The Role of Digital Storytelling in Enhancing the Speaking Fluency of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57125/FED.2026.06.16Keywords:
digital storytelling, educational innovation, English as a Foreign Language, secondary school, speaking fluency.Abstract
This study determines the contribution of Digital Storytelling (DS) to improving speaking fluency in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) among secondary school students in the canton of Manta, Ecuador. The study adopts a modern paradigm and a mixed-methods research approach. The sample comprised 45 participants: 6 EFL instructors and 39 secondary school students distributed across experimental (n = 21) and control (n = 18) groups. Qualitative findings identified speaking anxiety, limited vocabulary, and cognitive overload as the principal barriers to oral fluency, while structured storytelling tasks—offering collaborative activities, gradual exposure, and iterative rehearsal—were found to address these barriers effectively. Quantitative results showed that every participant in the experimental group registered a positive fluency gain following the DS intervention, with a statistically significant mean improvement of 0.39 points (t(20) = −14.201, p < .001, Cohen's d = 3.09). Students in the control group also showed modest gains (M = +0.26), further highlighting the comparatively stronger impact of the intervention. It is concluded that Digital Storytelling plays a relevant and multidimensional role in improving the oral fluency of EFL learners, providing key pedagogical scaffolding that addresses the linguistic, cognitive, and affective dimensions of oral production simultaneously.
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