Impacts of Wordwall Online Games on Vocabulary Retention and Attitudes Among EFL High School Learners

Available online at www.rajournals.in RA JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH ISSN: 2394-6709 DOI:10.47191/rajar/v11i11.14 Volume: 11 Issue: 11 November 2025 International Open Access Impact Factor8.553 Page no.- 1065-1072 1065 Le Truong Han1, RAJAR Volume 11 Issue 11 November 2025 Impacts of Wordwall Online Games on Vocabulary Retention and Attitudes Among EFL High School Learners Le Truong Han1, Phan Thi Thanh Huyen2* 1Master’s student, Dong Thap University, Dong Thap, Vietnam 2Faculty of Foreign Languages, An Giang University, Vietnam National University - HoChiMinh City, Vietnam ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Published Online: 29 November 2025 Corresponding Author: Phan Thi Thanh Huyen Enhancing English vocabulary learning through engaging technologies has become a priority in many countries, particularly in high school settings where limited vocabulary retention and low motivation often result from traditional instruction. In Vietnam, despite increasing interests in digital game-based learning, empirical research on its effectiveness in EFL classrooms remains little. To address this gap, this study explores the impact of Wordwall online games on students’ vocabulary retention and attitudes toward using a game-based platform for learning English vocabulary. A quasi-experimental research design was employed, involving a post-test-only strategy integrated with semi-structured interviews with two groups of 12th graders in a public high school in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The experimental group learned vocabulary using Wordwall for five months, and the control group followed traditional instruction. The findings indicated that Wordwall games not only enhance learners’ vocabulary retention but also promote learner engagement, motivation, and autonomy. Furthermore, integrating an accessible and engaging platform in vocabulary teaching can counter affective barriers on students’ learning and promote their sustained vocabulary practice beyond the classroom. KEYWORDS: EFL students, high school, learner attitudes, vocabulary retention, Wordwall online games 1. INTRODUCTION English has been recognized as an indispensable tool in various aspects of life in the era of digital transformation and globalization (Mehrajuddin & Wani, 2022). It enables international communication and cooperation and also serves as a bridge between different societies, promoting crosscultural understanding and reducing communication barriers (Crystal, 2003). In Vietnam, English holds an important position in national education policy (MOET, 2018). In particular, the upper secondary curriculum aims to develop students' English language competence across the four macro skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – targeting Level 3 proficiency in Vietnam's Foreign Language Proficiency Framework. Achieving these goals requires a solid vocabulary foundation, which is widely acknowledged as a basis of language proficiency and effective communication (Vu & Peters, 2021). However, vocabulary retention remains a persistent challenge for many Vietnamese EFL learners (Kelly, 1986; Quoc & Van, 2023). This hinders students’ advancement in their overall language competence. Conventional practices like rote learning are usually seen as demotivating and the short time allocated to instruction also limits learning. Taking into account those issues, it is the duty of teachers to know needs of learners, motivate learners, use interesting materials, and implement digital technologies to improve their proficiency and keep track of learners’ progression (Liklikadze, 2023). Moreover, the development of digital technologies in English language teaching has received greater significance and provides the possibility of enhancing the quality of education and making it more active and varied to learn. Digital games in the classroom have also come with a number of significant positive effects on learners, such as the emergence of communication skills, the ability to remember unfamiliar vocabulary, and linking new information with the environment of learners (Shabaneh & Farrah, 2019). The use of games in language classes allow the students to remember the words easily and naturally (BinHady, 2021). Furthermore, most of the English teachers are positive about the implementation of the Wordwall platform as a means of learning vocabulary (Paksi et al., 2023). The Wordwall platform has gained attention for its various benefits in many aspects. It is one of the websites that offers a variety of educational games (Çil, 2021). It has been shown to increase learners’ learning outcomes (Minh & Nguyen, 2024; Insani et al., 2024), improve vocabulary “Impacts of Wordwall Online Games on Vocabulary Retention and Attitudes Among EFL High School Learners” 1066 Le Truong Han1, RAJAR Volume 11 Issue 11 November 2025 mastery (Khartha et al., 2025), and foster learners’ engagement, autonomy, and motivation (Mazelin et al., 2022; Nguyen, 2025). Despite numerous existing studies on the impacts of the Wordwall platform on EFL learners’ vocabulary learning, there remains a noticeable gap in research on vocabulary retention and learner attitudes in Vietnamese high schools. Thus, this study aims to