Ecoliteracy-based learning model for academic reading instruction in tertiary EFL: Development, validation, and effectiveness

Academic reading instruction in Indonesian tertiary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts has remained largely disconnected from sustainability discourse, limiting opportunities to develop both advanced literacy competencies and ecological awareness. This study reports the development, validation, and effectiveness evaluation of the Ecoliteracy-Based Learning Model (ELM), a research-derived instructional model that integrates Genre-Based Pedagogy (GBP) and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) within a four-dimensional ecoliteracy framework (cognitive, affective, conative, and sociocultural). Using the ADDIE instructional design model, the ELM was developed and validated through expert judgment involving content, design, media, and language specialists before being implemented with 25 third-semester EFL undergraduates at Universitas Al Washliyah Medan, Indonesia. Validity results placed all major model components in the very valid category (Model Book: M = 3.87; Student's Book: M = 3.76; Semester Learning Plan: M = 3.75). Practicality was confirmed by student questionnaire scores (M = 3.46; 86.50%) and lecturer assessment (92.19%), both in the Very Practical range. Effectiveness was evaluated through a one-group pre-test/post-test design. Mean academic reading scores increased from 58.00 (SD = 8.04) to 85.24 (SD = 3.91). A paired-samples t-test confirmed statistically significant improvement (t(24) = -30.44, p < .001), corroborated by a Wilcoxon signed-rank test (Z = −4.38, p < .001), with a normalized gain of g = 0.65 (medium–high category). Qualitative analysis of reflection journals and analytical summaries revealed progressive ecoliteracy development across all four dimensions, including evidence of ecological reasoning, ethical sensitivity, action orientation, and connection to Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) from North Sumatra. These findings demonstrate that academic reading instruction and ecoliteracy can be developed simultaneously within a structured, genre-informed pedagogical model, offering a replicable framework for sustainability-integrated EFL curricula at the tertiary level.