Several studies have investigated the effects of applying a Game-Based Learning methodology in the EFL Classroom. Although this methodology has not been seen as an innovative tool in the teaching atmosphere, the demands of the new educational Spanish curriculum, LOMLOE (Real Decreto 217/2022), call for a revival and revitalization of this active methodology.

As a baseline, it is essential to state the definition of the Game-Based Learning methodology (GBL), as it is usually confused with Gamification (Márquez-Gómez & Alcantud-Díaz, 2019). The Laureate Network Office (Johnson, n.d.) explained that “game-based learning is a smaller effort where individual games or technology are used to enhance a particular learning experience.” (p. 2). Countless games can be used in an academic context to develop the learning process, including digital and video games and traditional and modern board games, such as Monopoly, Minecraft, Dobble, and Scrabble (Isaacs, 2015). However, it is not as simple as choosing and implementing any game in a class; to meet the learning goals, the game must include instructions, a defined process, and an outcome (Johnson, n.d.). Therefore, in the Game-Based Learning methodology, as seen in Figure 1 below, we must consider four parameters: the game’s characteristics, the learning outcomes we want learners to obtain, the content we will include, and the assessments needed in the game. Once these four features have been selected, we have efficiently designed a game with academic input and outcomes appropriate for classroom implementation.

Figure 1

Conversely, Gamification differs from GBL in that it adds “game-like elements into your course […]. Typical strategies used involve recognizing achievements through points, badges, and leaderboards or progress boards.” (Johnson, n.d., p. 1). Thus, games are not included in the learning process, but some fundamentals typical of games in the classroom environment, such as badges, points, or competitions (Márquez-Gómez & Alcantud-Díaz, 2019).

Despite being two different methodologies, it is not unusual to see how they are implemented simultaneously, as including games in the EFL class might also promote using a leaderboard or points. However, traditionally, it has been thought that GBL teaching would be a more appropriate methodology for pre-elementary and elementary school environments (Johnston et al., 2023; Vygotsky, 1966). Nonetheless, several studies have confirmed the effectiveness of applying a GBL methodology concerning the acquired knowledge of high school students (Johnston et al., 2023), such as the study by Papastergiou (2009) . In this study, it was confirmed that using a digital game increased both the students’ motivation through the learning process and the success of the acquirement process of the concepts, in this case, computer memory concepts. Nevertheless, this claim can also be extrapolated to using more traditional games, such as board games. Recio (2007) champions the actual stimulation of several abilities through board games and the importance of said abilities in our current society, as the ones “that are stimulated by games are among the most important ones an educational system might aspire to inter and intrapersonal abilities, to achieve a respectful and understanding relationship with others.” (Recio, 2007, p. 3).

Even though these mentioned abilities are imperative should citizenship competence be developed and encouraged in the EFL classroom, board games can provide a list of abilities concerning different perspectives: Students, when playing, might improve their mental acumen and concentration. Board games have developed problem-solving abilities, as it has also been learners’ autonomy and social abilities (Recio, 2007). Chou’s (2017) research provides additional evidence concerning the development of technically non-academic abilities through GBL in class, as the researcher also highlights the diverse benefits that might be provided by board games, taking Monopoly as an example.

Not only have games proved useful for acquiring academic concepts (Papastergiou, 2009), but they have also shown their high value in developing what nowadays is called key and specific competencies (Recio, 2007). On the one hand, Mikasyte (2018) reviewed some studies carried out concerning the use of GBL in the EFL class and found evidence that showed that learners’ knowledge and language skills, understood as the current specific competencies such as oral comprehension competence, improved thanks to the use of educational games, which might confirm the effectiveness of the GBL methodology. Moreover, when teachers apply GBL, particularly EFL teachers, they might find a resourceful tool to help them face one of the main issues of our current society: the apathy shown by many students and the decrease in concentration levels (Getahun, 2022; Pinar-Pérez et al., 2021). The last generations of young students from developed countries have shown a decrease in their ability to focus on something for more than a short period (George et al., 2023; Jargon, 2022). APPS such as TikTok or Instagram, which provide audiovisual content in a one-minute-long video format, have profoundly influenced young people’s focus span. Evidence also shows that the constant gratification provided by the consumption of this kind of short video makes it harder for young people to keep focused when doing activities that do not provide said gratification (George et al., 2023; Jargon, 2022).

Introducing GBL and gamification in the EFL classroom might mitigate these consequences. As Ghazal and Singh (2016) explain, games “with difficult but achievable challenges capture the imagination of learners and keep them engaged for sustained periods” (p. 4). Well-designed Game-Based Learning and Gamification methodologies have proved to increase both motivation among students (Ghazal & Singh, 2016) and their knowledge and language skills (Mikasyte, 2018). Colby (2017) states that games “provide richly multimodal spaces that incorporate visual, aural, written, spatial, and kinesthetic modes that students can then analyze and explore.” (p. 55). Márquez-Gómez and Alcantud-Díaz (2019) emphasized the existence of reading and interpreting requirements through (educational) games and the fact that there is a symbiosis between literary texts. Including literature in games would amplify the benefits regarding production and comprehension competencies.

