Unlocking Practical Implications of Digital Game-Based Learning in EFL Education

This research investigated the potential of Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) to boost higher-order thinking (HOT) and social skills, personalized learning, and language performance in secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) education. We used a documentary method to examine the results of 30 studies on DGBL in secondary EFL instruction. We predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure that articles were published in the last five years, indexed in academic databases, and examined the benefits of DGBL in EFL education. Data were collected using checklists, journal entries, and sequential documentary summaries. The analysis included five stages: article examinations, data reduction, comparison, data display, meaning-making, and final reasoning. The findings indicated that 40% of the reviewed studies agreed that DGBL can foster higher-order thinking by engaging students in digital games such as Mondly, Metaverse, and Pokémon Go. In addition, 20% of the studies approved that DGBL can foster networking opportunities in EFL instruction by enhancing mutual understanding, co-responsibility, and respectful communication. Additionally, 12% of these articles supported that such a method strengthens autonomous and self-directed learning by engaging students in interactive and immersive self-learning digital games that can lead to greater awareness and independence. The remaining percentage (28%) endorsed that DGBL increased language exposure by enhancing rehearsal opportunities, inputs, and resources. The findings indicated that DGBL could be a multifunctional, adjustable, and goal-oriented instructional alternative for developing higher-order thinking, social skills, and personalized learning in secondary EFL education.