and post-test scores as the p-value is less than the significant 

level, which is 0,05. In addition to that, the result also shows that the t-test coefficient is 18,436, and 

the t-table is 2,030. Since the t-coefficient is greater than the t-table, it indicates that there is a significant 

improvement on students’ writing, before and after the use of Kahoot. Based on those two results of 

analysis, it can be safely said that a game-based student response system platform, Kahoot, is effective 

to enhance the students’ skills in writing a narrative text. 

More specifically, each writing criteria was also analyzed statistically. It includes the pre-test 

and post-test scores of the organization, ideas development, grammar, punctuation, spelling & 

mechanics, and style of writing. This analysis is required to know the improvement of students’ writing 

in each aspect of writing.  

 

Organization 

In writing narrative text, the organization deals with the students’ ability in organizing their writing 

based on the basic structure of the narrative text. There are three major structures of writing, including 

an introduction paragraph, a body paragraph, and a conclusion paragraph. In line with that, the basic 

structures of narrative writing are orientation, complication, resolution, and re-orientation. In this 

area, the students are expected to write a narrative story based on those basic structures. The result of 

the paired-sample statistics test of students’ writing scores in the area of organization is presented in 

Table 5. 

 



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Table 5. The Paired-Sample Statistics Result for Organization of Writing 
Paired Samples Statistics 

 Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean 

Pair 1 
OrganizationPre 11.8611 36 2.35618 .39270 

OrganizationPost 16.6944 36 1.60035 .26672 

 

Table 5 shows that students’ writing in the aspect of the organization is improved. It is stated 

that the mean score in the pre-test is 11,9, whereas, the mean score in the post-test is 16,7. It means 

that the post-test score is 4,8 points higher than the pre-test score. In conclusion, students could 

organize their writing well after the use of Kahoot. 

Logical Development of Ideas 

The second aspect of writing is the logical development of ideas. Ideas refer to students’ ability in 

developing the content of writing based on the writing topic. With regards to narrative text, ideas deal 

with the way students choose the writing topic and develop the topic into a story based on the gathered 

shreds of evidence, which is from their personal experiences. In addition to that, ideas refer to the 5W 

+ 1H questions: 1) what the story happened; 2) when the story happened; 3) where it took place; 4) 

who were involved; 5) why it could happen; 6) and how it could happen. The result of the paired-

sample statistics test of students’ writing scores in the area of ideas development is presented in Table 

6. 

Table 6. The Paired-Sample Statistics Result for Ideas Development of Writing 

Paired Samples Statistics 

 Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean 

Pair 1 
IdeasPre 10.4444 36 2.84298 .47383 

IdeasPost 14.3611 36 1.88457 .31409 

 

Based on Table 6, the students’ ability in developing their writing ideas was improved 

significantly after the use of Kahoot as a teaching and learning tool. Before the use of Kahoot, the 

mean score of the ideas development in the students’ writing is only 10,4. However, the mean score 

is improved to 14,4 after the implementation of Kahoot. It shows that the logical development of ideas 

is improved 3,9 points. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of Kahoot positively fosters 

students’ ability in developing their writing ideas. 

Grammar 

Grammar is the most important aspect of writing. Generally, grammar is recognized as the rule of the 

English language when it comes to a writing activity. It refers to the use of tenses sequencing, relative 

clauses, prepositions, modals, articles, and also verb forms. In narrative writing, there are also some 

language features that the students should pay attention to it. It includes the use of past tense, action 

verbs, and reported speech. The result of the paired-sample statistics test of students’ writing scores in 

the area of grammar is presented in Table 7. 

Table 7. The Paired-Sample Statistics Result for Grammar 

Paired Samples Statistics 

 Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean 

Pair 1 
GrammarPre 10.6389 36 2.86010 .47668 

GrammarPost 16.6389 36 1.33423 .22237 

 

From Table 7, it can be safely said that students’ grammar proficiency in writing narrative 

text is improved. It is improved from 10,6 points to 16,6 points. It means that the differences scores 

reach 6 points of improvement. Thus, the use of Kahoot has significantly enhanced students’ grammar 

proficiency. 

Mechanics 

In writing, mechanics refer to the rules of written language, such as capitalization, spelling, and 

punctuation. More specifically, the mechanics of writing are the established rules that should be 

followed in sentence writing, paragraph writing, and even essay writing. It is well known that spelling, 



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punctuation, and capitalization go hand in hand with the rules of grammar. Thus, both of them are 

basically related. The result of the paired-sample statistics test of students’ writing scores in the area 

of writing mechanics is presented in Table 8. 

