AI Powered Gamified Tools and Vocabulary Retention Among Vietnamese Non-English Major Undergraduates: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study at Nguyen Tat Thanh University

ABSTRACT: The current research aimed to examine the link between using the gamified vocabulary activities that utilized AI technology and vocabulary performance of undergraduate students from the Vietnamese university who did not pursue majors in English language studies. For the purposes of the current investigation, the researchers have applied an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The quantitative data were collected from 60 students with B1 level of language competence via vocabulary pre-test, vocabulary post-test, and 47-item questionnaire. Next, the qualitative data were gathered through interviews of 10 students who were interviewed in order to reveal their experiences of participation in vocabulary activities. The intervention program included Quizlet, Blooket, and Wayground activities coupled with repeated reviewing of vocabulary during seven weeks. It was found that the mean vocabulary score of participants rose from 5.06 (SD = 1.83) prior to the intervention to 7.79 (SD = 1.49) following the intervention. Paired-samples test revealed the significant result, t (59) = 35.52, p < .001, where the effect size was very large. Besides, students had positive perceptions regarding immediate recall, repeated review, and vocabulary use in speaking in class. Descriptive measures showed high values for ease of use, usefulness, relatedness, interest, and autonomy. The findings indicate that gamified digital tools can support vocabulary review when embedded in a deliberate teaching sequence. Given the single-group design, however, the results should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects. Keywords: AI-powered gamification, vocabulary retention, technology acceptance, self-determination theory, Vietnamese undergraduates.