address that gap by examining how Wordwall online games affect 12th graders’ English vocabulary retention and their attitudes towards learning vocabulary through the games at a public high school in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The ABC Model of Attitudes and the Selfdetermination theory (SDT) are integrated to give a combined framework for this study since they directly relate to the two research objectives - the vocabulary retention of learners and their attitudes towards Wordwall online games. SDT explains how this platform supports learners' psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. When these needs are satisfied, learners tend to achieve intrinsic motivation. Motivated learners are more likely to engage meaningfully and retain vocabulary effectively, resulting in improved learning outcomes (Deci & Ryan, 1985). ABC Model of Attitudes delineates the reactions of students to Wordwall in three aspects: affective (emotions and enjoyment), behavioral (participation and intention to use), and cognitive (perceived usefulness and evaluation of the tool). This model enables closer inspection of the attitudes of students surveyed from semi-structured interviews that explain their adoption and extent of involvement in digital game-based learning (Hogg & Vaughan, 2005). This combination of theories has a narrowed scope to answer the subsequent research questions regarding the impact of Wordwall on learners’ vocabulary retention and attitudes 1) How do Wordwall online games affect learners’ English vocabulary retention? 2) What are the attitudes of learners to Wordwall online games in learning English vocabulary? The study was conducted with 12th-grade learners in a public high school in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, in a five-month intervention period. The textbook used in the present study was Tieng Anh 12 - Global Success, published by Vietnam Education Publishing House. The words are selected from drawn from the textbook appendix, covering units 5 to 10. The investigation is limited to vocabulary retention and learners’ attitudes, including cognitive, affective and behavioral aspects of vocabulary learning experience through Wordwall online games. The other language skills such as speaking, listening, reading and writing, are not covered. To maximize the validity of the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were employed. This research is essential because it has an impact on the education practice and theory. In practice, this research gives a teacher an understanding of how Wordwall online games can enhance EFL students’ vocabulary memorization. In the theoretical context, it helps to fill a research gap related to the application of game-based learning platforms to EFL learners. The results can also be used to guide further research on how the digital tools can be used in foreign language teaching, especially in the Vietnamese context. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Vocabulary retention in EFL contexts Vocabulary is a core element of communicative competence and language proficiency. Wilkins (1972, as cited in Thornbury, 2002) stated that “Without grammar, very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed” (p.13). Because of the foundational role of vocabulary in language use, vocabulary retention becomes a critical focus in language learning. Vocabulary retention is a learner's ability to maintain, access, and apply newly learned vocabulary at some point after instruction, reflecting the contribution of long-term memory to language learning (Richards & Schmidt, 2002). In this study, vocabulary retention is understood simply as learners' ability to remember and apply English vocabulary. 2.2 Learners’ attitudes Learners’ attitudes play a vital role in language learning. It determines a learner’s success or failure to a great extent. Hogg and Vaughan (2005) defined attitudes as “a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols” (p. 150). The learner's reaction to anything associated with the immediate context in which the language is taught constitutes his or her attitude toward the learning situation (Zhao, 2015). Learners' attitudes towards a language impact their language acquisition and achievement in the language, whereas negative attitudes reduce engagement and decrease the effectiveness of language learning interventions (Mašić & Bećirović, 2021). In educational settings, digital games are effective tools for fostering learners’ positive attitudes towards language learning. 2.3 Digital game-based learning Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has recently emerged as an established practice in language teaching. DGBL, a subset of educational technology, is the application of digital games in educational contexts to enhance learning outcomes (Prensky, 2001). In vocabulary instruction, DGBL – especially web-based games – has proven effective in enhancing vocabulary learning and retention. Web-based games have demonstrated effectiveness in both short-term and long-term vocabulary retention, particularly for specialized vocabulary (Hao et al., 2021). Wordwall is one of the good examples of educational technology's capacity to facilitate recall of vocabulary and student participation (Arifin, 2024). “Impacts of Wordwall Online Games on Vocabulary Retention and Attitudes