Table 8. The Paired-Sample Statistics Result for Mechanics of Writing 

Paired Samples Statistics 

 Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean 

Pair 1 
MechanicsPre 11.6944 36 2.43568 .40595 

MechanicsPost 16.9167 36 1.15573 .19262 

 

Based on Table 8, students’ ability in using correct capitalization, spelling, and punctuation 

was improved. The mean point is just 11,7 before the use of Kahoot, however, it was improved to 16,9 

points after the use of Kahoot. It proves that the use of Kahoot could enhance students’ mechanics of 

writing with 4,3 points of improvement. Therefore, it can be concluded that Kahoot could improve 

students’ writing mechanics.  

Style and Quality of Expression 

Style and quality of expression in students’ writing refer to the use of precise vocabulary, sentence 

variety, parallel structure. It is closely related to the use of word choice and sentence fluency. In writing 

a narrative text, the students should use the right word that could give clarity and evoke feelings. 

Additionally, the students should know whether or not their writing is easy to read, use different kinds 

of sentences, use some short and long sentences, and even begin with different words. The result of 

the paired-sample statistics test of students’ writing scores in the area of writing mechanics is presented 

in Table 9. 

Table 9. The Paired-Sample Statistics Result for Style and Quality of Expression 

Paired Samples Statistics 

 Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean 

Pair 1 
StylePre 8.6389 36 2.29475 .38246 

StylePost 12.2778 36 1.68372 .28062 

 

Referring to Table 9, the students’ ability in using style and quality of expression towards their 

writing is improved 4,3 points. The mean score of the pre-test is just 8,6 points while the mean score 

of the post-test shows 12,3 points. Therefore, the use of Kahoot has positively fostered students’ 

writing in the aspect of style and quality of expression used.   

Discussion 

Kahoot for Teaching Narrative Writing 

Based on the study result, it can be safely said that students’ skills in writing a narrative text is 

improved with the use of Kahoot. It was clearly stated that their writing was improved towards the 

five aspects of writing, including organization, logical development of ideas, grammar, punctuation, 

spelling & mechanics, and style & quality of writing. Firstly, the organization in narrative writing 

typically refers to the generic structure of a narrative text, including orientation, complication, 

resolution, and re-orientation. In addition to that, the organization also refers to the students’ skills to 

organize their paragraphs and sentences. Secondly, ideas development in writing is the way a writer 

develops their writing topic using appropriate supporting shreds of evidence or supporting ideas. 

Writing is considered logically developed if the writer also uses the most suitable connections between 

ideas, in order to make a logical sense towards the writing. Thirdly, grammar refers to the rules of 

writing, including morphological rules, phonological rules, and syntactical rules. In writing a narrative 

text, students must be aware of the language features used, such as past tense, linking words, action 

verbs, verbal, and mental processes, even direct and indirect speech. Fourthly, writing mechanics are 

the technical aspects of writing, including spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviations. 

Lastly, the writing style in a narrative text refers to the way of students in using word choice and a 

variety of sentences in their writing. Thus, in this part, the paired-samples statistics analysis result of 

those five writing elements is interpreted based on the writing criteria, including organization, logical 

development of ideas, grammar, punctuation, spelling, mechanics, style, and quality of writing.  



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Firstly, the paired-samples statistics analysis showed that students’ skills in organizing their 

writing was improved 40,8%, from 11,9 to 16,7. As stated in the scoring rubric, 11,9 is considered 

unacceptable while 16,7 is good. It means that before the use of Kahoot, students still encountered 

some problems in organizing their writing. These problems include the ideas ordering problem, lack 

of supporting evidence, weak or illogical conclusion, and inadequate effort at the organization. 

Whereas, students’ writing was improved after the use of Kahoot. Their writing is organized logically 

and coherently, starting from the introduction paragraph, body paragraph, and conclusion paragraph. 

Besides, they could use an adequate title although some ideas weren’t fully developed. All in all, 

Kahoot has improved students’ skills in organizing their writing. 

Secondly, the points of logical ideas development were improved 37,5%, from 10,4 to 14,4. It 

means that students’ skills in developing their writing ideas in narrative writing was improved from 

unacceptable to fair. Before the implementation of Kahoot, students experienced some problems with 

their story development, such as incomplete ideas, lack of careful thinking or hurriedly written, and 

inadequate effort in the area of content development. Whereas, the implementation of Kahoot could 

enhance students’ writing so that the writing could address the assigned topic, and consisted of some 

extraneous materials although the ideas could be more developed. Therefore, Kahoot has improved 

students’ writing in terms of ideas development.  

