THE APPLICATION OF DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN TEACHING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS TO YOUNG LEARNERS: TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF BENEFITS AND CONSTRAINTS

Abstract

Digital storytelling has emerged as an alternative method to teach language skills to various types of learners due to its flexibility, engaging aspects, and linguistic features. Albeit its prevalence, the use of digital storytelling in English language teaching varies from one context to another. This study aimed to investigate English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of benefits and constraints in implementing digital storytelling to teach listening skills to young learners. Thirty EFL teachers conveniently sampled from a primary school in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai province, Vietnam partook in answering a closed-ended questionnaire, and ten of them were invited for semi-structured interviews. The obtained data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively using descriptive statistics and content analysis, respectively. The findings indicated the possibility of applying digital storytelling to teach listening skills at the primary school as it could provide the students with adequate language knowledge, listening sub-skills, and a positive learning environment. However, the study revealed a number of difficulties in terms of the content, linguistic features, and grammar in digital stories that EFL teachers encountered in applying digital storytelling to teach listening skills to young learners.