The Effectiveness of Eco Literacy-Based Instruction in Improving Vocabulary Acquisition Among Elementary School EFL Students

In Indonesia, English is introduced as a local content subject in many elementary schools, with the aim of developing students’ basic communicative competence. However, despite early exposure to the language, many Indonesian elementary school students continue to struggle with acquiring and retaining English vocabulary. This research analyzes the implementation of eco literacy-centered teaching on improving vocabulary learning for elementary students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The study examines how contextual, theme-oriented learning connected to ecological subjects’ aids vocabulary growth in young students. Employing a one group pre test post test design, a group of 28 elementary students were monitored during four meetings to measure between eco literacy-integrated English lessons and traditional vocabulary instruction from one intake group. Data were gathered via pre- and post-assessments, classroom observations, and student interviews. The findings indicate that eco literacy-focused instruction exhibited markedly greater advancements from roughly 2 (two) words during pre test, to 5 (five) out of 6 (six) words after the treatment using eco-literacy model in vocabulary understanding compared to the traditional treatment. Moreover, qualitative results indicate that incorporating ecological themes enhanced student involvement and enthusiasm in language acquisition. The research finds that instruction centered on eco literacy effectively promotes language abilities and environmental consciousness in elementary EFL education.