Leveraging task-based digital storybooks on junior secondary school EFL students' listening and reading skills: investigating their effects and students’ perceptions

Abstract

Previous studies have highlighted the role of digital storybooks in language learning; yet, how to integrate them with task-based language teaching to simultaneously target specific listening and reading skills remains unclear. This study addressed this gap by investigating the effectiveness of task-based digital storybooks in enhancing EFL students’ listening and reading skills. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the study employed pretests and posttests to measure students’ receptive skills, followed by an investigation of the students’ perceptions of the learning process. Quantitative data were analysed using multivariate tests, while thematic analysis was used to examine the qualitative data. The results indicate a significant difference in students' listening and reading skills scores between the experimental and control classes. However, based on the effect size test, the influence of task-based digital storybooks on students' listening and reading skills is classified as moderate. The interview results showed that involvement in authentic task-based learning, collaborative interaction and negotiation of meaning, support and formative feedback, and repetitive tasks are factors that make students feel that task-based digital storybooks help them improve their listening and reading skills. The findings highlighted the potential of task-based digital storybooks for English language teaching in diverse educational contexts.