Digital Storytelling in EFL Classrooms: The Effect on the Oral Performance

Abstract

The aim of this mixed methods study is to investigate the effect of two ways of storytelling on speaking skills of Iranian EFL learners. The traditional way of storytelling which is called storytelling aloud is performed by a teacher or a narrator in an educational setting. Another way of storytelling named digital storytelling is done using the internet and websites. This mixed method study measured the differences between effect of digital storytelling and storytelling aloud on speaking skill of Iranian EFL learners using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The data were collected from 42 students who were aged19 to 25 years old at Payam Noor University in Gorgan, Iran. In this study a TOEFL speaking test was administered to students in two classes as the pre-test. Next, one of the classes as experimental group consisting of 21 participants was exposed to treatment in which they participated in a digital storytelling course for 12 sessions. The other class as the control group had the traditional storytelling instruction. At the end of the course, the same TOEFL speaking test was administered to both groups. Alongside the speaking test, the experimental group was given a questionnaire about the effectiveness of digital storytelling course on their motivation to improve their speaking ability. The data analyzed by using SPSS software proved the efficiency of the digital storytelling on the oral performance of EFL learners.