Sustaining Education with Digital Storytelling in the English Language Teaching and Learning: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Digital storytelling has always been emphasised as a revolutionary approach as it sustains the education in the modern era. It is a trending educational approach which are being researched in many current studies. However, despite its importance in sustaining the education, the review of digital storytelling in the teaching and learning of English, specifically on the four main language skills, is sparse. Hence, this review systematically focuses on the state-of-practice of digital storytelling in English language teaching and learning of the four skills. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) review methodology, a total of 20 articles related to the use of digital storytelling in the English language classroom were identified from the ERIC, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken into consideration and all authors of the articles provided empirical proof which supports the implementation of digital storytelling in the English language teaching and learning of the four skills. First, the major findings revealed that digital storytelling is commonly utilised through project-based learning tasks. Second, writing skills are more emphasised through digital storytelling in the English language teaching and learning. These two findings implied that there are gaps in research on digital storytelling in the English language teaching and learning. In general, this review is important for practitioners to know which tasks to be used in using digital storytelling to teach the four language skills and in identifying gaps for research in digital storytelling and English language teaching and learning, to sustain the education in the future.

Digital Storytelling: A Catalyst to Enhance English Language Learning in Malaysia

“…In terms of reading and literacy, DST has been proven to engage students in deep and meaningful learning, supporting literacy and digital literacy development in early childhood education (Maureen et al, 2018;Smeda et al, 2014). Additionally, it has been shown to enhance English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing skills, improve learners' motivation and performance and promote critical thinking and technological skills (Castillo-Cuesta et al, 2021;Parsazadeh et al, 2020;Sabari & Hashim, 2023).…”