INTEGRATING DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP EFL STUDENTS’ DIGITAL LITERACY AND SOCIO-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of integrating differentiated learning strategies on students’ socio-emotional competence (SE) and digital literacy (DL) within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Descriptive analysis revealed that the experimental group achieved higher improvement in both SE and DL compared to the control group, with mean SE scores of 175.30 and 164.70, and DL scores of 125.40 and 109.25, respectively. Prior to hypothesis testing, normality and homogeneity tests were conducted to ensure that the data met parametric assumptions. The independent-samples t-test results showed a significant increase in SE and DL among students in the experimental group (p = 0.000), while the control group did not exhibit significant improvement. These findings indicate that differentiated learning strategies are more effective than traditional methods in enhancing EFL students’ digital literacy and socio-emotional competence. The study underscores the importance of implementing flexible, interactive, and learner-centered approaches to support holistic student development and foster 21st-century competencies in the digital era.