Students’ Perceptions Toward The Use of Defense of The Ancients 2 Game for Developing English Vocabulary

Abstract

Vocabulary is an important element in learning English. One way to learn vocabulary is by playing games which use English as a medium of interaction. This study was aimed to identify students’ perception toward English vocabulary learning through an online game namely Defense of the Ancients 2. Defense of the Ancients 2 game gives opportunities to the players to choose their teammates from overseas and communicate with them using English. In order to investigate how the game could support vocabulary learning, 9 students of the Faculty of Information and Technology of Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana who joined a DotA players community were interviewed. The results of this study revealed that the participants showed positive responses toward the use of the game for their vocabulary learning. The study showed that Defense of the Ancients 2 game can: (a) become a medium for fun learning, (b) increase students’ motivation, (c) enrich vocabulary and (d) become an alternative tool for learning vocabulary. Hopefully, this study could be an inspiration for English as foreign language learners and teachers also next researchers who are interested in games and vocabulary learning.