The Impact of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang on Vocabulary Mastery among EFL Junior High School Students

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore the impact of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang on vocabulary mastery. The background of this study discusses the importance of vocabulary in English, but there are difficulties in understanding the meaning of vocabulary. Therefore, interesting vocabulary learning methods, such as the use of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang as a learning medium, were applied. This study is based on Krashen's theory (1985), which states that competence acquired from unconscious knowledge can produce words in another language. Krashen also states that language teachers can use visual tools and discussion activities on familiar topics to aid learning. Therefore, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang was chosen as a medium for learning English vocabulary. This study used a quantitative quasi-experimental design with a post-test only design. Two groups were selected through cluster random sampling: one experimental group that learned vocabulary using Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and one control group that was taught using traditional printed texts. The participants of this study were 91 ninth-grade junior high school students in the 2025/2026 academic year, of which 46 students were divided into the experimental and control groups. The treatment was conducted in three meetings for the experimental and control groups. Data were collected through a post-test and analyzed using an independent sample t-test. The results of the study indicated a significant effect of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang on students' vocabulary mastery. The data obtained were analyzed using an independent sample t-test in SPSS software. The experimental group obtained a higher average score (85.64) than the control group (80.41), and the significance value (0.011) was lower than 0.05, which meant that Mobile Legends: Bang Bang had a significant effect on vocabulary mastery among junior high school students learning English as a foreign language. The study concludes that Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is an effective medium for teaching vocabulary to EFL junior high school students. It provides not only an engaging and enjoyable learning experience but also supports the theories of Krashen’s Input Hypothesis Theory. The researcher recommends that English teachers adopt Mobile Legends: Bang Bang as a supplementary tool for vocabulary instruction, students use it to improve their language skills, and for the future researchers explore its broader application at different educational levels and with larger populations.