Thirdly, students’ skills in using correct grammar was improved 56,4%, from 10,6 points to 

16,6 points. According to the scoring rubric, it is improved from unacceptable to good. In other words, 

students’ writing had numerous serious grammar problems before the use of Kahoot. The problems 

include some difficult sentences to read that directly affect the communication of the ideas, so it needs 

a grammar review in some areas. However, the students’ writing did not encounter some serious 

grammatical errors after the game-based student response system platform Kahoot was implemented. 

It means that Kahoot was successfully enhanced students’ grammar proficiency.  

Fourthly, students’ mechanics of writing was improved 44,7%, from 11,7 points to 16,9 points. 

It means that the mechanics of students’ writing improved from unacceptable to good. Before the 

treatment of Kahoot, students’ writings have encountered lots of errors in punctuation, spelling, and 

capitalization. More specifically, they did not use periods or questions marks, and capital letters in the 

right places, leave spaces between words, and poor spelling. However, the students could minimize 

those errors after the use of Kahoot. It means that Kahoot is successfully helped students to learn the 

mechanics of writing.   

Lastly, students’ skills in using style and quality of expression was improved 42,1%, from 8,6 

points to 12,3 points. It is improved from unacceptable to fair. Before the use of Kahoot, the students’ 

writing did not contain different kinds of sentences, was too wordy, and had no precise word selection. 

It caused their writing to be difficult to read the first time. Yet, they could improve the use of sentence 

variety and word choice, after the use of Kahoot. 

 

The Success of Kahoot Implementation 

Kahoot is not a new digital technology; it has been widely used for educational purposes. Kahoot is 

categorized as educational technology since it has some elements that could facilitate the teaching and 

learning process in the classroom. Basically, educational technology could be used in the classroom 

as a teaching tool and an assessment tool. Referring to the previous studies related to the use of Kahoot 

in a language classroom, Kahoot was proved to be an effective tool. However, Kahoot is commonly 

used as an assessment tool rather than as a teaching tool. As a formative assessment tool, Kahoot 

could enhance students’ learning performance (Elkhamisy & Wassef, 2021; Goksun & Gursoy, 2019 

; Kohnke & Moorhouse, 2021). In contrast with those previous studies, in the present study, the 

researchers utilized Kahoot as a teaching tool. Specifically, the researchers used Kahoot to teach the 

students about narrative writing. The result indicates that Kahoot is effective to foster students’ skills 

in writing a narrative text. It means that Kahoot is valuable not only as an assessment tool, but also 

as a teaching tool. Thus, the present study proves the effectiveness of a game-based student response 

system platform, Kahoot, as a teaching tool. In line with that, this finding strengthens the previous 

studies conducted by Haswani (2014), Lee (2019), and Xu et al. (2019), that an ICT platform could 

positively enhance the teaching and learning process in language classroom. 

Basically, there are some factors affecting students’ skills in writing a text. Those factors are 

categorized into two major factors, namely internal factors and external factors. In this case, internal 

factor commonly refers to cognitive factors that could boost or reduce students’ writing skills. It 

includes the students’ intelligence, interest, and motivation in learning to write. Whereas, an external 



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factor generally refers to social and affective factors. It includes their learning environment and the 

teaching methodology applied by the teacher. Therefore, this section discusses the way Kahoot 

successfully enhanced students’ writing skills based on those factors.  

Kahoot could enhance students’ writing skills through the internal factors of writing. As 

mentioned earlier, there are some internal factors that could affect the success of Kahoot 

implementation in improving students’ skills in writing a narrative text. First and foremost, the 

teaching materials which were integrated into Kahoot, could foster students’ intelligence in writing. 

In relation to writing, intelligence here refers to the students’ knowledge and skills in writing a 

narrative text, including vocabulary mastery and grammar proficiency. In this case, Kahoot could 

improve students’ writing in the form of organization, ideas development, the use of grammar, 

punctuation, spelling, mechanics, and also their style of writing. In doing so, the students were trained 

to do some exercises with regard to those topics. By training and challenging themselves anytime and 

anywhere they want, they could increase their writing skills gradually. This finding relates to the 

previous study conducted by Permatasari (2013), which found that the use of an interesting content 

material could help the students in learning narrative writing. Secondly, Kahoot could boost students’ 

motivation. As mentioned by Kohnke and Moorhouse (2021), students were highly motivated in 

learning English by the use of Kahoot towards the teaching and learning process. Motivation is one 

of the most important things to build among the students as it directly affected students’ performance 

and academic achievement. The present study also indicates that the use of Kahoot could reduce 

students’ boredom, and it makes students become more excited during their learning process. Towards 

the survey result, most of the students agreed that they were enthusiastic during the teaching and 

learning process by Kahoot. Therefore, in relation to students learning to write, Kahoot could be an 

alternative teaching media that enhance their motivation to write. Thirdly, Kahoot could successfully 

enhance students’ writing as Kahoot fostered students’ engagement towards the teaching and learning 

process. If students are fully engaged in the classroom, they could easily understand what the teachers 

deliver to them. Goksun and Gursoy (2019) also stated that Kahoot was positively increased students’ 

attention and focus during the teaching and learning process. In the present study, the students 

mentioned that Kahoot could be an alternative tool to build an active classroom. It means that the use 

of Kahoot promotes a meaningful learning experience that could enhance students’ writing skills. 

