An Investigation on the Application of Wordwall to Promote Learner Autonomy in EFL Classes at a University

The use of game-based learning platforms has significantly contributed to learners’ improvements in autonomous learning. This mixed methods research aimed to investigate how Wordwall, one of the game-based learning platforms, promoted learner autonomy in an EFL class. To serve the research purposes, the study conducted a two-month experimental teaching, class observations, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that students showed their dynamic engagement, motivation and responsibility during their learning process. Moreover, students expressed their purposeful selection of learning content and learning templates aligned with their ability and preference, resulting in better learning outcomes. Most of them shared their positive and in-depth perceptions towards the use of Wordwall. However, the students still showed that some limitations of templates in the free learning platform and teachers’ immediate feedback cause certain hindrances to interact with this platform. Therefore, some pedagogical implications were highly recommended to help students mitigate some barriers and drawbacks, thereby optimizing the effectiveness of using Wordwall in the EFL class.