Saudi EFL Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Wayground as a Formative Assessment Tool: Perceptions, Challenges, and Willingness to Use

This study explores how Saudi teachers perceive Wayground as a digital formative assessment tool in Saudi higher education English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms, particularly as teachers are increasingly expected to integrate technology to enhance student engagement and monitor learning progress. Although tools such as Wayground offer interactive assessment features, limited research has explored Saudi teachers’ perceptions of its use, their willingness to continue using it, and the challenges they face during implementation. Therefore, this study explores how Saudi teachers perceive Wayground as a digital formative assessment tool, their willingness to continue its use, and the main barriers encountered in higher education EFL contexts. A qualitative research design was adopted, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five Saudi teachers. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that teachers hold generally positive perceptions of Wayground as a formative assessment tool and express a strong willingness to continue its use due to its motivational and interactive aspects. However, several challenges were reported, including technical issues, such as poor internet connectivity, limited institutional support, and unequal student access to digital devices. The study concludes that while Wayground shows strong potential as a digital formative assessment tool in Saudi higher education EFL contexts, its effective integration requires improved technical infrastructure, greater institutional support, and targeted professional development for teachers.