Improving Chinese University EFL Students’ Speaking Skills through Digital Storytelling
Main Article Content
Abstract
The present study aims to investigate whether a 12-week digital storytelling (DST) intervention could improve Chinese university EFL students’ speaking skills. The entire population for this study consisted of 100 English major undergraduates from 2 intact classes of EFL students that were taught by the same teacher. Each class contained 50 participants. The experimental group students participated in the DST intervention and were exposed to the DST activities both inside and outside classroom while the control group students only received conventional whole-class instruction. Statistical analysis within groups showed that there was a significant difference between the pretest and posttest means in the experimental group with a large effect size (p = 0.000, d = 1.58), but that there was no significant difference between the pretest and the posttest in the control group (p = 0.056). Statistical analysis between groups indicated that the pretest mean of the experimental group was not significantly different from that of the control group (p = 0.084). However, there was a significant difference between the posttest means of the experimental group and the control group, and the effect size was large (p = 0.001, d = 0.658). DST participants obviously outperformed the control group in terms of speaking skills after the treatment. In addition, the quantitative data elicited through the questionnaire on the value of the DST intervention revealed that 82% of the respondents indicated that digital storytelling allowed them to improve their technical skills, 62% claimed that digital storytelling improved their ability to apply knowledge to practice. 95% of students considered in their diaries that the DST intervention was interesting, challenging, helpful, and enjoyable and contributed to the development of students’ autonomous learning. Most of the interviewees claimed that DST intervention could not only improve their language skills but also their learner autonomy. The findings call attention to the value of DST used in this study for language instruction.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice: Designing and developing useful language tests (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press.
Barrett, H. (2006). Researching and evaluating digital storytelling as a deep learning tool. Technology and teacher education annual. 1: 647.
Bull, G., & Kajder, S. (2004). Digital storytelling in the language arts classroom. Learning & Leading with Technology. 32(4): 46-49.
Celce-Murcia, M., & Olshtain, E. (2000). Discourse and context in language teaching: A guide for language teachers. Ernst Klett Sprachen.
Chang, L. C., & Lee, G. C. (2010). A team-teaching model for practicing project-based learning in high school: Collaboration between computer and subject teachers. Computers & Education. 55(3): 961-969.
Christiansen, M. S., & Koelzer, M. L. (2016). Digital Storytelling: Using Different Technologies for EFL. Mexteso Journal. 40(1): 1-11.
David, J. L. (2008). Project-based learning. Educational Leadership. 65(5): 80.
EF (2017). EF English Proficiency Index. [Online]. Available: http://www.ef.co.th/epi/regions/asia/china/ Retrieved Mar. 29, 2018.
Fauzan, U. (2014). The Use of Improvisations Technique to Improve the Speaking Ability of EFL Students. Dinamika Ilmu: Jurnal Pendidikan. 14(2): 264-287.
Fauzan, U. (2016). Enhancing Speaking Ability of EFL Students through Debate and Peer Assessment. Journal of EFL, Linguistics, and Literature. 1(1): 49-57.
Gerber, B. L., Cavallo, A. M., & Marek, E. A. (2001). Relationships among informal learning environments, teaching procedures and scientific reasoning ability. International Journal of Science Education. 23(5): 535-549.
Gillies, R.M. (2004). The effect of co-operative learning on junior high school students during small group learning. Learning and instruction. 14(2): 197-213.
Istenic Starčič, A., Cotic, M., Solomonides, I., & Volk, M. (2016). Engaging preservice primary and preprimary school teachers in digital storytelling for the teaching and learning of mathematics. British Journal of Educational Technology. 47(1): 29-50.
Johnston, R. R. (2016). Australopedia is teaching Australian children the power of storytelling. [Online]. Available: http://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=1780
Kamil, A. B. (2017). The effect of teaching methods and learning motivations on students’ speaking skill. JUDIKA (Jurnal Pendidikan Unsika). 5(1): 1-8
Kleanthous, A., & Cardoso, W. (2016). Collaboration through blogging: the development of writing and speaking skills in ESP courses. CALL communities and culture–short papers from EUROCALL 2016, 225.
