Digital learning media in English Language Teaching (ELT) is increasingly applied to create a more effective and engaging learning process. However, in many schools, including SMA Negeri 1 Banjarmasin, the teaching of writing, especially narrative text, is still dominated by conventional methods or limited media support. These traditional approaches tend to limit students’ interest and creativity in learning. This condition also contradicts the principles of Kurikulum Merdeka, which encourages student-centred learning, the integration of technology, and creative expression in written communication. This research aims to measure whether there is a difference in students’ narrative writing ability between those who are taught using the Animated Short Film and those who are taught using the Narrative Video at the 10th grade of SMA Negeri 1 Banjarmasin. The gap found in this study is the lack of research that specifically investigates the effect of Animated Short Film on students’ writing ability, particularly in comparison to Narrative Video. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether the use of Animated Short Film can enhance students’ narrative writing ability, in line with the principles of Kurikulum Merdeka which promote creative, student-centred, and technology-integrated learning.

This research used a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design involving 70 tenth-grade students of SMA Negeri 1 Banjarmasin who were selected through cluster random sampling. The samples in this research were divided into two groups: thirty-five students from the experimental group, who were taught using the Animated Short Film, and thirty-five students from the control group, who were taught using the Narrative Video. To collect data, a writing test was administered in the form of a pre-test and a post-test to measure students’ narrative writing ability across five aspects: content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. The test results were analysed using the parametric Independent Samples T-Test on SPSS 32 computer program.

Based on the findings of the Independent Samples T-Test, the significance value (p-value) obtained was < 0.001, which is lower than the significance level of 0.05, with a mean difference of 3.071 and a large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.858). This result confirms that there is a statistically significant difference in students’ narrative writing ability between those who were taught using the Animated Short Film and those who were taught using the Narrative Video among tenth grade students at SMA Negeri 1 Banjarmasin, where the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group. Therefore, it is suggested that teachers take advantage of dynamic digital learning media such as Animated Short Film to support writing instruction, as it can help enhance students’ learning outcomes and support the implementation of Kurikulum Merdeka in the classroom.