Additionally, the students also became more interested in learning to write by the use of Kahoot. In 

conclusion, Kahoot could improve students’ skills and knowledge in writing narrative text, and it also 

fosters their motivation and engagement in the writing classroom.   

In addition to internal factors, Kahoot also could foster students’ writing towards its external 

factors, namely learning environment and teaching performance carried out by the teacher in the 

classroom. First and foremost, Kahoot could build a learning environment which is fun, interactive, 

and interesting. As Tom Malone’s theory stated, there are three categories that make things fun to 

learn, including challenge, fantasy, and curiosity. Challenge refers to a series of goals with uncertain 

outcomes. A challenge could be designed through the use of different levels of difficulty, hidden 

information, and randomness. Kahoot provides a time limit and scoreboard which challenged the 

student to do better than the other student. In other words, the challenge in Kahoot is to answer the 

questions provided as quickly as possible, and the final scores are uncertain until all students finish 

the game. This competitiveness creates a sense of a challenge for them. Next, fantasy is the game 

environment that could satisfy the players. Kahoot provides some fantasy elements for students, 

including the use of audio, video, image and also the use of different types of questions such as Quiz, 

True or False, Type Answer, Puzzle, Poll, Word Cloud, Open-ended, Brainstorm, and also slides. 

The use of those different elements could reduce students’ boredom and increase their engagement 

during the teaching and learning process. Moreover, Kahoot could also build curiosity among the 

students. The curiosity in Kahoot refers to the use of random elements or questions. All in all, Kahoot 

could provide a learning environment which positively supports students’ learning experience, 

especially in learning to write.  

Based on that analysis, it can be safely concluded that Kahoot is an appropriate teaching tool 

for supporting students’ learning, especially in learning to write. This finding relates to the previous 

studies which found out that a game-based student response system could improve students’ 

motivation, engagement and classroom dynamics (Baszuk & Heath, 2020; Piskorz, 2016; Yunus et 

al., 2019). Basically, those three areas are closely related to the teaching and learning process in the 

classroom. It is well known that the students could learn and understand the teaching materials only 

if they could boost their interest and motivation throughout the materials. In line with that, the present 



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study results strengthen that finding in the area of students’ writing skills. The result of the present 

study indicates that Kahoot is effective and appropriate to be used in classroom practices since it could 

boost students’ writing skills by increasing their motivation and engagement during the teaching and 

learning process. Thus, this result conveys a novelty in terms of using a game-based student response 

system platform, Kahoot, as a teaching tool, specifically for teaching and improving students’ writing 

skills. 

 

CONCLUSION 

As the objective of the present study is to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of the game-based 

student response system platform Kahoot in enhancing students’ skills in writing narrative text, the 

researchers have implemented the use of Kahoot for teaching narrative writing. Based on that 

implementation, the result indicates that Kahoot is effective to be used for enhancing students’ writing 

skills, especially for writing a narrative text. This major conclusion comes from the paired t-test 

analysis result which shows that the p- value of students’ pre-test and post-test scores is 0,000, or less 

than 0,05. Additionally, the t-coefficient is also greater than the t-table, which is 18,436 > 2,030. It 

means that the Ho is rejected and the Ha accepted. In other words, the students’ writing skills is 

improved with the use of Kahoot. Further analysis revealed that Kahoot is proven to significantly 

improve students’ writing in terms of organization, ideas, grammar, spelling, mechanics, and writing 

style. Thus, it can be safely said that Kahoot could effectively enhance students’ writing skills. 

It is also worthy of note that the success of Kahoot implementation in narrative writing class is 

closely related to the factors affecting students’ learning, including students’ competence, motivation, 

interest, and engagement. In relation to that, hopefully, the result of this study could increase the use 

of Kahoot as a teaching tool in language classroom practices. While the researchers have presented 

and discussed several insights towards the present study, the absence of a control group in the present 

study may affect the accuracy and the validity of the study results. Thus, the researchers also suggest 

future research to investigate the implementation of Kahoot towards narrative writing class using true-

experimental research since a control group is needed in order to gain a strong internal validity of the 

research data. 

 

 

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