Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities

The present study aims at assessing the average level of the 2st year intermediate school student's achievement in new vocabulary, finding out the role of Shades of meaning strategy on EFL intermediate school student's new vocabulary, and finding out whether there is any significant difference between the students' achievement at the recognition and at the production levels of the post-test. Find out whether there is any significant difference between the five variables (relevance, contextual, practice, variety and usage). A sample of (100) students have been randomly selected from Iraqi EFL second intermediate school students from Baghdad College Secondary School in Al_adhamiyah, Baghdad, during the academic year 2024-2025. It is divided into two equal groups, i.e., the experimental and control groups. The experimental group has been taught according to Shades of Meaning Strategy, while the control group has been taught according to the conventional method. An achievement test has been constructed, validated, and applied to the two groups. The results show that Shades of Meaning Strategy is more effective than using the conventional method.

This study aims to show the impact of authentic video materials on the development of the speaking skills of undergraduate Iraqi EFL learners, the subsequent investigation was implemented. In order to, accomplish this objective, the sample of this study consisted of 50 EFL Iraqi learners (from a population of 136) in the third grade at the math department of the College of Computer Science and Mathematics/ Tikrit University. These learners had been studying for the first semester of the academic year 2024/2025. They were divided into two sections: section A, which contained 25 learners, was referred to as experiment group, and section B, which contained 25 learners. Assigned as the control group. The majority of EFL learners, it appears, experience challenges with oral communication. Bad fluency, spoken grammar misuse, and a lack of vocabulary are among the many challenges that can be encountered.
In addition, the results of this study confirm that authentic video materials are a valuable resource that can be utilized to enhance speaking abilities in the context of Iraqi EFL. Incorporate video-based tasks into the curricula and provide instructors with the necessary training to effectively utilize technology and videos for cultural video resources.

This study explores how Digital Interactive Stories (DIS) can improve vocabulary skills and creative writing among EFL learners in Iraq. Conventional English teaching methods in Iraq concentrate on memorization and grammar, which often reduce the motivation of students and limit productive skills. DIS, which integrate multimedia and interactive elements, may offer a more engaging and effective alternative. The present study aims to find out the effect of using digital interactive stories on EFL university students’ vocabulary skills; find out the effect of digital interactive stories on EFL university students creative writing components, specifically: a. Fluency (quantity of ideas and words). b. Flexibility (variety of ideas and vocabulary). c. Originality (novelty and uniqueness of ideas). d. Elaboration (detail and description) and find out the correlation between vocabulary skills and creative writing. To achieve these aims, two achievement tests are constructed—a vocabulary skills test and a creative writing test—administered to 60 third-stage students at the College of Education for Humanities, University of Tikrit, during the academic year 2024–2025. To ensure face validity, the tests are reviewed by a panel of specialists in linguistics and EFL teaching methodology, who confirmed their validity and suitability. A pilot study involving 20 randomly selected students reveal that the average time required to complete the test items was 50 minutes. The pilot also shows that most items were clear and easily understood by students. Regarding reliability, the test items are divided into two halves (odd and even). Using the Pearson correlation formula, the reliability coefficient is found to be 0.79. After applying the Spearman-Brown formula, the reliability increases to 0.89, indicating that the test is highly reliable and acceptable. Results indicate that digital interactive stories are significantly more effective than traditional teaching methods in improving both vocabulary and creative writing skills. In terms of vocabulary, the rich multimodal context—combining visuals, sound, and interactivity—led to deeper understanding and better long-term retention of new words. For creative writing, students demonstrate higher levels of creativity across all dimensions (fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration). The interactive nature of DIS stimulated students’ imagination and helped them construct more coherent and dynamic narratives, resulting in more consistent and expressive storytelling