Harnessing the Power of Educational Games to Enhance Engagement and Motivation among Young Language Learners

Authors

  • Neshat Azizi Department of Foreign Language Philology Philipps University of Marburg Wilhelm-Ropke Strasse 6-35032 Marburg, Germany
  • Sadaf Khalid School of Social Science and Humanities IILM University Knowledge Park II, Greater Noide, Uttar Pradesh 201306, India
  • Rastislav Podpera Theological Institute, Faculty of Theology, The Catholic University in Ružomberok, Spišská Kapitula 12, 053 04 Spišské Podhradie, Slovak Republic
  • Yorova Sayora Karimovna Department of Foreign Languages Samarkand State Medical University Samarkand city, Amir Temur street, 18, Republic of Uzbekistan
  • Monika Hornáček Banášová Department of German Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Nám. J Herdu 2, 91701 Trnava, Slovak Republic
  • Erzsébet Szabó Department of Romance and German Studies, Faculty of Arts Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra Štefánikova 67, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2026.1.653.666

Keywords:

educational games, engagement, motivation, young language learners, English language teaching

Abstract

Aim. This study aims to investigate how games, as an enjoyable teaching method, can enhance motivation and engagement among young learners. It explores how different aspects of motivation and engagement manifest within a game-based instructional setting.

Methods. Using a qualitative approach, the study conducted a case analysis with a randomly selected class of 15 children from a language institute. Data was gathered over two months through video recordings, teacher journals, and classroom observations.

Results. The results indicate that learning through games creates an enjoyable environment that significantly boosts learners’ motivation and engagement. Teacher journals, and observation notes revealed that children participated enthusiastically in every lesson and showed high motivation throughout the sessions. These findings align with previous research demonstrating that educational games foster intrinsic motivation and active participation among language learners. Furthermore, games help reduce anxiety and promote positive attitudes towards language learning.

Conclusions. Therefore, the findings suggest that game-based instruction serves as an effective motivator and engager, particularly in the early stages of the learning process, contributing positively to learner autonomy and sustained interest in language acquisition. Future studies could explore longitudinal impacts and game design features that maximize motivational benefits.

 

 

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Author Biographies

  • Sadaf Khalid, School of Social Science and Humanities IILM University Knowledge Park II, Greater Noide, Uttar Pradesh 201306, India

    Dr. Sadaf Khalid is an accomplished academic with over five years of teaching experience in Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations. She has a strong record of research, having published SCOPUS-indexed research papers and presented her work at over 10 national and international conferences. She is working as Assistant Professor in School of Social Science and Humanities, IILM University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. She completed her graduation in Political Science from Women´ s College and gold medalist in public administration for her Master´´ s program from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. She writes for an online news platform "Eastern Herald". Her area of interest lies in Indian political affairs, public policy, Woman Representation and Empowerment, public sector management and local governance.

  • Rastislav Podpera, Theological Institute, Faculty of Theology, The Catholic University in Ružomberok, Spišská Kapitula 12, 053 04 Spišské Podhradie, Slovak Republic

    After completing his master's degree, he continued his doctoral studies at Comenius University, where he defended his PhD. from musicology. He worked as a music scientist at the Institute of Musicology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. He actively participated in the preparation of liturgical songbooks for Slovakia in the Music Section of the Liturgical Commission of the Conference of Bishops of Slovakia. He teaches church music to priests at the Roman Catholic Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology at Comenius University in Bratislava. He received his habilitation from the Didactics of Music at the Catholic University in Ružomberok. He currently works as an associate professor at the Catholic University in Ružomberok, at the Institute of Sacred Art in Bishop Ján Vojtaššák's Priestly Seminary in the Spišska Kapitula in Spišský Podhradie in Slovakia.

  • Yorova Sayora Karimovna, Department of Foreign Languages Samarkand State Medical University Samarkand city, Amir Temur street, 18, Republic of Uzbekistan

    She is the author of more than 5 textbooks, two monographs and more than 50 articles on the topic of the linguistic essence of English vocabulary related to the description of human health, as well as the study of proverbs and sayings related to the concept of "Human Health".

  • Erzsébet Szabó, Department of Romance and German Studies, Faculty of Arts Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra Štefánikova 67, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia

    Mgr. Erzsébet Szabó, PhD., works as a young lecturer at the Department of Romance and Germanic Studies, Faculty of Arts, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. In her research activities, she focuses on the development of students’ reading skills in the process of teaching German, particularly from the perspective of pragmalinguistic typology and the cognitive aspects of text comprehension. Her academic interests include foreign language didactics, reading literacy, pragmalinguistics, and the cognitive aspects of language learning.

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Published

2026-06-27

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2026): Journal of Education Culture and Society

Section

DYNAMICS

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Copyright (c) 2026 Erzsébet Szabó, Rastislav Podpera, Sadaf Khalid, Yorova Sayora Karimovna, Monika Hornáček Banášová

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How to Cite

Azizi, N. ., Khalid, S., Podpera, R., Karimovna, Y. S. ., Hornáček Banášová, M. ., & Szabó, E. . (2026). Harnessing the Power of Educational Games to Enhance Engagement and Motivation among Young Language Learners. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 17(1), 653-666. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2026.1.653.666