Method
This study used a qualitative case study design to explore how favourite
digital games motivate students to learn English. A qualitative approach
was selected because it allows researchers to gain a deep understanding
of learners’ perspectives, feelings, and experiences, rather than relying
only on numbers (Creswell, 2014). Case studies are especially useful for
exploring real-life situations where the boundaries between the
phenomenon and the context are not clearly separated (Yin, 2014).
Maxwell (2013) points out that the design of a qualitative study is flexible,
research questions and methods often change as the study develops.
The study also followed a pragmatic paradigm, which means the
researcher used the most suitable tools and strategies to answer the
research questions (Dörnyei, 2007; Morgan, 2014). This flexibility made it
possible to collect data from multiple sources (questionnaires and
interviews) and to focus on the practical value of the findings for English
learning through digital games. Patton (2014) also highlights that
qualitative work uses careful selection of participants to get rich and
meaningful information. Denzin and Lincoln (2011) add that this type of
research values people’s own perspectives and the meanings they give to
their experiences.
The methods to collect the data are by using interview and questionnaires
and analysed using qualitative method. For the interview, researcher use
semi-structured interview because semi-structured interview is flexible.
Dearnley (2025) also says that semi-structured interviews give
researchers a flexible way to guide conversations while still letting
participants share their own stories in depth. In education research, semi-
structured interviews are often used because they balance structure with
openness, making it easier to explore students’ experiences (Rabionet,
2011). This means the interviewer can ask follow-up questions deeper
based on the interviewee’s responses.
The questionnaires in this study use open-ended questions. This method
was chosen because it allows participants to provide detailed answers
rather than simple responses such as “yes” or “no.” Open-ended
questions give respondents the freedom to express their own thoughts
and experiences in their own words, which often leads to richer and more
meaningful data (Fraser, 2024). In addition, this type of question can
capture unexpected insights that the researcher might not have thought
of in advance. According to Popping (2015), responses to open-ended
items can later be analyzed systematically through coding and thematic
analysis, which helps in identifying common patterns and ideas. While
open-ended questions may require more time to answer and analyze
compared to closed ones, they offer the advantage of depth and flexibility,
making them especially useful in educational research where
understanding individual perspectives is important (Denscombe, 2008;
Groves, 1978).