The Effectiveness of a Digital Monopoly-Style Board Game on Young EFL Learners’ Motivation and Vocabulary Acquisition

Abstract

Digital game-based learning has been widely discussed in English vocabulary instruction, but classroom-based evidence on digital board-game formats for young learners remains limited. This study examined the effectiveness of a digital Monopoly-style board game in improving young EFL learners' learning motivation and vocabulary acquisition. A pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was used with 30 second-grade students in an Indonesian elementary school. The treatment was conducted in six meetings, each lasting 70 minutes. Data were collected using a 16-item learning motivation questionnaire based on Self-Determination Theory and a 25-item vocabulary acquisition test covering word-form recognition, form-meaning connection, transaction-context meaning, currency and price vocabulary, and buying-and-paying expressions. Descriptive statistics, the Shapiro-Wilk test, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the paired-samples t-test, and N-gain analysis were used to analyse the data. The findings showed improvement across all motivation and vocabulary indicators. Vocabulary acquisition increased significantly from the pre-test to the post-test, and learning motivation also improved significantly after the treatment. The N-gain result indicated a moderate improvement in vocabulary acquisition. These findings suggest that a digital Monopoly-style board game can support vocabulary learning and motivational engagement when it is designed around clear language targets, visual support, repeated practice, and teacher-guided participation.