Cyber University Students' Perceptions of a DST Project to Develop English Skills

Cyber University Students' Perceptions of a DST Project to Develop English Skills

Digital storytelling, a 21st century educational tool that combines digital media with storytelling, is considered as a powerful tool to learn foreign languages in an authentic and meaningful way. This study explored cyber university students' perceptions and experiences with a digital storytelling project implemented to enhance their English writing and speaking skills. The results of 9 week-long research indicated that most of the students' attitudes were positive: the digital storytelling project was effective to increase their English skills, learning motivation and interest in learning English. Most students perceived that the process writing approach and videotaping tasks provided them with good opportunities to develop their English writing and speaking skills. Although many students had difficulties selecting a topic and writing a script in the initial stage, they could handle with these challenges with the help of professors' feedback and successfully completed their projects. After completing the project, most students expressed a strong sense of accomplishment. These results suggest that the digital storytelling project effectively met cyber university students' learning needs and facilitate their English learning.