When positive beliefs are not enough: barriers and enactment in teachers’ adoption of digital game-based language learning

Despite interest in digital game-based language learning (DGBLL), classroom adoption remains inconsistent. Research has left teachers’ belief systems and enactment mechanisms underexplored. Drawing on technology-acceptance and teacher belief research, we introduce and preliminarily evaluate the Teacher Acceptance Model for Uptake and Proficiency (TeAM-UP), which distinguishes value- and barrier-oriented beliefs as separate but related constructs. Survey data from 52 in-service English teachers in Macau were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. Findings indicate that perceived barriers, rather than perceived pedagogical value, emerged as the strongest predictor of DGBLL use, challenging linear belief-to-behaviour assumptions common in Technology-Acceptance-Model-based research and providing preliminary support for a feasibility-centred account of DGBLL adoption. The study contributes to DGBLL theory by distinguising value- and barrier-oriented beliefs and examining the direct, indirect, and serial associations linking these beliefs with DGBLL-related practices. Practically, the findings suggest professional development should move beyond advocacy to prioritise barrier reduction through pedagogical scaffolding, curriculum alignment, and assessment design.