Among EFL High School Learners” 1067 Le Truong Han1, RAJAR Volume 11 Issue 11 November 2025 2.4 Wordwall online games as a DGBL tool Wordwall is a web-based tool for generating learning media like word randomization, word search, groupings, matchmaking, quizzes, anagrams, and pairing. This interactive digital gamification application has a variety of game and quiz features that teachers can use to match the lesson content (Khairunisa, 2021), or to design engaging and effective learning activities for students (Safitri et al., 2024). Wordwall is an online learning platform through which educators and students are allowed to create, access, and engage in educational interactive learning activities and games. It provides different customizable templates, including quizzes, matching activities, ordering activities, and other game-like learning activities, which can be adjusted to fit different subjects and levels of competency (Almuafa & Alqurashi, 2025). This platform offers a variety of features that make it a versatile digital learning platform for both teachers and learners. Firstly, it allows teachers to design contents with various templates, edit and personalize any activity for their specific lesson goals easily. Additionally, it also offers taskassignment and student-tracking options, which enables teachers to assign activities to either the whole class or individual students as homework or an online study. It enables educators to design interactive materials not only for classroom activities but also for assignments (Bilova, 2023). For learners, it is easy to access these games via various devices such as computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. Thanks to giving students instant feedback, the platform enables learners to realize and rectify any errors in real-time (Safitri et al., 2024). It helps to strengthen vocabulary memory and promote a positive attitude towards learning because of the convenience, visuality, and game-like features (Arifin, 2024). Wordwall has its own disadvantages, despite the advantages. A major constraints is that it does not provide a feature of explaining answers (Sa'diyah, 2022). Moreover, educators may be unable to fully exploit the potential of the platform without becoming premium subscribers. According to Bilova (2023), this platform includes fewer templates for non-subscribers. It is possible to create only 5 resources. Nevertheless, Wordwall games are still a worthy means of diversifying the learning process in EFL classrooms because its disadvantages are not as great as their advantages. 2.5 Previous studies on Wordwall in EFL contexts The review of previous studies shows a consistent recognition of the efficacy of Wordwall in terms of learning English vocabulary in EFL contexts. Numerous studies around the world have explored its effects on ELF learners’ vocabulary learning at primary and lower-secondary schools as well as at universities around the world. These studies consistently concluded that gamified activities such as quizzes, matching, and ordering tasks have significantly enhanced vocabulary acquisition, learner engagement, and motivation (Agustina et al., 2022; Alfiah et al., 2024; Hasram et al., 2021; Mazelin et al., 2022; Moorhouse & Kohnke, 2024). In Vietnam, several studies on the effects of the Wordwall platform on vocabulary learning have been conducted. Nguyen (2025) and Lam (2024) emphasized that the use of Wordwall not only enhanced learner engagement but also fostered greater learner autonomy in learning. In tandem with this, Minh and Nguyen (2024) also provided empirical evidence of meaningful vocabulary skill and retention improvements among students through gamification learning. Do and Huynh (2024) supported these findings by proving that Wordwall was a functional learning software for memorization among students. Although these studies have provided important information regarding the pedagogical benefits of Wordwall, the majority of the studies were done with university students or at a small-scale class level. Few studies were performed on public high schools, specifically for 12th-grade students learning vocabulary from the Tieng Anh 12 – Global Success textbook. Given this gap, the present study seeks to examine the influence of Wordwall online games on English vocabulary retention among 12th-grade students at a public high school in the south of Vietnam. By providing empirical evidence within a local educational context, this research contributes not only to the regional understanding of gamebased vocabulary learning but also to the international discussion on the pedagogical benefits of Wordwall in secondary education. 