Kuforiji, P. O., Williams, B. F., & Coker-Kolo, D. (2011). Using Digital Storytelling in the Development of Reflective Educators. In Nation social science proceedings Volume 46#2 National Technology and Social Science Conference, (p. 132).
Lian, A.-P. (2004).Technology-enhanced language learning environments: A rhizomatic approach. Computer-assisted language learning: Concepts, contexts and practices. 1-20.
Lian, A. -P. (2014). On-demand generation of individualized language learning lessons. Journal of Science. 9(1): 25-38.
Lian, A.-P. (2017). The inexorable rise of the proletarian autodidact. In A. B. Lian, P. Kell, P. Black, & K. Y. Lie (Eds.), Challenges in Global Learning (pp. 282–313). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars.
Liu, Q. (2004). A Validation Study of an Analytic Rating Scale of Oral English Proficiency of Chinese English Learners. Media in Foreign Language Instruction. 4: 005.
McCracken, G. (1988). The long interview. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publication.
Moursund, D. G. (2003). Project-based learning using information technology. Eugene, OR: International society for technology in education.
NACFLT, (2000). (National Advisory Committee for Foreign Language Teaching) Syllabus for University English Language Teaching. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Nation, K. (2005). Connections between language and reading in children with poor reading comprehension. In H. W. Catts, & A. G. Kamhi (Eds.), Connections between language and reading disabilities (pp. 41-54). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Naqvi, S., & Al Mahrooqi, R. (2016). ICT and Language Learning: A Case Study on Student-Created Digital Video Projects. Journal of Cases on Information Technology (JCIT). 18(1): 49-64.
Ohler, J. (2006). The world of digital storytelling. Educational leadership. 63(4): 44-47.
Pritchard, A. (2004). Introducing new students to ICT: Giving a purpose to it all. Active Learning in Higher Education. 5(3): 248-262.
Price, D. M., Strodtman, L., Brough, E., Lonn, S., & Luo, A. (2015). Digital storytelling: an innovative technological approach to nursing education. Nurse educator. 40(2): 66-70.
Rance-Roney, J. (2008). Digital storytelling for language and culture learning. Essential teacher. 5(1): 29-31.
Razmi, M., Pourali, S., & Nozad, S. (2014). Digital storytelling in efl classroom (oral presentation of the story): a pathway to improve oral production. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 98: 1541-1544.
Robin, B. (2007). Educational uses of digital storytelling. Main directory for the educational uses of digital storytelling. Instructional technology Program. University of Huston.
Roessingh, H. (2014). Teachers’ roles in designing meaningful tasks for mediating language learning through the use of ICT: A reflection on authentic learning for young ELLs. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology. 40(1): 1-24.
Signes, C. G. (2010). Practical uses of digital storytelling. Universitat de Valencia.
Smeda, N., Dakich, E., & Sharda, N. (2014). The effectiveness of digital storytelling in the classrooms: a comprehensive study. Smart Learning Environments. 1(1): 1-21.
Snow, P. C., & Powell, M. B. (2004). Developmental language disorders and adolescent risk: A public-health advocacy role for speech pathologists? International Journal of Speech- Language Pathology. 6: 221-229.
Sullivan, G. M., & Artino Jr, A. R. (2013). Analyzing and interpreting data from Likert-type scales. Journal of graduate medical education. 5(4): 541-542.
Sylvester, R., & Greenidge, W. L. (2009). Digital storytelling: Extending the potential for struggling writers. The reading teacher. 63(4): 284-295.
Thyer, B. A. (2012). Quasi-experimental research designs. Oxford University Press.
Wu, H. (2011). Construction of Business English Curriculum in Higher Vocational College Based on Learners’ Needs Analysis. Journal of Guangdong Technical College of Water Resources and Electric Engineering. 3(9): 76-80.
Wulandari, S., Sada, C., & Arifin, Z. (2016). The effectiveness of DST to develop speaking ability for English club students. Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran. 5(3): 1-11.
Yao, B. H. (2009). Challenge to Speak. Higher Education Press, Beijing, China.
Zhang, G. H. (2002). On Developing English Proficiency of High-school Learners and Reforming Testing Pattern—An analysis of and reflections on a nation-wide survey, Papers Presented at the International Conferenceon-Language Testing and Language Teaching, September 2002. Shanghai, P. R. China. pp. 280-285.