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Top1. Introduction
The learners of today differ from those of the past. Younger generations have grown up with technology, and specifically computers, laptops, tablets, and video game consoles. The younger generation learners socialize and communicate with people and learn new information through these electronic devices. Obviously, EFL teachers today are facing the difficult tasks of handling a new generation of students and teaching through technology. This challenge could raise questions regarding the most effective educational games, the design and development of games, and the implementation of games to facilitate new generation language learners’ learning.
In the digital era, it is literally a challenge for language educators, especially in English as a Foreign or Second Language (EFL/ESL) teaching, to help their learners improve their English proficiency by utilizing various learning tools with embedded technology. It is undeniable that games such as digital games, video games, computer games, mobile games, and simulations are considered as powerful learning tools for helping learners to acquire the language. Over the past 2 decades, the number of studies conducted on the effectiveness of digital game-based learning has considerably increased, and the results have been significant. The number of research studies has revealed that digital game-based learning has a direct relation to language learning (Chen et al., 2018; Chiu et al., 2012; Hung et al., 2018; Lin et al., 2020; Saliés, 2002; Tsai & Tsai, 2018; Wang & Han, 2021; Yukselturk et al., 2018). It affects not only the areas of language learning performance, but also other aspects of psychological state and higher-order competence (Horowitz, 2019; Hung et al., 2018; Tsai & Tsai, 2018).
Digital games are valuable tools that could accelerate learning, enhance knowledge acquisition and retention, and support development towards levels of proficiency. They are also good accelerators for embedding curriculum content that may be hard to visualize with concrete materials, as suggested by Mitchell and Savill-Smith (2004). Designing a digital game for language learning should be perceived from the perspectives of the learners in terms of how they learn from games and the perspectives of the teachers in terms of how they teach with games.
With the emergence of digital game-based research, most studies have focused on digital game-based language learning (DGBLL), whereas research on digital game-based pedagogy from the instructional design perspective has been less discussed. Accordingly, the objectives of the current study were to examine the game design elements of DGBLL as a pedagogical tool for English language settings, and to address the implication of the use of digital games in pedagogical settings. It attempted to answer the following research questions: (1) What are the game design elements in digital game-based language learning that impact language teaching? and (2) How were digital games integrated into pedagogical settings?