Learn to Read App in Strengthening Blending Phonics Among Kindergarten Learners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22593600Keywords:
blending phonics, digital phonics instruction, early literacy, Kindergarten learners, Starfall Learn-to-Read App, quasi-experimental researchAbstract
This study determined the effectiveness of the Starfall Learn-to-Read App in strengthening blending phonics among kindergarten learners at Southbridges International School in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test non-equivalent control group design was employed during the 2025-2026 school year. Thirty Kindergarten learners were included in the final sample and divided equally into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received three weeks of CVC phonics blending instruction using the Starfall Learn-to-Read App, while the control group received the same content through teacher-led instruction supported by PowerPoint presentations. A researcher-made 20-item multiple-choice test served as both the pre-test and post-test; it obtained a content-validity mean of 4.23 (Very Highly Valid) and a KR-20 reliability coefficient of 0.843. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, independent-samples t-tests, paired-samples t-tests, and mean gain scores at the .05 significance level. The groups were comparable at pre-test (12.60 vs. 12.70; p = .93). After the intervention, the experimental group obtained a higher post-test mean than the control group (17.10 vs. 13.50; p = .001). The experimental group also showed a significant within-group gain of 4.50 points (p < .001), compared with a 0.80-point gain in the control group (p = .027), and the difference in gain scores significantly favored the experimental group (p = .001). The findings indicate that the Starfall Learn-to-Read App was more effective than conventional instruction alone in strengthening blending phonics. The study supports the use of structured digital phonics tools as supplementary resources in early literacy instruction.
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