Integration of Digital Media Vocaroo in English Speaking Instruction to Improve Senior High School Students’ Communicative Competence: A Full Empirical Study in Technology‑Enhanced EFL Learning

Abstract

This empirical study examines the effectiveness of integrating Vocaroo digital media into English speaking instruction to enhance communicative competence among Indonesian senior high school students. Despite curricular emphasis on communicative language teaching, many learners struggle with fluency, pronunciation, discourse organization, and communication strategies due to limited speaking opportunities and classroom anxiety. Technology-enhanced learning environments provide new pedagogical possibilities to address these challenges. A quasi-experimental mixed-method design was employed involving 120 Grade XI students divided into experimental and control groups. Over a 12‑week intervention, the experimental group engaged in structured Vocaroo‑based speaking tasks aligned with communicative competence principles, while the control group followed conventional speaking instruction. Quantitative results revealed statistically significant improvement in communicative competence components, including fluency, pronunciation accuracy, discourse coherence, and strategic competence (p < .001). Qualitative findings indicated increased learner confidence, autonomy, and engagement. The study proposes a technology‑enhanced communicative speaking model integrating asynchronous digital recording with reflective learning practices.