Presentation From Page to Screen: Adapting Literature to Enhance EFL Learners’ Literary Competence in the Digital Age more

For EFL learners, traditional reading and writing approaches often fail to effectively cultivate literary skills. This study examined the use of digital literary adaptations in developing literary competence—the ability to interpret messages conveyed in literary texts. Literary adaptation involves reinterpreting and reshaping works, such as novels or short stories, into different mediums, including digital media. Participants were undergraduate EFL students in Taiwan, who collaboratively created digital video adaptations as a creative response to science fiction and fantasy (SFF) literature. These projects required them to address social issues or provide social critiques. Using a mixed-methods approach, data from surveys, adaptation videos, and interviews were analyzed through an adapted literary competence framework. Findings revealed that participants developed literary competence to varying degrees, with SFF adaptations fostering creative and critical engagement. Educational benefits included enhanced literary knowledge, enriched text interactions, stimulated creativity, and nuanced perspectives on social and cultural dialogues. This study contributed to EFL pedagogy by demonstrating the effectiveness of computer-assisted, adaptation-oriented learning in cultivating creativity and critical engagement with literature. It also expanded the theoretical framework of literary competence to encompass digital adaptations, showcasing their potential as a valuable and innovative tool for literature education in EFL settings.