Virtual Booth

The adoption of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in Malaysia aims to internationalize communicative benchmarking, yet local implementation faces barriers. A prominent gap in Malaysian secondary ESL contexts is pronunciation. This gap is partially driven by lack of prosody training and contextually irrelevant imported textbooks. This paper explores "Phonostack," a localized educational board game designed to provide authentic pronunciation practice and vocabulary mastery aligned with CEFR levels. As a tangible, strategy-based tabletop game featuring dice, tokens, and targeted word lists, Phonostack serves as an interactive intervention to enhance phonological accuracy, articulation, and prosody (stress, rhythm, and intonation). Gamified pronunciation tools lower affective barriers, motivate learners, and provide immediate corrective feedback. By prioritizing physical interaction over digital automation, the game minimizes learner isolation, offering a screen-free social experience that stimulates problem-solving and critical thinking. Ultimately, this paper highlights Phonostack's potential to bridge pedagogical gaps, boost classroom engagement, and offer a marketable, localized resource to enhance English speaking proficiency in Malaysian schools.