Original Research
EFL Teachers’ Perspectives on the Integration of Gamification and Art Therapy in ESP Contexts
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This study investigates EFL teachers' attitudes toward the use of gamification and art therapy-inspired approaches in language teaching. The study used a qualitative approach, with asynchronous semi-structured interviews conducted online with 26 EFL teachers at the International University of Tourism and Hospitality in Turkistan, Kazakhstan. The data were analysed thematically using the MAXQDA program. The findings show that teachers believe gamification and art therapy-inspired practices are effective ways to increase student motivation, communicative inventiveness, and emotional involvement. Gamification was defined as the use of game elements such as challenges, points, and collaborative tasks to enhance classroom involvement, but art therapy-inspired activities were seen as encouraging creative expression and lowering language anxiety. Teachers also noted that these techniques create student-centered learning settings and realistic communication practices applicable to professional contexts. Participants did, however, identify a number of problems, including insufficient professional training, time limits, and inflexible curriculum structures. The study suggests that combining gamification and creative pedagogies can help to create more engaging and emotionally supportive language learning environments, particularly in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) settings. It also emphasises the need for eacher training and institutional support in the successful adoption of innovative pedagogical approaches.
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Keywords
Gamification; Art Therapy; Teacher Perspectives; Student Motivation; ESP Context
Author(s) Information
Publisher’s Note
The claims, arguments, and counter-arguments made in this article are exclusively those of the contributing authors. Hence, they do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the authors’ affiliated institutions, or EUROKD as the publisher, the editors and the reviewers of the article.
Acknowledgements
The authors express gratitude to EFL teachers from the International University of Tourism and Hospitality for the participation and invaluable contributions to the research.
Funding
This research is funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP22787128).
CRediT Authorship Contribution Statement
Gulnara Rizakhojayeva: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Writing-Review and Editing, Supervision, Project Administration, Funding Acquisition
Ziyoda Khalmatova: Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Resources, Writing-Original Draft, Visualization
Generative AI Use Disclosure Statement
In preparing this manuscript, AI-assisted tools were used solely to refine the language (e.g., improving clarity, grammar, style, and readability). All intellectual content, data analysis, interpretation of results, and final manuscript revisions were conducted and verified by the authors. The authors accept full responsibility for the content of the manuscript.
Ethics Declaration
The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Republic of Kazakhstan, and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of International University of Tourism and Hospitality (Reference number: No2 and 17.10.2025).
Consent for Publication
Consent for publication was obtained from the participants in accordance with the ethical procedures approved for this study. No personally identifiable information is included in this article.
Competing Interests
The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.
Data Availability
The data are not publicly available because they contain confidential participant information. Access to the data is restricted to comply with the ethical conditions under which the study was approved.