Digital Game-Based Learning for Improving Students' Academic Achievement, Learning Motivation, and Willingness to Communicate in an English Course

Abstract

In light of the educational value of digital games that has been widely reported in science and social studies, this research hopes to extend the literature on digital game-based learning (DGBL) to the field of language education by investigating English language learners learning outcomes after playing a technology-enhanced board game (TEBG), featuring the use of quick response codes to connect physical board gaming pieces and digital content. To this end, a one-factor posttest-only experiment involving two groups of university students was carried out in a period of three weeks. The results indicated that the proposed DGBL approach, along with the supporting materials in the form of TEBG, was effective for promoting the students English learning performance, English learning motivation, and willingness to communicate in English. Briefly, this study supports the idea that applying a DGBL approach in English classrooms can generate favorable student learning outcomes.