The Comparison between the Effectiveness of Regular Flashcards and Digital Flashcards on Students’ Vocabulary Mastery at Primary School

Vocabulary mastery is fundamental to English language learning, particularly among primary school students who are developing their foundational language skills. This study aimed to determine whether a significant difference existed in vocabulary mastery between students taught using regular flashcards and those taught using digital flashcards. Quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 38 fifth-grade students at SD IT Wahdah Islamiyah 01 Makassar, Indonesia. The participants were divided equally into a control group and an experimental group, each comprising 19 students. The control group received instruction using regular flashcards, while the experimental group used digital flashcards. Data were collected through pre-tests and post-tests and analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test and Mann–Whitney U Test. The results indicated improvements in vocabulary mastery in both groups. The experimental group’s mean score increased from 81.21 to 94.32, whereas the control group’s mean score increased from 80.11 to 93.95. However, the Mann–Whitney U Test yielded a significance value of 0.689 (p > 0.05), indicating no statistically significant difference between the two groups. These findings suggest that both regular and digital flashcards can support vocabulary learning among primary school students, although neither method demonstrated a statistically significant advantage over the other in this study. The findings provide practical insights for English teachers selecting vocabulary instructional media based on students’ learning needs, classroom conditions, and available resources. This study contributes comparative evidence to the discussion of vocabulary instruction and highlights the potential of both traditional and technology-supported flashcards in primary English language learning.