Teaching Currency Vocabulary to Young EFL Learners through a Digital Monopoly-Style Game: A Qualitative Case Study
Abstract
Digital games are increasingly used in English vocabulary instruction, yet less is known about
how teachers mediate digital board games in lower-primary EFL classrooms. This qualitative
single case study investigated the implementation of a digital Monopoly-style game for
teaching currency-related vocabulary in one team-taught second-grade English classroom in
Indonesia. The case involved three female English teachers and 22 students aged 8-9 years.
Data were collected across six 70-minute meetings through classroom observation, semistructured teacher interviews, teacher reflection notes, and analysis of lesson documents and
game materials. The findings show that the game was implemented as a team-mediated
vocabulary activity through pre-teaching, modelling, guided game turns, scaffolded oral
practice, and post-game review. The game afforded contextualised vocabulary use, visual
and numerical support, repeated exposure to target expressions, visible classroom
participation, and opportunities for immediate teacher scaffolding. However, the teachers
also faced challenges related to students’ limited reading and number recognition, students’
tendency to focus on game mechanics rather than English use, noisy turn-taking, unequal
participation, and technical display limitations. The study implies that digital board games
can support young learner vocabulary instruction when they are carefully designed around
clear language targets and mediated through explicit teacher guidance. Rather than treating
digital games asself-sufficient teaching tools, teachers need to integrate them with modelling,
classroom routines, age-appropriate scaffolding, and focused vocabulary reinforcement.
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