A REVIEW OF THE USE OF STORYTELLING TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ ORAL PROFICIENCY IN EFL TEACHING
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v0i0.2521Keywords:
storytelling, digital storytelling, EFL teaching, oral proficiency, secondary education, higher educationAbstract
This review examines how storytelling has been applied in EFL teaching in secondary and higher education to enhance students’ oral proficiency. It aims to offer some insight into using storytelling as an effective tool for designing speaking classes in EFL contexts. The review found that as a teaching strategy, storytelling can be effective in promoting oral proficiency in students of English in both secondary and higher education contexts. The main difference lies with teachers as the main storytelling designers in secondary education and students in higher education. Similarly, in secondary education the application of storytelling tends to happen in the classroom, while in higher education, storytelling is more likely to be used outside the classroom by creating digital stories. Based on the analysis of the implementation of storytelling in both contexts, the review closes with some guidelines for the application of storytelling in EFL teaching.
Article visualizations:
References
Abdolmanafi-Rokni, S. J. and Qarajeh, M. (2014). Digital storytelling in EFL classrooms: The effect on the oral performance. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2(4), 252-257.
Alasmari, A. and Ahmed, S. S. (2013). Using debate in EFL classes. English Language Teaching, 6 (1), 147-152.
Akhyak, and Indramawan, A. (2013). Improving the students’ English speaking competence through storytelling (Study in Pangeran Diponegoro Islamic College (STAI) of Nganjuk, East Java, Indonesia). International Journal of Language and Literature, 1(2), 18-24.
As, A. B. (2016). Storytelling to improve speaking skills. English Education Journal (EEJ), 7(2), 194-205.
Boonsing, R. and Dennis N. K. (2016). A study of language used from selected digital storytelling. International Journal of Research – GRANTHAALAYAH, 4(3), 27-32.
Bashirnezhad, H. and Yousefi, A. (2017). Digital storytelling listening influence on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ pronunciation. Revista QUID (Special Issue), 1702-1707.
Dujmović, M. (2006). Storytelling as a method of EFL teaching. Metodički obzori: časopis za odgojno-obrazovnu teoriju i praksu, 1(1), 75-87.
Fauzan, U. (2016). Enhancing speaking ability of EFL students through debate and peer assessment. EFL Journal, 1 (1), 49-57.
Haven, K. and Ducey, M. (2007). Crash Course in Storytelling. London: Libraries Unlimited.
Isbell, R. T. (2002). Telling and retelling stories: Learning language and literacy. Supporting language learning. Young Children, 57(2), 26-30.
Kim, S. H. (2018). Exploring media literacy: Enhancing English oral proficiency and autonomy using media technology. Studies in English Education, 23(2), 473-500.
Khodabandeh, F. (2018). The impact of storytelling techniques through virtual instruction on English students’ speaking ability. Teaching English with Technology, 18(1), 24-36.
Kim, S. H. (2014). Developing autonomous learning for oral proficiency using digital storytelling. Language Learning & Technology, 18, 20-35.
Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., and Dearden, J. (2017). A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Language Teaching, 51(1), 36-76.
Marzuki, Prayogo, J. A. and Wahyudi, A. (2016). Improving the EFL learners’ speaking ability through interactive storytelling. Dinamika Ilmu, 16 (1), 15-34.
Miller, S. and Pennycuff, L. (2008). The power of story: Using storytelling to improve literacy learning. Journal of Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Education, 1(1), 36-43.
Mutiarani and Izzah, L. (2015). The power of storytelling in teaching English to young learners. In Nurafni and A. Vinayastri (Eds.): Proceedings of the 1st International Seminar Childhood Care and Education, June 10th-11th 2015, Jakarta: University of Muhammadiyah Prof. DR. Hamka, 557-570.
Nassim, S. (2018). Digital storytelling: An active learning tool for improving students’ language skills. PUPIL: International Journal of Teaching, Education and Learning, 2(1), 14 - 29.
Nguyen, L. T. and Nguyen, H. B. (2018). The impact of storytelling on high school students’ oral performance. European Journal of English Language Teaching, 3(4), 68-83.
Ostovar-Namaghi, S. A. and Torabi, N. (2017). Exploring EFL teachers’ techniques in teaching oral skills in an EFL context: A qualitative study. European Journal of English Language Teaching, 3(2), 33-50.
Pedersen, E. M. (1995). Storytelling and the art of teaching. English Teaching Forum, 33, 2-5.
Phuong, B. H. (2018). Can using picture description in speaking sessions help improve EFL students’ coherence in speaking. European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 3(3), 33-51.
Rachmawaty, N. and Hermagustiana, I. (2015). Does retelling technique improve speaking fluency? Teflin Journal, 21(1), 01-08.
Razmi, M., Pourali, S. and Nozad S. (2014). Digital storytelling in an EFL classroom: A pathway to improve oral production. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 1541 – 1544.
Reinders, H. (2010). Digital storytelling in the foreign language classroom. ELTWorldOnline.com, 3, 1-9. http://blog.nus.edu.sg/eltwo/2011/04/12/digital-storytelling-in-the-foreign- language-classroom/ Accessed 8 March 2019.
Rose, H., Briggs, J. G., Boggs, J. A., Sergio, L. and Ivanova-Slavianskaia N. (2018). A systematic review of language learner strategy research in the face of self-regulation. System, 72, 151-163.
Sharma, D. R. (2018). Action research on improving students' speaking proficiency in using cooperative storytelling strategy. Journal of NELTA Surkhet, 5, 97-105.
Stein, M. (1999). Developing oral proficiency in the immersion classroom. ACIE Newsletter, 2(3), 1-6.
Syafrizal, S., Chaer, H., and Evenddy, S. S. (2015). Enhancing students’ listening through digital storytelling. European Journal of English Language Teaching, 1(1), 47-57.
Tanni, Z. A. I. and Raba A. A. A. M. (2015). Storytelling as an aid in promoting oral proficiency of grade eleven students from teachers’ perspectives in Tulkarm District. US-China Foreign Language, 13(10), 710-722.
Wright, A. (1995). Storytelling with Children. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wright, A. (1997). Creating Stories with Children. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wright, A. (2000) Stories in language teaching. The Journal of TESOL France, 7, 85-98.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).


