Iranian EFL Teacher-students' Beliefs about the Affordances of Game-Enhanced EFL Learning

The current study explores the perceptions of Iranian EFL teacher-students respecting the impact of gamification on boosting EFL skills. The researcher applied a mixed-methods model to gather data from about ۱۰۰ Iranian undergraduate EFL teacher-students majoring in TEFL at Farhangian University, Iran, by using an ۱۸-item survey and a semi-structured interview run orally. The outcomes of the quantitative part of the study show that learners have broadly had higher learning achievements from their exposure to game-enhanced learning experiences; however, gamification is considered to create an opportunity to foster reception rather than production in EFL learning. Game-based language learning, particularly, appears to promote linguistic skills and components, remarkably, including pronunciation, vocabulary, reading, listening. The results of the qualitative part of the study confirm the supportive function of game-enhanced EFL learning: enjoying the game and experiencing difficulty in gaming are facilitative and debilitative, respectively, to develop vocabulary knowledge; adventurous games based on attractive stories trigger EFL learning. Lastly, some benefits and problems relevant to EFL learning through online games were discussed by the participants.

کلیدواژه ها:

EFL Learning ، English as a Foreign Language ، Game-Enhanced Learning ، Gamification ، Learners' Beliefs