Investigating the impact of digital storytelling on EFL learners’ language motivation levels

Abstract

Motivation has been studied in many contexts and is acknowledged as one of the most significant aspects of language instruction. To increase student motivation and engagement, instructional materials, methods, and techniques are crucial to the language learning and teaching process. The current study examined how the creation of digital storytelling affected learners' L2 motivation levels. Sixty-three prep school students in a Turkish public university participated in the study. The study was conducted using a mixed method research methodology and the nonequivalent control (comparison) groups design. Two surveys, the English Language Learning Motivation Questionnaire and the Motivation Level of Making Digital Short Stories Questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview were used to gather the data. The SPSS software was used to evaluate quantitative data, and content analysis was used to assess the qualitative data. The results showed that the experimental group's motivation level differed from the control group in a statistically significant way. Additionally, the results showed that although the experimental group's L2 motivation level increased, the control group's post-test scores decreased. Several factors, including gender, computer use frequency, and computer self-efficacy beliefs, were also examined, and these factors were found to have no statistically significant effect on learners' L2 motivation levels. Consequently, incorporating digital stories into language instruction is considered beneficial since it increases student motivation.