Investigating Taiwanese University EFL Teachers’ Perspectives of Integrating Edutainment Games into English Instruction

The potential of promoting learning through gamining has been discussed in the field of “computer assisted language learning” (CALL). However, studies on how teachers integrate edutainment games into their curricular and instructional consideration were scarce. Hence, this study purports to understand how college english as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in Taiwan perceive the integration of online edutainment games into language teaching. To achieve this goal, an online edutainment website for training negotiation skills was introduced to four EFL teachers. These participants were asked to use the games in their classrooms for one academic year. To understand teachers’ perspective of employing online edutainment games as a mean to facilitate language teaching, qualitative inquiries including classroom observations and focus group interviews were conducted. Findings revealed that simulative negotiation, interactive interface, and content of online edutainment games could provide students with rich contextual clues to speculate about unfamiliar words. Also, game attributes such as interactive interfaces and prompt hints could help cultivate players’ knowledge of games through their gaming experiences. These characteristics can be used to revitalize students’ autonomous learning and encourage them to preview and review. However, limited instructional time could prevent games from being optimized for language teaching. Edutainment games should be used in students’ extracurricular time to increase their exposure to the targeted language.