Game-Based learning for diverse learning styles: exploring teachers experiences at secondary school

Game-Based Learning (GBL) has become a learning approach to encourage students’ interests and address their learning styles. It is also believed that GBL can create an enjoyable learning atmosphere. This study aims to explore teachers' experiences in implementing GBL to accommodate the diverse learning style and identify the challenges that they may face. This study interviewed three English teachers and observed their classes at SMPN 35 Surabaya. The results showed that teachers utilized seven types of games to address different learners’ needs, such as: Jumbled Words and Quizizz for visual learners, Guess Me and Spelling Bee for auditory learners, and physical activities (e.g. Team-Tournament Games (TGT), Mime Games, and Clap hands) for kinesthetic. In addition, this study found six main challenges that teachers faced when implementing GBL, namely: game selection and relevance, adjusting to students' diverse abilities, time constraints, technology limitations, managing students' focus, and the lack of teacher training. These findings highlight the need to strengthen teachers' pedagogical capacity through continuous training and institutional support to further optimize the implementation of GBL in differentiated learning.