The Impact of Game‐Based Metaverse on Language Learning Motivation, Anxiety, and Vocabulary

ABSTRACT This controlled trial explores how Fortnite, a multiplayer game with customizable virtual spaces, can be used as a metaverse‐based language teaching (MBLT) environment to support vocabulary learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Grounded in self‐determination theory and activity theory, the impact of Fortnite on students’ vocabulary learning, language anxiety, and motivation was investigated, and the level of academic task engagement during the intervention was explored. Eighty one high school students participated: 41 in the experimental group, who learned vocabulary in a custom Fortnite virtual mall, and 40 in the control group, who received regular classroom instruction. A pretest‐posttest quasi‐experimental design was used. Data were collected through validated instruments and an achievement test. Vocabulary achievement was analyzed using an independent samples t ‐test, while Mann‐Whitney U tests were used to assess changes in anxiety and motivation. Descriptive statistics were used to reflect engagement across cognitive, behavioral, and affective dimensions. Results showed that the group instructed with MBLT had significantly higher vocabulary learning, lower anxiety, and higher motivation compared to the control group. During MBLT, learners’ academic task engagement levels were moderate to high, with cognitive engagement being the highest. The findings suggest that integrating metaverse platforms like Fortnite into EFL instruction can create motivating, low‐anxiety, and engaging learning environments that align with the digital habits and motivational needs of today's learners.