Since the formal adoption in 2020 of English as an official subject at elementary schools in Japan, an increasing number of elementary school students have been found to be non-resistant to speaking and listening to the language. At the same time, more students have developed an aversion to English. Although increasing the amount of comprehensible input is recognized as one key to improving English proficiency, opportunities for input are limited for most English learners in Japan, making extracurricular and home-based learning vital. To address the scarcity of input, attention has turned to the use of digital textbooks with integrated audio components. Available on tablets since 2023, these digital textbooks enable students to access comprehensible and repeatable audio input during their home study. Prior research has been conducted from an educational technology perspective, but none has incorporated Second Language Acquisition theory. In the present study, an experiment was conducted using digital learner textbooks for English home study with 5th and 6th grade elementary school students. Data were collected through tablets and analyzed using AI and data science techniques. The results showed that 6th grade students who were in the habit of studying but did not spend much time on English, as well as those who enjoyed and excelled in skills-based subjects like English, demonstrated significant improvement in performance test scores. Significant effects were exhibited in knowledge and skills for the former group, and in abilities to think, make decisions and express oneself for the latter.
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