Digital game-playing to enhance English vocabulary and content learning among anxious foreign language students
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate how game-playing affected low- and high-anxiety students’ English vocabulary and content learning in a digital game-based learning (DGBL) environment. The participants were 132 fifth-grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, divided into an experimental group using DGBL instruction (n = 68) and a control group using traditional instruction (n = 64). They were defined as low- and high-anxiety students based on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), with 38 low- and 30 high-anxiety students in the experimental group and 34 low- and 30 high-anxiety students in the control group. Data was collected from FLCAS, game-playing logs, pre- and post-tests, and an open-ended questionnaire. The results found that both low- and high-anxiety students benefited from a DGBL environment designed with game mechanics (game challenges, points, and comments) to improve their English vocabulary and content learning performance, with high-anxiety students making greater progress. In the DGBL environment, the game challenges for entertainment purposes motivated the high-anxiety students to engage in learning. The high-anxiety students’ confidence in learning was then enhanced through the points and positively encouraging comments, leading to active and repeated engagement in game-playing. This self-motivated learning facilitated the high-anxiety students’ English vocabulary and content learning performance. This study suggests that the gap between low- and high-anxiety students’ English vocabulary and content learning performance could be narrowed in a DGBL environment with game mechanics.
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Prior research consistently demonstrates that digital games can enhance learners' motivation and reduce language learning anxiety.
“Nevertheless, prior research consistently demonstrates that digital games can enhance learners' motivation and reduce language learning anxiety (Connolly et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2024).”
From Incidental vocabulary learning from digital games: the predictive role of game playing time, foreign language motivation, and anxiety (2026) · cites this paper as Yang et al., 2024
Learning environments that tolerate mistakes, opportunities for anonymous interaction, and individual learning pace can partially offset the destructive effects of anxiety on the learning process by reducing the fear of negative evaluation.
“Learning environments that tolerate mistakes, opportunities for anonymous interaction, and individual learning pace can partially offset the destructive effects of anxiety on the learning process by reducing the fear of negative evaluation (Al-Aosail et al., 2024; Tai and Choi, 2025; Yang et al., 2024).”
From Incidental vocabulary learning from digital games: the predictive role of game playing time, foreign language motivation, and anxiety (2026) · cites this paper as Yang et al., 2024
Existing literature has generally examined vocabulary learning, motivation, anxiety, and level of exposure within a relatively binary framework.
“The existing literature has generally examined variables such as vocabulary learning, motivation, anxiety, and level of exposure within a relatively binary framework (Al-Aosail et al., 2024; Yang et al., 2024).”
From Incidental vocabulary learning from digital games: the predictive role of game playing time, foreign language motivation, and anxiety (2026) · cites this paper as Yang et al., 2024
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- Authors
- Yang, Y.-F., Goh, A. P. I., Hu, C.-C., Chen, N.-S., & Lai, S.-C.
- Affiliations
- National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (TW)
- Tatung University (TW)
- National Taiwan Normal University (TW)
- Corresponding author
- Yang, Yu-Fen
- Venue
- Computer Assisted Language Learning
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2024-07
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 2232-2259
- ISSN
- 0958-8221 (ISSN-L)
- 1744-3210
- OpenAlex
- W4400201017
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 11.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Computer Assisted Language Learning (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
- Keywords
- digital game-based learning, foreign language anxiety, English as a foreign language, vocabulary acquisition, content learning, game mechanics, game challenge, student motivation, self-motivated learning, fifth grade students, classroom anxiety
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