Dijital oyun oynamanın yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğrenen Türk öğrencilerin iletişim kurma istekliliğine etkisi

The English language permits worldwide communication, and technological developments accelerate and facilitate that communication. Furthermore, technological advancements enable English language learners to have a chance to interact in English through digital contexts. Digital games are one of the digital contexts paving the way for employing digital materials in English language teaching by enabling learners to have a chance to interact in English. Furthermore, learning the English language through digital game contexts has an impact on English learners' not only cognitive domains but also affective ones, such as their willingness to communicate, speaking anxiety, motivation, self-confidence, and risk-taking abilities in English. In this sense, integrating digital games into English classes might be assumed to be a panacea to enrich the English language teaching process by catching up with the era's innovations and meeting the expectations of both English learners and educators. The objective of the present study was to investigate the impacts of digital gameplaying on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' willingness to communicate in the second language (WTC in L2), affective factors involved L2 speaking anxiety, motivation, self-confidence and risk-taking, and the English language use. The present study was conducted in a state high school in Turkey in the 2021-2022 academic year. The 36 participants of the current study were 10th-grade students in two intact classes. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, prioritizing quantitative data first, followed by qualitative data during data collection and analysis. For the quantitative part, pre & post-test quasi-experimental research design was favored. Thus, the two questionnaires (WTC in L2 and affective factors) were applied as pre and post-tests to experimental and control groups that were randomly assigned. After the pre-tests, a 10 week-long digital gameplay sessions were implemented with the experimental group (N= 18) as in and out-class activities. In contrast, the control group (N= 18) maintained their traditional instruction plan during that phase. After the implementation process, the post-tests were conducted. When data collection and analyses were completed, the first semi-structured interviews were held with the experimental group to clarify the quantitative data results. Finally, follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants in the experimental group to enlighten the justifications for their declined or stabilized scores in the post-tests. For analyzing English use, the voice records and written chat scripts of the participants in the first and the last weeks of gameplay sessions were collected and analyzed. To analyze the quantitative data, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Versions 18 and 22, was used. For qualitative data, a thematic analysis was conducted. The results of the study revealed that students' WTC in L2 in digital and face-to-face environments enhanced through digital gameplaying. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the students' L2 speaking anxiety declined through a 10 week-long digital gameplaying. The quantitative data analysis did not reveal a statistically significant change regarding motivation, self-confidence, and risk-taking abilities. The qualitative data analysis revealed constructive perceptions of the participants regarding the integration of digital gameplaying into English classes to increase WTC in L2 and affective factors (motivation, self-confidence, and risk-taking) and decrease L2 speaking anxiety. Lastly, the results indicated that the students' English use improved in terms of quality, such as making longer sentences and applying tense markers and word choices in the last week since the students abandoned using set phrases (e.g., OK, good) and the Turkish language compared to the first week. However, in terms of the quantity of English use of the students, the results did not indicate a statistically significant change. To conclude, the integration of digital games into English classes meets the needs of both learners and educators. Furthermore, enriched English classes yield affirmative outcomes in terms of assisting learners in their language learning process through improving cognitive and affective domains. Similar studies should be conducted with a larger sample, consisting of other age groups, through varied topics and extended affective factors to get more apparent results regarding the integration of digital games into English classes. Keywords: Willingness to communicate in English, digital games, affective factors.