Improving L2 Vocabulary Acquisition through Drawing Games: Insights into Student Engagement among Thai EFL Learners

Authors

  • Sirathee Teemueangsai

    Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand
  • Apisak Sukying

    Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand
  • Changyong Min

    Department of Foreign Languages, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030001, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i5.9327
Received: 3 April 2025 | Revised: 25 April 2025 | Accepted: 26 April 2025 | Published Online: 8 May 2025

Abstract

Student engagement is essential for L2 vocabulary learning in EFL contexts. Engaged students are more prone to focus, retain new words, and use them accurately. Engaged students are also motivated to learn vocabulary outside classes, which promotes vocabulary development and overall language improvement. This study explores EFL students’ perceptions of drawing games as a vocabulary learning tool through focus group interviews. The qualitative data offer deeper insights into how drawing games influence vocabulary knowledge and retention. Twenty participants were purposively selected through an intact class sampling method and divided into High-Performing (HP) and Low-Performing (LP) groups based on their vocabulary size. Each of the five focus groups included two HP and two LP students. The thematic analysis examined cognitive, behavioral, and affective engagement with inter-coder reliability and member checking to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings. The results revealed that students demonstrated all types of engagement, with cognitive engagement showing through planning, simplification, and guessing, while behavioral engagement emerged in discussions, collaboration, and play behaviors. Moreover, affective engagement was reflected in students’ enjoyment and confusion toward vocabulary learning. HP students reported assistance from their peers and strategic thinking, while LP students highlighted the fun and interactive nature of the games. Some students faced challenges in interpreting drawings, suggesting a need for scaffolding and guided discussions. Overall, the study provides qualitative evidence that drawing games enhance engagement, reinforcing their value as an interactive and effective EFL teaching tool.

Keywords:

Drawing Games; Student Engagement; Vocabulary Acquisition; Thai EFL Learners

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How to Cite

Teemueangsai, S., Sukying, A., & Min, C. (2025). Improving L2 Vocabulary Acquisition through Drawing Games: Insights into Student Engagement among Thai EFL Learners. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(5), 655–669. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i5.9327

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 5 (May 2025)

Article Type

Article

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Copyright © 2025 Sirathee Teemueangsai, Apisak Sukying, Changyong Min

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.