Introduction. Strengthening foundational literacy in primary education remains a global priority, particularly following learning disruptions that have widened achievement gaps. Integrating literary texts into language learning is increasingly viewed as a promising approach to support literacy development through meaningful, engaging, and context-rich reading experiences. The aim of this article is to examine the effectiveness of integrating literary texts into language learning in improving primary school students’ literacy skills compared to conventional textbook-based instruction.
Study participants and methods. The study employed a quantitative quasi-experimental design using a pretest–posttest control group format. Participants were 60 fourth-grade students from a public primary school in urban Indonesia during the 2024/2025 academic year, divided into an experimental group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30). The intervention lasted six weeks (12 sessions). The experimental group received language instruction integrating literary texts (children’s stories and narrative texts) through guided reading, vocabulary enrichment, group discussion, and written responses, while the control group received conventional textbook-based instruction. Literacy outcomes were measured using a 30-item test with high reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.87). Data were analyzed using assumption tests, independent samples t-tests, effect size estimation, and ANCOVA controlling for pretest scores.
Results. Baseline equivalence was confirmed (pretest: t(58) = −0.32, p = .75). The experimental group achieved significantly higher posttest performance (M = 81.6, SD = 9.2) than the control group (M = 70.3, SD = 8.8), with a significant between-group difference (t(58) = 4.87, p < .001). The instructional treatment produced a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.26; η² = 0.29) and higher mean gain scores (+19.2 vs. +7.2). ANCOVA results indicated that the group effect remained significant after controlling for pretest scores (F(1,57) = 23.71, p < .001; partial η² = 0.29).
Conclusion. This study shows that integrating literary texts into language instruction significantly improves primary students’ literacy skills compared to conventional instruction. Literature-integrated teaching enhances reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, and inferential skills, indicating that structured engagement with literary texts is an effective and evidence-based approach for strengthening foundational literacy in primary education.
Keywords: literature-integrated instruction, children’s literature, literacy development, reading comprehension, inferential skills, primary education
For Citation: Diplan, Rini, Djawad, A. A., & Khunaifi, A. R. (2026). Integrating Literary Texts in Language Learning to Improve Literacy Skills in Primary Education. Perspektivy nauki i obrazovania = Perspectives of Science and Education, (4), 291–303. https://doi.org/10.32744/pse.2026.4.20
Authors:
Diplan (Indonesia, Palangkaraya) — Doctor language, Associate Professor. University of Palangkaraya. E-mail: diplan161181@fkip.upr.ac.id
Rini (Indonesia, Palangkaraya) — Teacher at Muhammadiyah Integrated. Islamic Elementary School, Palangkaraya. Email: rini@gmail.com
Alimuddin A. Djawad (Indonesia, Banjarmasin) — Doctor Language, Associate Professor. Email: aldin331966@gmail.com
A’am Rifaldi Khunaifi (Indonesia, Palangkaraya) — Master Language, Lecturer. Universitas Muhammadiyah Palangka Raya. Email: aamrifaldi@gmail.com
© Diplan, Rini, Alimuddin A. Djawad, A'am Rifaldi Khunaifi, 2026
The author’s declared no conflicts of interest
Received: 19 February 2026 | Approved: 21 May 2026 | Published: 31 August 2026
This is an open access article distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike International License (CC-BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal
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