Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case study

In the young learner (YL) foreign language (FL) classroom, oracy is more important than literacy, but teaching speaking is still primarily repetitive in many contexts. Free speaking activities are difficult to create for teachers and accomplish for learners. This research investigated the ways in wh...

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Main Author: Lustenberger Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2023-10-01
Series:Journal of China Computer-Assisted Language Learning
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/jccall-2023-0004
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author Lustenberger Andrea
author_facet Lustenberger Andrea
author_sort Lustenberger Andrea
collection DOAJ
description In the young learner (YL) foreign language (FL) classroom, oracy is more important than literacy, but teaching speaking is still primarily repetitive in many contexts. Free speaking activities are difficult to create for teachers and accomplish for learners. This research investigated the ways in which imaginative digital storytelling (DST) tasks can improve oracy and the prior knowledge needed to negotiate meaning. The main data of this study, which were collected over one academic year, comprised a questionnaire of 19 Swiss Year 4 students, video and audio recordings of two dyads working on four collaborative oral DST tasks and a semi-structured interview with the four children and their class/English teacher. The results revealed that collaborative end-of-unit tasks enabled the children to creatively recycle the language learnt. Scaffolding and language support provided on the task sheet allowed a creative and personal approach to DST, which was a motivating experience. Clear guidance for classroom talk fostered collaboration and personal, social and problem-solving competences. These findings have implications for YL FL pedagogy and highlight the need for further theoretical insights into task-based DST.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2748-3479
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publishDate 2023-10-01
publisher De Gruyter
record_format Article
series Journal of China Computer-Assisted Language Learning
spelling doaj-art-3da341b3b77e45dd994520b53ff3a98e2025-01-20T11:08:49ZengDe GruyterJournal of China Computer-Assisted Language Learning2748-34792023-10-014164110.1515/jccall-2023-0004Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case studyLustenberger Andrea0Pädagogische Hochschule Zug, Zug, SwitzerlandIn the young learner (YL) foreign language (FL) classroom, oracy is more important than literacy, but teaching speaking is still primarily repetitive in many contexts. Free speaking activities are difficult to create for teachers and accomplish for learners. This research investigated the ways in which imaginative digital storytelling (DST) tasks can improve oracy and the prior knowledge needed to negotiate meaning. The main data of this study, which were collected over one academic year, comprised a questionnaire of 19 Swiss Year 4 students, video and audio recordings of two dyads working on four collaborative oral DST tasks and a semi-structured interview with the four children and their class/English teacher. The results revealed that collaborative end-of-unit tasks enabled the children to creatively recycle the language learnt. Scaffolding and language support provided on the task sheet allowed a creative and personal approach to DST, which was a motivating experience. Clear guidance for classroom talk fostered collaboration and personal, social and problem-solving competences. These findings have implications for YL FL pedagogy and highlight the need for further theoretical insights into task-based DST.https://doi.org/10.1515/jccall-2023-0004digital storytellingyoung learnersoracytask-based teaching and learningonline technology
spellingShingle Lustenberger Andrea
Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case study
Journal of China Computer-Assisted Language Learning
digital storytelling
young learners
oracy
task-based teaching and learning
online technology
title Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case study
title_full Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case study
title_fullStr Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case study
title_full_unstemmed Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case study
title_short Promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task-based digital storytelling via online technology: a case study
title_sort promoting speaking in the young learner classroom through task based digital storytelling via online technology a case study
topic digital storytelling
young learners
oracy
task-based teaching and learning
online technology
url https://doi.org/10.1515/jccall-2023-0004
work_keys_str_mv AT lustenbergerandrea promotingspeakingintheyounglearnerclassroomthroughtaskbaseddigitalstorytellingviaonlinetechnologyacasestudy