Educational potential of digital storytelling in teaching English

Abstract

Nowadays, digital storytelling is becoming popular in business,
advertising, and education. This innovative educational technology is
considered to have promising perspectives in teaching a new
generation of students who are surrounded by a digital environment in
everyday life. The article deals with a number of issues that reveal the
possibilities and prospects of introducing digital storytelling into the
modern educational process. Definitions of storytelling, educational
storytelling and digital educational storytelling are presented, their
characteristic features are revealed. The main types of digital
educational storytelling are defined as follows: visual storytelling,
audio storytelling, transmedia storytelling, analytical storytelling, data
storytelling, immersive storytelling. The possibilities of digital
educational storytelling as an educational technology are given. They
are: the capabilities of both a teacher and a student through the use of
services for the development of interactive educational content, data
visualization, the implementation of didactic games, the development
of animated storytelling, the recording of audio storytelling, the
creation of video storytelling. The expected feedback is also
considered. Examples of digital storytelling technology in English
language teaching are given, such as: modern resources of teaching
English based on storytelling principles; the purposes and tasks of the
International Digital Storytelling Competition "Life stories to heal and
inspire from those who teach and learn English", announced in 2023
by a number of educational institutions of Ukraine, Moldova and
Hungary. Digital stories encourage and motivate students to
communicate, develop critical thinking and soft skills, help to create
their own projects and explore the most effective way to present them.