The Influence of Online Games on Unintentional English Vocabulary Mastery

Abstract

In the current digital era, online games have become a popular trend among society. The primary function of online games is to be entertaining. Moreover, online games can be an indirect medium for increasing vocabulary because most of online games in circulation use English in the initial game settings. When playing games, there are exciting and varied missions in each game, which can trigger and motivate players to play it. Those who initially do not know the language terms of online games will eventually understand because of the support of playing and completing missions from the game itself. In this research, the researchers tried to prove this case because many people on social media say they are good at speaking English because of the intensity with which they play games. This research used a qualitative descriptive method using 14 questionnaire instruments. The design of this questionnaire was shared online with participants. The object is a 6th-semester student majoring in English Education at Universitas Tidar, Magelang. The finding was almost all participants thought that playing online games helped improve their vocabulary in English. Most participants agreed that online games are a suitable medium for improving their vocabulary, indicating that they help them learn new words in English. Thus, the impact of online games can help educators and policymakers develop more creative and successful teaching methods for language learning.