A study on attitude and achievement: the digital-game-based language learning by Thai EFL students

This study investigated the impact of language-learning digital game (LLDG) on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in the Thai context regarding the learners’ language proficiency, attitudes, and learner autonomy. Digital games have been considered by the literature as an effective language-learning supplement to enhance the target language acquisition, support constructivist learning, complement a deep level of cognition, encourage a willingness to communicate, increase social interaction, and meanwhile promote learner autonomy. Nevertheless, its impact on a self-directed learner having an informal learning with a particular language-enhanced game remains obscure in the EFL Thai context. In this study, a language-learning digital game (LLDG), Trace Effects, was utilised as a supplement for an out-of-class practice of EFL learners at a tertiary level for eight weeks. The study was conducted through three stages: pre-intervention, intervention, and post-intervention. The learners were divided into two groups including the control group and the experimental group. In the pre-intervention, both groups of learners completed an attitudinal questionnaire, learner autonomy questionnaire, and listening pre-test. Then, the experimental group was assigned self-regulated learning with the LLDG for eight weeks in addition to the regular English class. A gaming record was provided to the learners during the intervention. At the pre-intervention stage, both groups of learners had a listening post-test and completed another set of learner autonomy questionnaires. Only the learners in the experimental group were requested to give their learning experiences through another set of questionnaires and were invited to share their experiences verbally in the in-depth interview. The comparison of the listening test scores between the control group and the experimental group obtained in the pre-intervention and the post-intervention has affirmed its positive impact on learners’ proficiency, despite no significant difference in the autonomy scales from self-rating questionnaires. The investigation of the learners’ experiences, through questionnaires and in-depth interviews, shows that sociocultural factors and the game design have an influence over the learners’ behaviour and cognition. The results suggest that a practical design of an LLDG that values learners’ context and their particular background could contribute to successful pedagogical development for both formal and informal settings.