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS Research design This study employed a quasi-experimental posttestonly control-group design (Johnson & Christensen, 2019) to address the research questions. In this design, no pre-test is required; however, equivalence between the control and experimental groups at pretest time must be assured to support the comparison of post-test outcomes. Therefore, the experimental and control groups' first-semester final exam scores were analyzed to validate the comparison of post-test outcomes. This approach is advantageous as it minimizes the potential testing effect and avoids adding additional testing burden on participants. To address research question 1, the results of the vocabulary post-test were used to determine the effects of the intervention. To address research question 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with students in the experimental group to investigate their attitudes towards learning vocabulary through Wordwall. Research setting and participants This study was conducted at a public high school in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, where the textbook Tieng Anh 12 - Global Success was used. Each classroom was provided with basic technological facilities: a television and an Internet connection. A purposive and convenience sampling method was deployed to select the participants, who belonged to two intact Grade 12 classes at a public high school in the Mekong “Impacts of Wordwall Online Games on Vocabulary Retention and Attitudes Among EFL High School Learners” 1068 Le Truong Han1, RAJAR Volume 11 Issue 11 November 2025 Delta region of Vietnam. The experimental class received vocabulary instruction through Wordwall online games, while the control class was taught with conventional methods. The sample consisted of 86 students, approximately 17-18 years old. All students had studied English as a mandatory subject throughout their secondary school. None of the students in the experimental group lacked access to a smartphone, a prerequisite for participating in the Wordwallbased activities during the intervention. Data collection instruments Data collection in the study combined quantitative and qualitative instruments, the post-test and the semistructured interviews. Both groups were administered the post-test to evaluate the retention of vocabulary after the intervention. In addition, semi-structured interviews of the selected participants representing the experimental group were used as a complement to the quantitative answers to elicit more information about students’ attitudes. The selection of six students was done intentionally, based on their vocabulary performance levels, categorized into excellent, good, satisfactory, and needs improvement, according to MOET’s official classification framework. The interview questions were designed based on the ABC Attitude Model described by Hogg and Vaughan (2005) to explore students’ attitudes towards learning vocabulary through Wordwall online games. Research procedures At the first stage, two grade 12 classes were selected to participate in the study. The students’ English scores from the first semester exam were collected and analyzed to ensure comparability between the two groups. A random selection of one of the classes was taken as an experimental group, and the other as a control group. The two groups were exposed to various learning activities, which were used to practice the target vocabulary during the five-month intervention phase. For the control group, the students followed conventional procedures, including textbook explanations, rote memorization, and completing exercises such as gap-fill, multiple-choice, and matching tasks provided in the textbook. Alongside the textbook activities, the control group also worked on additional exercises provided by the teacher through printed handouts. At home, the students in this group reviewed vocabulary independently in ways that suited their individual preferences. In contrast, for the experimental group, those exercises were gamified through Wordwall platform. Before each experimental session, students were instructed to prepare their mobile devices to participate in the online games. The school’s network was stable and available for students. This ensured that all participants in the experimental group could engage with Wordwall games smoothly in the classroom. In-class activities included 10 - 15 minutes of game-based vocabulary practice at the end of each lesson, as well as occasional use of the games for warm-up or vocabulary review exercises in some lessons. In addition, outof-class practice was also encouraged through shared links. These sessions allowed self-directed review and repeated exposure to the target vocabulary. Students could engage with the activities at their own convenience and needs, while teachers retained oversight of their participation and progress and aided the students if required. After the instructional phase, a vocabulary post-test was administered to both groups to examine the impact of the treatment on the students’ vocabulary retention. Moreover, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six students from the experimental group to explore their attitudes towards game-based vocabulary learning. Data analysis In this study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. For quantitative data, the posttest results of both groups were analyzed using an independent sample t-test to compare group means. The SPSS version 20 software was used, and the level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Thematic analysis of qualitative data (student interviews) was performed in order to extract recurrent patterns (e.g., affective, behavioral, and cognitive components). Themes that were obtained during this process were associated with motivation, engagement, and vocabulary learning. