Impact of Digital Games on Students’ Willingness to Communicate in a Flipped Classroom Context

Abstract

Introduction: The ability to use language for communicative purposes is significant in learning English as a foreign language. The present study investigated the effect of digital games on intermediate EFL learners’ Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in a flipped classroom context. 
 Methodology: Of 90 female intermediate EFL learners, 60 participants were selected based on their performance on an Oxford Placement Test. The subjects were then divided into an experimental and a control group. After that, the participants in the two groups filled out the WTC questionnaire as a pre-test. Following that, in the experimental group, the researcher used Fun Easy Learning Game Software in a flipped instruction mode to instruct 50 vocabulary items that were identified as unknown to the learners. As for the control group, the learners followed the conventional method of instruction and thus followed the syllabus of the institute. The learners in this group were instructed on the same 50 vocabulary items but did not receive any content in a flipped instruction mode via games. The treatment lasted 10 sessions, and at the end, the participants in both groups were given the WTC questionnaire as a post-test.
 Results: The results of statistical analysis indicated that the use of digital games significantly affected intermediate students’ WTC in a flipped classroom context. Learners in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group.
 Conclusion: Based on the findings, EFL teachers are encouraged to employ digital games in a flipped instruction mode to enhance EFL learners’ WTC.