Enhancing Speaking Proficiency and Terminology Learning Among ESP Learners Through Edutainment Activities

Considering the needs of most English for a Specific Purpose (ESP) learners, speaking proficiency and terminology learning are two challenging objectives of their English learning. This anxiety is boosted when it comes to technical environments because it needs a range of specific vocabulary, resulting in lower scores than expected. Edutainment or the integration of entertainment with education is supposed to be helpful. Regarding a quasi-experimental study, 60 Iranian ESP learners studying nursing were conveniently selected and distributed into experimental (EG) and control (CG) groups. During the intervention phase, participants in the EG were taught the instructional materials based on Edutainment activities ranging from simple crossword puzzles to complex simulative games. Participants in the CG received the same content through mainstream English learning tasks. The instruments included an Oxford Placement Test (OPT), speaking proficiency, and terminology tests. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the outcomes. The results indicated that EG participants significantly outperformed CG regarding speaking proficiency and terminology learning. While Edutainment was significantly effective in enhancing the mentioned domains, it was more beneficial in speaking proficiency compared to terminology learning. The outcome may benefit ESP teachers, learners, and curriculum developers considering the integration of education and entertainment.