Digital media can offer English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners authentic language input and meaningful opportunities for communication. However, empirical evidence on the effect of digital media-based instruction on the communicative competence of senior school students remains limited. This study examined whether the systematic integration of digital media materials into English-language instruction was associated with greater short-term gains in foreign language communicative competence among Grade 10 learners than regular instruction alone. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design with a non-equivalent comparison group was used. The participants were 26 Grade 10 EFL learners from a gymnasium in Almaty, Kazakhstan, divided into an experimental group (n = 13) and a comparison group (n = 13). Over four weeks, the experimental group studied English through lessons systematically built around digital media materials, including online news reports, short videos, interviews, podcasts, and online articles. The comparison group followed the same curriculum through regular textbook-based instruction. Communicative competence was assessed through listening, reading, speaking, and writing tasks before and after the intervention. Both groups improved, but the experimental group demonstrated a larger overall gain. The greatest improvement occurred in listening and speaking, while reading and writing improved more moderately. Given the small sample, non-random assignment, short intervention period, and single-school setting, the findings provide preliminary evidence of the short-term potential of digital media-based instruction rather than definitive evidence of a causal or long-term effect.