The proposal of the designed didactic sequence was implemented in a semi­private school. With its unique learning and teaching philosophy of project-based learning, the school stands out from other educational centers. The students who attend this high school generally belong to the upper middle class socially and economically. There is only one group per school year, and the student body in each class is somewhere between twenty-five and thirty. Students are usually arranged in groups of four, combining students with different levels of abilities. These students show a high knowledge of the English language and its culture. The school promotes acquiring knowledge mentioned in English, Spanish, Catalan, and French. Students’ learning process includes classes focused on society and culture, literature, and even translation from and to the foreign language taught, without forgetting grammatical and vocabulary content or developing specific skills such as oral and reading comprehension and key competencies. The school’s individualized approach ensures that students can thrive in their learning journey regardless of their abilities.

The didactic sequence created to meet the objectives of the present article required six sessions laid out in two weeks. Most sessions took place in the EFL classroom, although one was implemented in the school gym as the activity design required some physical activity. In this class, there was just one student with a significant curricular adaptation due to different conditions, which made their academic development slower than that of their classmates. Nonetheless, as the didactic sequence was designed to be performed in groups, the activities they were given were all but one the same as their classmates. This specific activity was adapted so they could acquire the same knowledge as their classmates.

To successfully complete the entire designed didactic sequence, a schedule was arranged to consider the number of sessions available and the dates offered by the internship tutor (see Table 2 below).

Table 2

Schedule of the implementation

The didactic sequence’s implementation was evaluated mainly through direct observation during each session. The vast majority of the students agreed on the efficiency of the GBL and gamification methodologies to help them acquire new knowledge more efficiently, and it was shown during the development of the didactic sequence. These results are consistent with those of Mikasyte (2018) , who stated in her research that students’ competencies improved thanks to the implementation of educational games in the teaching process. I could observe a betterment in students’ reading skills and cultural background concerning the Anglo-Saxon culture and the subgenre of short detective stories.

A recurrent opinion was expressed among the students: playing games made the learning experience funnier and less tedious, and the competitive feature added to the games was a key factor in their learning motivation. There was a significantly positive result regarding a group of students who used to show little interest during the EFL classes. Nevertheless, they surprisingly showed a good attitude towards the games and the didactic sequence as early as the first session of the implementation, and they actively participated in the games. Papastergiou (2009) stated that digital games helped increase students’ motivation in the learning process, a fact proved during this didactic sequence.

The attitude shown by one of the most troublesome students in the class should be highlighted, as he completed the final writing task all by himself. His behavior during the last two sessions was not appropriate, and he was told to separate himself from his teammates and was asked to do the writing task alone. Interestingly, instead of not writing a word, the student completed the task and showed excitement, as he could creatively express himself and his ideas. A possible explanation might be that students tend to be willing to complete a writing task when they are offered the possibility of letting their imagination run riot.

According to these results, allowing students to write literary texts allows them to explore and exploit their creativity. Thus, their sense of motivation increases as few limitations are included. Therefore, including literary texts as examples is of great value regarding vocabulary acquisition and matches the conclusions stated by Reyes-Torres et al. (2014) regarding the usefulness of literary works as a vocabulary-expanding mechanism. As Constructivism (Xyst, 2016) states, an active learner will acquire new knowledge more deeply and in a more efficient way than a passive learner, and including or increasing students’ enjoyment during the learning process facilitates the acquisition of content. Therefore, using digital and traditional games makes students the main characters of the learning process, increasing their participation and promoting students’ engagement and enjoyment during classes. This notion translates to them focusing more during the process and, thus, being more aware of what they are being explained or taught, which will probably improve the knowledge acquisition process. The direct observation tool has been highly advantageous when assessing the real-time sessions. Through the sequence of classes, subtle changes in how explanations were made could be made, considering the previous experience observed.

The second tool used to evaluate the accomplishment of the learning objectives was a rubric. For the final project, students had to create a writing per group, introducing some cultural knowledge learned during the sessions and characteristics typical of the short detective stories subgenre. Nine writings were delivered at the end of the last sessions. In general, most of the groups achieved to include cultural elements learned during the sessions of the didactic sequence in their writings, even though a vast majority of them chose the same one, the River Thames, to set their murder. A possible explanation for this may be that this river was the solution for one of the riddles of the escape room, and through direct observation, It was noticed that it was the hardest one to figure out. Hence, the name of the river was stuck in their heads, and almost all of them used it for the background of the story, even though some of them also included other locations. This seems to confirm the results of Papastergiou’s research (2009) regarding the efficiency of games in students’ learning process. Interestingly, three of the groups did not include any cultural item in their writings.

