Eksplorasi Peran Video Game Dalam Meningkatkan Penguasaan Kosa Kata Bahasa Inggris Mahasiswa: Studi Kasus Di Universitas Tadulako

Yoakim Kevin Roberto. 2026. Exploring the Role of Video Games in Improving Students' Vocabulary: A Case Study at Tadulako University. Supervised by Darmawan and Wahyudin.
This study aimed to explore the role of video games in improving students' English vocabulary at Tadulako University. The research employed a qualitative descriptive case study involving 45 university students who actively played video games. Data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed via Google Forms and semi-structured interviews with three selected participants. The data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014), consisting of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing.
The findings revealed that video games supported students' vocabulary development through five aspects: vocabulary exposure, understanding, acquisition, usage, and retention. Students were frequently exposed to English vocabulary through game instructions, dialogues, voice chat, and text chat. Vocabulary understanding developed through contextual clues and repeated encounters with unfamiliar words during gameplay. Participants also reported acquiring new vocabulary naturally through game-related activities without intentional memorization. Furthermore, vocabulary learned from video games was applied in gaming communication, daily conversations, academic activities, and social media. Repeated exposure during gameplay strengthened long-term vocabulary retention. Most participants also expressed positive perceptions of video games as supplementary media for English vocabulary learning because they provide engaging, contextual, and meaningful learning experiences.
The study concludes that video games play a positive role as an informal learning medium that supports students' English vocabulary development through vocabulary exposure, understanding, acquisition, usage, and retention. Therefore, video games can serve as valuable supplementary media alongside formal English language learning.
Keywords: video games, vocabulary development, English vocabulary, qualitative study, informal language learning.