Based on the rapid development of the times, marked by technology, learning language is no longer done as it used to be before technology. In the era of technology, we can use technology as a medium for learning foreign languages, such as English. Various technological innovations have been discovered, including popular online video games like Mobile Legends.
According to Kobis & Tomatala (2020), Mobile Legends can be an effective tool to learn English. According to Darihastining et al. (2020), Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) is a popular game in Indonesia, it is the variant of MOBA genre, and this game is played by fighting as a team, defending the team’s base and destroying the enemy base consisting of five players from each team with the Land of Dawn as a battle arena.
Surprisingly, the Land of Dawn, typically a battle arena, can actually serve as an effective classroom for learning English by enhancing communication skills, introducing vocabulary, and improving listening also pronunciation in a fun way.
Firstly, Mobile Legends can improve communication skills through the available chat and voice chat features. When playing games with MOBA genre, we will definitely be formed and compete in teams. In achieving victory in the match, communication is important. When playing we not only meet Indonesian players, it is also possible for foreigners to be on the one team in the game. This will force us to be able to communicate in English.
For example, by using the chat and voice chat features we can send many phrases such as phrases for apreciation like “Good game”, “Well played”, and “Great play”. Then there are phrases for commands such as “Push first”, “Push the gold lane”, “Attack the lord”, and many more. And prohibition phrases or appeals such as “Enemy missing”, “Gather at the lord”, “Retreat”, and “Beware of ambush”.
This need or interest in communication trains players to think and spontaneously in English This is also an opportunity for us to practice how to give instructions, ask questions, also give prohibitions is also an easy way to learn English.
Another fundamental way is that Mobile Legends teaches English through the acquisition of the rich vocabulary available from the game. Every element in MLBB from hero name such as “Lesley”, “Esmeralda”, “Alucard”, or “Hilda” with their own unique backgrounds to skill names such as “Combat Ritual”, “Art of Hunting”, or “Power of Wildness” are all presented in English.
Players are also automatically expose to words such as “burst damage”, “cooldown”, or “stun”. Furthermore, by understanding item descriptions such as “Lifesteal”, “Magic Defense”, “Immortality”, or “Armor”, this understanding is crucial to success in the game. According to Yudanto (2025), the research was conducted by sending questionnaires to 27 English Education students to find out that Mobile Legends is useful as a tool for learning English, revealing that 81,5% students agreed that they have obtained new vocabulary knowledge from MLBB. O
ne of interviewee said “Usually I read about some description of the heroes in the game, so I know a bit about vocabulary, some new vocabulary in their lore, or their story of the heroes in the game. From that, I learn some vocabulary knowledge from the game”. Players are forced to understand English words according to their functions, thus expanding their vocabulary contextually without feeling like formal learning in school or college. This learning process is very important because it is motivated bye one’s own interests.
In addition to vocabulary, listening comprehension even pronunciation are also honed through character or hero dialogue and voice line in the game. Each hero has a series of quotes that are spoken during the game as well as in the battle lobby or hero selection, such as the hero Odette, one of which is “You become what you believe in” during the game and “Love outshines the golden crown” during hero selection.
MLBB also provides voice lines during the game that are useful for providing notification such as “Victory!”, “Enemy has slain lord”, “Double Kill”, “Maniac”, and many more are always spoken in English. As found by Kobis & Tomatala (2020), about students’ perceptions of MLBB as a tool for learning English Listening and English speaking or pronunciation.
The research results show that 19 out of 31 student respondents or around (61.3%) agree with the statement that says “I understand all English instruction that I listen while playing MLBB”, In addition, 14 students (45.2%) agree with the statement that says “Playing MLBB makes my ability in English better than before I played it”. Then in the pronunciation aspect, it shows that 17 students agree and 8 students strongly agree with the statement “Playing Mobile Legends makes me know the way to pronounce English words that I heard while playing that game”.
One student said that when the hero he uses attacks, he will say a phrase and the student starts to imitate the pronunciation of his hero so that he trains his pronunciation to be better. This makes gaming sessions not only fun but also a beneficial auditory experience for English language development.
In short, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is not just a game that aims to entertain; it can be a powerful informal English learning medium. Through understanding communication between teams using the available features, getting a lot of vocabulary from the available from the various elements, and it is very useful for improving the listening skills and also the pronunciation of English from the players.
This phenomenon proves that learning English or learning other language can not only be done traditionally or formally in class, but can also be done through fun activities and in line with personal interests. With the increasing popularity of Mobile Legends or other English games, the potential utilizing technology in the form of entertainment media as a bridge to mastering English is increasingly wide open, showing that the Land of Dawn is the Land of English for many people.
Writer: Muhamad Fahril, Student of Al-Ihya Islamic University, Kuningan
