The Relationship between Online Gaming and English Vocabulary Mastery among High School Students

This quantitative correlational study investigates the relationship between online gaming, gender, and English vocabulary mastery among 65 tenth-grade students at a private high school in North Minahasa, Indonesia. Data were collected using a self-report online gaming questionnaire and a 50-item researcher-developed multiple-choice vocabulary test reviewed by three experiences EFL teacher for content validity. The students reported a high mean level of online gaming (M = 3.94) while moderate mean level of vocabulary mastery (M = 65.69). Pearson correlation revealed a weak, positive but non-significant relationship between gaming frequency and vocabulary test scores (r = .141, p = .262). An independent samples t-test indicated no statistically significant difference in vocabulary performance between male (M = 64.22) and female students (M = 67.09), and t(62,75) = -0.53, p = .598. The findings indicate that the online gaming does not necessarily correspond to higher vocabulary mastery. However, the findings should be interpreted cautiously because the study used a small co sample from one school and did not examine game genre or the amount of English used during gameplay. Further research should examine these factors and use more direct measures of English exposure during gaming.