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Results 4.1.1 Quantitative findings For the post-test results of the experimental and control groups, descriptive statistics were computed. As shown in Table 4.1, the experimental group had a higher mean (M = 7.09, SD = 1.52) than the control group, with the mean score being 6.16 (SD = 2.13). The lower standard deviation for the experimental group reflects lower variation in their performance. Besides, the control group’s mean standard error was 0.33, while the experimental group's mean standard error was 0.23. Thus, the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of performance. Table 4.1. Group Statistics of the Post-test Group N Mean SD SE G1 43 6.16 2.13 .33 G2 43 7.09 1.52 .23 Additionally, an independent samples t-test was conducted to determine whether the difference in post-test scores between the two groups was statistically significant and supported the research hypothesis. In Table 4.2, Levene's “Impacts of Wordwall Online Games on Vocabulary Retention and Attitudes Among EFL High School Learners” 1069 Le Truong Han1, RAJAR Volume 11 Issue 11 November 2025 Test for Equality of Variances indicated a violation of the assumption of homogeneity of variances, F(1, 84) = 8.56, p = .004; therefore, the row for "equal variances not assumed" was utilized when examining the t-test. The t-test showed that the control and experimental groups were significantly different on the post-test scores, t (75.80) = -2.33, p =.022. The average difference in the two groups was -0.93 with a standard error of 0.40. The confidence interval of the mean difference was between -1.73 and -0.13, but it does not include zero, and it is another indication of the significance of the difference. This confirms that there is a significant effect of the use of Wordwall online games on learners’ vocabulary retention. Table 4.2. Independent Samples t-test of the Post-test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means F Sig. t df Sig. (2tailed) Mean Difference Std. Error Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Equal variances assumed 8.56 .004 -2.33 84 .022 -.93 .40 -1.72 -.14 Equal variances not assumed -2.33 75.80 .022 -.93 .40 -1.73 -.13 To sum up, the first-semester final exam score comparison between the experimental and control groups' results confirmed that both groups had equivalent English proficiency before the intervention, ensuring a valid baseline for comparison. The independent samples t-test of the mean post-test scores also revealed a significant difference. These findings indicate that Wordwall online games can enhance learners’ vocabulary retention. 4.1.2 Qualitative findings The analysis of six student responses from the semistructured interview suggested that learners have generally positive attitudes towards using Wordwall online games in English vocabulary learning. Their attitudes were examined using the ABC Model of Attitudes (Hogg & Vaughan, 2005), with three aspects: affective, behavioral, and cognitive. Regarding the affective aspect, all participants reported that they felt more interested and enthusiastic when learning with Wordwall. They found this tool engaging and entertaining. Student 2 shared, "Whenever we use Wordwall, I'm excited. It's not like boring lessons,". Another student noted, "Using Wordwall to learn vocabulary is fun. I don't get anxious like in a normal test,". Similarly, student 3 said, "I find learning with Wordwall more relaxing because the games help reduce the pressure of making mistakes,". This revealed that through Wordwall, the students were able to experience less anxiety and stress in learning thanks to a more favorable and pleasant learning environment. Moreover, they had an opportunity to compete with their classmates to foster improvement. Altogether, these positive emotions denote that learning vocabulary through Wordwall made students more relaxed, engaged, and delighted. Regarding the intention and the actions of the learners in vocabulary learning with the Wordwall, the interview data indicated that the participants were willing to continue using it in the future. One of the students said, “I often play Wordwall games at home because it makes learning fun and less stressful. Besides, it improves my vocabulary memory”. Another student replied, “Wordwall allows me to remember vocabulary more easily, so I often play it at home,”. This revealed that Wordwall motivated the students to study independently without the school environment. It was very common in their houses since it made them memorize words easily. Moreover, some students believed that they would like to learn more vocabulary during the next lessons since it would allow them to study vocabulary at their own pace without feeling in a hurry and feel more motivated to learn new words. According to student 3, “Wordwall allows me to study vocabulary at my own pace. That is why I would like to continue using it,”. These quotes demonstrated that the students were eager and ready to utilize this platform in the future, thereby boosting their autonomous learning. When questioned on the effectiveness of Wordwall in vocabulary recall, all the participants said that this tool was useful and helped them learn vocabulary better. They believed that they could remember vocabulary more effectively with the online games that enabled higher repetition levels and provided instant feedback. Student 1, for example, reported that this way of giving instant feedback allowed her to recognize