ENHANCING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS BY USING DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE AT THE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the method of digital storytelling in teaching the English language to higher education establishments, in particular enhancing students’ speaking ability which is seen as an interaction and social and situation-based activity. The significance of speaking of learners of English as a second (foreign) language is out of doubt whereas it becomes the dominant tool for communication. Therefore, the necessity to teach students to use language as a communicative means rather than to inform them about the language leads educators to implementation of modern teaching methods. Storytelling as a teaching method has been confidently placed within English teachers’ work for the last two decades and recommended as quite effective and handy which assists to reduce students’ psychological barriers to speaking such as anxiety to perform in public and lack of motivation. It is noticed in the article that several constant and traditional story plots (elementary, butterfly effect or groundhog day, Cinderella syndrome, quest, etc.) are well-known and easily recognizable so teachers can use them to create a comfortable learning environment aimed to support learners’ speaking skills and, as such, focused mostly on their development. The fact that storytelling has great potential while digital storytelling integrates the traditional art of oral storytelling with the technology available in the twenty-first-century classroom is highlighted in the article. This facilitates the process of information perception by young people with clip thinking because the visualization attracts their attention and forms interest in one or another topic or discipline in general. Digital storytelling is mentioned as the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video to create a digital story using online platforms or appropriate software. Digital storytelling might be incorporated in higher education both working offline and during distance or blended learning, either to introduce new material, encourage conversation, and make abstract or conceptual topics easier to understand. Key words: digital storytelling, method, speaking skills, higher education.