BREAKING BARRIERS IN EARLY READING AND RELIGIOUS MODERATION: A DESIGN-BASED STUDY OF A DIGITAL MEDIA-ENHANCED MULTISENSORY TRILINGUAL PHONICS MODEL IN AN INDONESIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Keywords:
Multisensory phonics instruction, trilingual literacy education, early reading development, religious moderation, digital media-enhanced learning, design-based research, phonological awarenessAbstract
Early literacy development in multilingual contexts presents significant pedagogical challenges, particularly when elementary students must navigate multiple phonological systems simultaneously. Contemporary educational discourse increasingly emphasizes integrating character education and digital media into academic instruction. This study develops and evaluates a digital media-enhanced multisensory trilingual phonics instructional model that supports early reading development while fostering religious moderation values, including tolerance, respect, and appreciation for diversity. Employing a design-based research approach with the ADDIE framework, the research was conducted at Sinar Harapan National Trilingual Elementary School in Lumajang, East Java, which provides trilingual instruction in Indonesian, English, and Mandarin alongside character education emphasizing tolerance. Digital media integrated into the model included interactive phonics applications, augmented reality (AR) flashcards for tone visualization, gamified learning platforms (Quizizz and WordWall), digital audio recordings for pronunciation modeling, animated video tutorials, QR code-linked audio resources, and a simple learning management system for progress tracking. Data were collected through expert validation, classroom observations, teacher interviews, and pretest-posttest assessments measuring students' phonemic awareness across the three languages. Observational data examined how digital media-mediated literacy activities embedded religious moderation values within classroom interactions. Findings indicate the proposed digital media-integrated model significantly improved students' phonological awareness across all three languages while promoting attitudes associated with religious moderation. Expert validation yielded an overall score of 88.54% (highly feasible), and teacher feedback confirmed pedagogical relevance. Student phonemic awareness showed statistically significant gains: Indonesian (22.18%, Cohen's d=1.31), English (25.67%, d=1.44), and Mandarin (24.03%, d=1.21). Observational data documented increased student behaviors reflecting tolerance, cooperation, and respect for cultural diversity. The study contributes to literature on multilingual literacy and character education by proposing an instructional model that bridges cognitive, linguistic, socio-cultural, and digital media dimensions of early learning while reinforcing religious moderation principles in elementary education.
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