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Top1. Introduction
Mobile technologies have significant potential in the development of innovative learning environments (Keengwe & Bhargava, 2014). The features of mobile technologies, such as fast access, portability, and easy connectivity support the creation of meaningful changes in different levels of learning and different subject areas (Bai, 2019). Games that can be presented as activities through mobile technologies affect learning preferences (Kukulska-Hulme, 2009), and mobile educational games offer an enriched and meaningful learning experience to support students when learning context-related topics (Liu et al., 2014). The use of mobile technologies in K-12 classrooms has increased because young learners’ interest in games encourages the integration of mobile games in learning environments (Bai, 2019). English as a foreign language (EFL) learning is one of the areas in which mobile technologies are being used effectively (Zhonggen, 2018), and a variety of studies have indicated the positive effects of integrating mobile games into EFL learning environments at the K-12 level (Hwang et al., 2016; Huizenga et al., 2009; Sandberg et al., 2014; Tsai et al., 2017). Therefore, this study incorporated a mobile game to investigate students’ EFL vocabulary learning and attitudes toward an EFL course.
Serious games are considered to be digital games that aim to achieve meaningful outcomes in addition to providing entertainment (Dörner et al., 2016). Serious games are used in different fields such as business, health, trade, and the military (Almeida & Simoes, 2019). Education is another area in which the integration of serious games has predominated (Dörner et al., 2016). Although serious games can be designed and developed for several platforms, such as PCs, game consoles, and VR technologies, serious mobile games have decreased limitations and have made it possible to play more independently (Sánchez & Olivares, 2011). Serious mobile games are mainly designed to educate and scaffold students using smartphone capabilities (Elaachak, 2020). Serious games target to improve the effectiveness of the learning process by enriching the learning environments by providing additional resources (De Gloria et al., 2014). Specifically, learning a foreign language is a relevant field that can be supported by the interactive content and the animated elements of serious games (Zhonggen, 2018). Therefore, one of the main goals of this study was to understand the effect of a serious game being integrated into a foreign-language course on students' vocabulary acquisition.