her mistakes, correct them immediately, and develop her vocabulary memory. For student 3, interactive learning is more suitable to learn vocabulary as compared to traditional methods. This “Impacts of Wordwall Online Games on Vocabulary Retention and Attitudes Among EFL High School Learners” 1070 Le Truong Han1, RAJAR Volume 11 Issue 11 November 2025 perception indicates that memory is encouraged through active participation and exposure to target words regularly. Students 2 and 5 also expressed an agreement that playing these games regularly made them more familiar with new words. In short, the qualitative and quantitative findings indicated that Wordwall had a favorable influence on the students’ attitudes and vocabulary retention. They showed their enjoyment, excitement, relaxation, and confidence when learning with the games. Furthermore, they demonstrated their readiness to keep using it in the future. 4.2 Discussion The quantitative results of the research showed that the two groups had a statistically significant difference with t(75.80) = -2.33, p =.022 (p <.05). These findings indicated that Wordwall use had a positive effect on learners’ vocabulary retention. Compared to the earlier studies, e.g., Ngo and Phan (2025) and Minh and Nguyen (2024), the results are consistent with the idea that digital game-based approaches can be applied to facilitate word consolidation. The variation is that the study, combined with the short review sessions within a classroom environment and practice at home, had facilitated memory by repeated retrieval and use, which is one of the critical processes of retention. Additionally, many recent papers that examine vocabulary learning or proficiency (Çil, 2021; Minh and Nguyen, 2024; Ngo & Phan, 2025; Khartha et al., 2025; Safitri et al., 2024; Syamsidar et al., 2023) tend to evaluate the performance of learners at the end of the learning period, but not to follow their retention over time. Likewise, the current research measured students’ vocabulary knowledge after the intervention to determine how Wordwall affects their vocabulary retention. Although the research had not provided a delayed retention test, the results nonetheless highlight the possible role of Wordwall in improving the vocabulary of the learners within the Vietnamese high school environment, where memorizing of vocabulary plays a crucial part in preparing for high-stakes examination. The qualitative results, obtained during the semistructured interviews, identified that most of the students have positive views regarding learning vocabulary using Wordwall online games. They demonstrated their enjoyment, excitement and self-confidence in studying with Wordwall. Furthermore, they expressed their readiness to continue using this platform in future learning activities. These cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses illustrate the ABC Model of Attitudes (Hogg & Vaughan, 2005) in practice. Moreover, the responses imply that the games satisfied students’ needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, which are the basic principles of Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). These results align with previous research findings that Wordwall online games are useful in building positive attitudes and enhancing learner motivation (Mazelin et al., 2022; Paksi et al., 2023; Alfiah et al., 2024; Nguyen, 2025). Unlike existing studies, this study showed that combining inclass review practice and home practice not only strengthened retention through repeated retrieval, intrinsic motivation, and positive emotional engagement but also encouraged autonomous learners with positive attitudes towards the language. Vietnamese learners have been known to face difficulties in recalling long-term vocabulary, which then turn into barriers when reading, writing, and taking oral exams. The present findings indicate that implementing Wordwall online games in teaching vocabulary to high school students, supplemented by constant class review and home-based practice, can effectively address the above barriers. The games help to increase repeated retrieval of vocabulary, intrinsic motivation, and learning engagement. Integrating Wordwall online games in language teaching and learning is a relevant strategy for the Vietnamese secondary school context. 5. CONCLUSION This present paper has investigated the effects of Wordwall online games on English vocabulary retention among twelfth graders at a public high school in Vietnam and explored learners’ attitudes towards using this tool in vocabulary learning. This five-month quasi-experimental study indicates that learners in the Wordwall-supported class achieved significantly higher vocabulary performance than those receiving traditional instruction and also possessed positive attitudes towards using these online games in learning vocabulary. It confirms that Wordwall online games positively impacted EFL learners’ behaviors, affective reactions, and cognitive beliefs. In conclusion, the study highlights the potential of integrating digital games into vocabulary instruction in order to enhance learners’ ability to recall vocabulary, support practicing vocabulary independently after class, and engage learners in the EFL classrooms. REFERENCES 1. Alfiah, R., Santosa, M. H., & Kusuma, P. I. 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