EFL students report that games reduce speaking stress and improve speaking skills¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Evidence quality · No study behind this claim is a peer-reviewed article with a DOI: it rests on a source with no registered publication record (a web page, book or unpublished report). It is kept because 3 design pages cite it; treat it as a lead to check, not an established finding.

Subclaims¶

q2 i? All interviewed students stated that games reduce stress and thereby improve speaking skills. → Ismayilli 2025

Evidence¶

Ismayilli 2025¶

Ismayilli, T. M., Mammadova, K. M., & Asadova, A. A. (2025). The impact of educational games on speaking skills in the foreign language teaching process. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 19(1), 229–240. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1469668

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Content analysis of semi-structured focus-group interviews with 30 undergraduate EFL students (Table 4) found the stress-reduction/speaking-skills code was endorsed by all participants; 15 reported increased self-confidence and 10 reported speaking more comfortably in public. No effect sizes were reported.

"all students stated that games reduce stress and , therefore, improve their speaking skills. Again, 15 students stated their self-confidence increased thanks to the games, and 10 said they spoke more comfortably in public."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Affect Regulation — outcome: instruction changes it
• Academic Anxiety — outcome: instruction changes it
• Communication Skills — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Students report games make the classroom atmosphere fun and increase participation — related
• Students view games as relaxing and fun, building confidence for speaking — related
• Anxiety in foreign language classroom learning experiences is linked with oral performance among Japanese EFL learners — related
• Fear of making mistakes is the most significant cause of foreign language speaking anxiety among Iranian EFL learners (81%) — related
• AI reduces foreign language anxiety and strengthens self-efficacy and self-confidence, supporting the Affective Foundation Pathway — related
• Lack of practice ranks fourth among speaking anxiety sources, which the authors suggest may be due to teacher-centered Iranian classrooms — related