Harry Potter and the Last Spell Standing: A Gamified Pre-Exam Review Activity in the EFL Classroom

Hasbi, Muhamad (2026) Harry Potter and the Last Spell Standing: A Gamified Pre-Exam Review Activity in the EFL Classroom.

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Abstract

The implementation of pre-exam review activities in English language teaching has become increasingly important because such activities function not only as assessment preparation but also as opportunities to diagnose learners’ conceptual gaps before high-stakes examinations. In many EFL classrooms, however, review sessions are still conducted through repetitive teacher-centered drills that often reduce learner participation and cognitive engagement. Research by Yan et al. (2021) demonstrates that students’ emotional responses toward assessment preparation substantially influence their language performance and self-regulation. In addition, Teng and Zhang (2020) argue that review-oriented classroom interactions should encourage strategic learning rather than simple memorization because exam preparation in EFL contexts often prioritizes test completion over communicative competence. Cancino and Viguera (2024) report that game-oriented thematic instruction can improve learners’ motivation and vocabulary confidence when familiar fictional worlds are integrated into language learning tasks. Based on these considerations, this chapter introduces Harry Potter and the Last Spell Standing as a gamified pre-exam review activity inspired by the wizarding theme of Harry Potter to promote collaborative competition, classroom interaction, and learner engagement in the EFL classroom.

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