<![CDATA[Digital technology has encouraged teachers to integrate innovative tools into language education. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 38 pre-service English teachers who collaboratively developed gamified learning media as a final project in an ICT in Education course and as preparation for a teaching internship. The media were designed for elementary or junior secondary learners. Data were collected through focus-group discussions and individual reflective papers and analysed thematically using a deductive–inductive approach informed by Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Five themes were identified: platform selection and design decisions, perceived alignment with learning objectives, perceived pedagogical potential, reported professional learning benefits, and technological, pedagogical, and collaborative challenges. Participants reported considering learner characteristics, English-language content, task difficulty, game elements, and platform features. They viewed the project as an opportunity to practise creativity, collaboration, technical problem-solving, and teaching preparation. Challenges included adapting activities to learners’ proficiency levels, using unfamiliar platforms, accessing paid features, and negotiating group decisions. The findings identify TPACK-related considerations in participants’ accounts of the design process but do not provide an objective measure of their TPACK competence or the instructional effectiveness of the media.]]>
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