Abstract

Games and songs are increasingly seen as effective educational instruments in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, especially for vocabulary instruction. Nonetheless, studies investigating the perceptions of both pre-service teachers and teacher educators within Vietnamese contexts remain limited. This study examines the perceptions of pre-service teachers and teacher educators regarding the advantages, obstacles, and roles of using games and songs in EFL vocabulary training, while also identifying effective ways for classroom integration. A mixed-methods approach was utilized, incorporating questionnaires administered to 100 pre-service teachers and 9 teacher educators at HUFLIT, alongside a semi-structured interview with 10 pre-service teachers and 3 teacher educators. Findings show that both groups benefit from activities and songs that improve student engagement, language retention, and emotional support, while also dealing with some limitations. Suggested solutions, such as careful lesson planning, contextual adaptation, scaffolding, and systematic integration, underscore the necessity for teacher education programs to equip future educators for enhanced integration of games and songs in vocabulary training.