Motivating EFL students: E-learning enjoyment as a predictor of vocabulary learning through digital video games

Abstract

The present study examined e-learning enjoyment to see if it could predict high school students’ vocabulary learning through a digital video game. Furthermore, the difference between those who played and those who watched the game was assessed. Participants of the study were male, high school, EFL students (N = 136, age 12–18) randomly assigned to two treatments: Players, who were exposed to the vocabulary through playing a digital video game and Watchers, who watched two classmates play the same game. After the treatments (one session a week for five weeks), an e-learning enjoyment scale and a vocabulary posttest were administered. Also, researcher field notes were written down. Data analysis involved t tests, ANOVAs, and a standard multiple regression. The results indicated that e-learning enjoyment significantly predicted the variance in game-enhanced vocabulary learning. There was no significant difference between Players and Watchers. It is concluded that enjoyment could help students keep up through the sustained, long-term process of language learning by motivating them. Also, the findings help identify better suited commercial video games for educational purposes and design more useful educational video games.

Keywords

• digital video games
• game-based language learning
• vocabulary learning
• e-learning enjoyment
• language learning motivation