On the contrary, the most striking result to emerge from the data is that several writings did not include any modal verb reviewed in class. Even though the word count was not a limitation, and they even had a lot of freedom concerning the plot and development of their story, some of them failed to find a way to include a modal verb in their texts. It is possible that the didactic sequence had failed to address the acquisition of the modal verb uses and structures. There is a considerable difference between the accomplishment of the inclusion of modal verbs and that of the creative factor. On average, all the groups showed great imagination and creativity when writing their stories. At the same time, they applied their newly acquired knowledge concerning the subgenre of short detective stories.

In most of the writings, the clues and information that led the detectives to solve the mystery were innovative, and, in some cases, the characters show some of the typical traits of those in the detective stories. An example of this can be seen in Figure 3 below: learners stated that, even though there were clues that cast doubts on who the real murderer was, policemen insisted on the first suspect being the culprit, whereas the detective wanted to investigate the case deeply, as it usually happens in short detective stories.

Figure 3

It is also interesting to highlight the enrichment of the vocabulary used by all the groups. They successfully introduced the detective argot seen in class. These results are likely to be related to the inclusion of this literary vocabulary in the games played in class and on the secondary mission of the escape room. A strong relationship between literary texts and the acquisition of EFL basic knowledge, such as vocabulary, has been reported in the literature (García Vaquero & Alcantud Díaz, 2023 ). Together, these results provide important insights into the efficiency of including games and literary texts in the EFL classroom in the acquisition and development of cultural awareness and expression competence as well as EFL basic knowledge.

A SWOT analysis was used to evaluate the implemented didactic sequence and, therefore, identify its strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats. Figure 4 below shows a visual overview of these four aspects that were found after a thorough analysis of the designed implementation. This didactic sequence offers a variety of strengths that have been found during the analysis, being, the most unique one the existence of an explanatory handout in which a summary of all the sessions, deadlines and activities to perform was included. This handout is one of the working procedures of the center in which the didactic sequence was implemented, and I found it of such great value that I wanted to include it in the sequence. Students are not only English learners; they are young human beings growing up and maturing, and by giving them this handout, some adult skills might start to be acquired. Knowing beforehand what they are expected to do may help students to brace themselves to perform accordingly.

Figure 4

Physical activity might be considered a strength and is also connected to SDG number three, Good Health and Well-being. The “Steal the Bacon” activity combines sport and learning English content, which translates to the development of several key competencies. Students also might learn to work as teammates and support each other, some skills that will help them in the future. Lastly, the function of the games, which were designed based on Genial.ly templates, is easy to understand at first sight. Even though most students showed a low level of knowledge regarding how to use a computer (something surprising given their age), they soon comprehended how the games were played.

Nevertheless, turning now to the weaknesses found during the analysis, as part of the students in the questionnaire mentioned in the section above stated, games did not show a high level of difficulty for them. Although teachers should create challenges for their students, the complications of these challenges must be balanced, neither too difficult nor too easy. In this case, games tended to be too easy for half of the survey participants, as seen in Graphic 2 below.

Graphic 2

In the account of the content, although one of the objectives of this article was to improve the Anglo-Saxon cultural knowledge of students using games and the short detective stories subgenre (which might limit the cultural content to the British world), different cultures from English-speaking countries might have been included in the didactic sequence. Nowadays, multiculturalism is a tendency that cannot be denied, and the level of ignorance of culture from societies that are merging with our own culture is tremendous. Therefore, including cultural knowledge from a diversity of societies and cultures connected to the English world would be of great use. The last of the weaknesses found was the management of time. A few activities could not be fully developed due to a lack of time; therefore, some contents were not explored as deeply as they should have been.

A variety of opportunities for improvement was detected, one of them being the inclusion of literary texts from several different cultural backgrounds. Either teachers focus on one literary genre and develop it from different cultural perspectives, or they choose a different unifying thread to work with cultural awareness and expression key competence, using literature to enlarge students’ cultural knowledge offers a wide range of opportunities with promising results. It was also found that, in the Snakes and Ladders game, students sometimes had to face loops due to the gameplay and design of the game, something that might be fixed in the future. Lastly, due to time limitations, oral skills could not be aimed during the didactic sequence. Oral-specific competencies (oral production and oral comprehension) are usually disregarded or developed superficially most of the time due to lack of time to work on them. Nevertheless, the inclusion of a task in which students should make a brief oral presentation concerning their writings might become useful and an opportunity to improve said specific competencies.

Two main threats regarding possible technical issues arose during the analysis, as most of the activities were digital games: the lack of devices for every student (or group) and a poor Internet connection. These two threats might complicate the implementation of the didactic sequence and, therefore, its success; thus, the center’s technical possibilities must be considered when designing the didactic sequence or learning situation. Ultimately, a threat experienced during the implementation of the didactic sequence was the absence of some of the students due to their participation in several extracurricular activities, competitions, or tournaments. If there are numerous absences, the collaborative work between students planned for the implementation might be affected, thus jeopardizing the learning experience.