Students’ Autonomous Learning Strategies in Improving Writing Skills through Global Chat Rooms in Black Desert Mobile

Abstract

This study investigates how Indonesian EFL students employ autonomous learning strategies to improve their writing skills through participation in global chat rooms of the MMORPG Black Desert Mobile. Using a qualitative descriptive design with a phenomenological approach, the research explored students’ lived experiences of writing in an informal digital environment. Seven seventh-semester students from an English Education program were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and documentation of students’ chat interactions, and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed four interrelated autonomous learning strategies: self-correction triggered by informal peer feedback, repetition and daily use of English, vocabulary enrichment through authentic exposure, and experimentation with new expressions in a low-pressure communicative setting. These strategies contributed to improvements in writing accuracy, fluency, lexical range, and learner confidence. The study concludes that MMORPG global chat rooms function as informal digital learning spaces that foster learner autonomy and provide authentic opportunities for writing practice, thereby complementing formal classroom instruction.