Video Games' Effect on Language Learning Motivation

Abstract: While online activity is increasing among young Swedish students, motivation to learn English in school is decreasing (Skolverket, 2011). While many studies confirm the positive effect that leisure gaming can have on language acquisition (Atma, Azmi & Hassan, 2020; Ferdig & Pytash, 2014; Li, 2020; Rudis & Poštić, 2017), how students’ motivation is affected is far less researched. In this paper, we aimed to investigate the effects on language learning motivation that extracurricular video games might have and what external factors surrounding gaming that modulate students’ motivation to learn English in school. We examined nine studies related to these topics and used multiple theories about motivation to analyze our findings. The results of our research review indicate that playing video games at home can be generally seen to increase students’ motivation to learn English in school. Studies also demonstrate that factors such as age, culture and student-beliefs could modulate the motivation affected by extra-curricular video gaming. Finally, research suggests that the greater the distance is between a student's current language proficiency and the desired proficiency, the greater the motivation appeared to be.