CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 59Educational Games and GamificationSecond Language Acquisition and LearningEnglish Language Learning and Teaching

Exploring the potential of digital game-based vocabulary learning: a systematic review

Open access
Vnucko, Gregor, Klimova, Blanka·2023·Systems
DOI 10.3390/systems11020057
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Constant technological development creates the need for continual optimization of the educational process to achieve educational objectives with the highest possible efficiency. Surveys have shown that digital games are very popular among all age groups, including when they are used in foreign language education, such as in Digital Game-Based Vocabulary Learning (DGBVL). Therefore, the purpose of this review study is to summarize the existing knowledge on DGBVL and to provide new, cutting-edge information based on available literature accessible within three databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and conducting the search, 13 articles were identified for a deeper analysis. The main findings reveal that DGBVL can create a positive learning environment. In this kind of environment, students experience predominantly positive emotions which may in turn enhance their vocabulary retention. The review suggests that DGBVL is useful in vocabulary learning and may even surpass conventional teaching methods in an English classroom. The findings of this review can serve as a basis for further research, which could ultimately lead to the implementation of DGBVL in the process of English instruction, not only as a supplementary method, but possibly as a full alternative to conventional English lessons.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/systems11020057

Cites

60 of 63 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Statistical Office of the European Union. Key Figures on Europe: Statistics Illustrated: 2019 Edition; Publications Office of the European Union: Luxembourg, 2019.
  2. Prensky, M. Digital Game-Based Learning; McGraw-Hill: New York, NY, USA, 2001.
  3. Stevens-Smith, D.A.; Stegelin, D. Making Connections between Play and Healthy Development: Research-Based Reasons to Promote Play-Based Learning Environments. Int. J. Early Child. Learn. 2016, 23, 1-13. [CrossRef] · DOI
  4. Latham, G.P. Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice; Sage Publications, Inc.: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, 2007; pp. 33, 337.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Vnucko, G., & Klimova, B.
Affiliations
  • Department of English Language and Culture, Faculty of Pedagogy, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Drážovská 4, 949 01 Nitra, Slovakia
  • Department of Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralové, Hradecká 1249/6, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
ORCID
Venue
Systems
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2023-01-21
Volume
11
Issue
2
Pages
57
ISSN
2079-8954 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/systems11020057
OpenAlex
W4317743505
Cited by
59
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 12
FWCI
3.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Systems (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
SPEV project 2023
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › English Language Learning and Teaching
Keywords
vocabulary acquisition, foreign language teaching, English language teaching, game-based learning, vocabulary retention, student emotions, educational technology

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review