Digital Game-Based Language Learning: The Impact of Story-Driven Game Life Is Strange 1 on Language Learners’ Listening Skills

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the impact of employing a digital game, Life is Strange 1: Episode 1, on the listening skills of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. To conduct the study, the researchers employed a one-group pretest-posttest mixed-methods research design. A sample of 24 intermediate undergraduate engineering students from a private university in Chennai, India, participated in this study. During the experiment, the participants who enrolled in the course Interpersonal Listening Skills played the game Life is Strange 1: Episode 1 in the university’s language lab for four weeks. To collect quantitative data, all the participants took pre- and post-listening comprehension tests (LCT), and through close-ended questionnaires on students' perceptions using SPSS software, quantitative analysis of the data was made using frequency and percentage. And through the participants’ face-to-face interviews, qualitative data were collected and analyzed to gain deeper insights into the participants' experiences and perceptions. The post-test results revealed that participants' listening skills had improved in comparison to the pre-test results. Additionally, qualitative data showed that participants enjoyed playing the game and found it motivating, engaging, and an effective method to improve their listening skills. These findings were in line with those of several other studies. Thus, the study revealed that ESL learners' listening skills could be improved by playing the video game, which may have significant implications for ESL educators and researchers who can integrate DGBLL to improve language learning outcomes into their teaching and research.