A Quantitative Study in Using Digital Games to Enhance the Vocabulary Level of Saudi Male Secondary School Students

Vocabulary learning is crucial to language acquisition. Although numerous techniques have been proposed for the teaching and learning of vocabulary, the need remains for the research and development of new, effective methods. In this technological era, digital games have proven their efficacy in promoting learners’ vocabulary acquisition. The current study investigates whether the integration of technology-driven digital games is effective in enhancing the vocabulary level by comparing experimental and control groups. The researcher conducted a pretest for the experimental group and a posttest for both groups within a period of five consecutive weeks. The experimental group used 7 Little Words, which is a game for learning vocabulary, whereas the participants in the control group learned vocabulary through traditional methods. The sample comprised 30 Arabic native speakers studying English as a required course in two all-male classes (15 students from each) in the third year of secondary school. Data were analyzed quantitatively. Paired-samples t-tests and independent-samples t-tests were used to compare the mean scores of the two groups. The results indicated that using digital games to learn vocabulary enhanced learners’ overall vocabulary acquisition.