Children and Teenagers ISSN 2576-3709 (Print) ISSN 2576-3717 (Online) Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct 33 Original Paper Digital Storytelling or Traditional Storytelling to develop EFL Students’ Oral Communication? Mahmoud Kamal Ibrahim Mostafa 1* 1 English Department, Faculty of Arts, Jouf University, Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia * Mahmoud Kamal Ib rahim Mostafa, English Department, Faculty of Arts, Jouf University, A l-Jouf, Saudi Arabia Received: January 19, 2020 Accepted: January 31, 2020 Online Published: February 18, 2020 doi:10.22158/ct.v3n1p33 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/ct.v3n1p33 Abstract The present study investigated the effect of storytelling versus digital storytelling on developing fifth year EFL primary school pupils’ oral communication performance. The study adopted the quasi-experimental design. Sixty pupils of Dr. Ahmed Zewail primary School were distributed into two experimental groups. One group served as the first experimental group (n=30) who was taught in digital storytelling, whereas the second experimental group (n=30) was taught in traditional storytelling. The experiment lasted for six weeks. The instruments o f the study included an oral communication skills test, an oral communication checklist, a semi -structured interview and a reflective log. They were approved by a panel of jury. Results indicated that there was a statis tically significant difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group and that of the second one on the post-administration of the oral communication test for the first experimental group. Moreover, results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the responses of the first experimental group and that of the second one on the post -administration of the semi-structured interview favoring the first experimental group. As such, it was concluded that storytelling versus digital storytelling had a positive effect on developing fifth year EFL primary pupils’ oral communication performance. Keywords storytelling, digital storytelling, EFL oral communication performance www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 34 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 1. Introduction Referring to the Egyptian education system and its relat ion to English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching and learning, the status of English in Egyptian schools has changed from an optional subject to a compulsory one. Most school children speak Arabic as their first language, English as second and French or German are their third or foreign language (Haridy, 2012). Elmeshad (2012) states that the ministry of education of Egypt (MOE) started implementing English in schools in the 1860s. Gradually, teaching English language in primary schools as a relatively new global phenomenon started in Egypt in the 1990s. Generally speaking, the link between knowledge of English and success in changing Egyptian environment and in the global economic community has resulted in a growing demand for English language proficiency among individuals, sufficient enough to meet the new societal and g lobal market needs (Akkari, 2004). Despite many large scales, Ministry of Education (MOE) in itiatives to change language pedagogy in the Egyptian context, most classrooms and schools remain unchanged and evidence of improvement is still limited (Ginsburg, 2010). For example, with respect to adopting communicat ive language teaching approaches as a way of improving the English language teaching and learning practices. Concerning the primary education, Juraid (2016) states that English as a global language has spread in primary schools in many non-English speaking countries. In addition, Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, and Higgins D’Alessandro (2013) argue that pupils can learn literacy skills through instruction and practice of speaking, reading, writing and listening. Oral communication is a way of exchanging informat ion through the sense of hearing and making meaning from what was pract iced. Schady (2011) stated that childhood period is the most rapid period of development in human life. Some children may develop at their own pace but most children progress through an identifiab le sequence of physical, cognitive, social and emot ional growth and change. Moving to oral communication, Jalongo (2008) assures that oral communicat ion prepares young children for later better learn ing. On the other hand, Raghavendra, Olsson, Sampson, Mcinerney, and Connell (2012) submitted that it is crucial for a ch ild to develop good communication skills in order to cope with the academic demands of school and to learn adequate literacy skills. In the same line, Ahern, Bermejo, and Fleta (2008) declared that Oral Communication Skills (OCSs) were usually placed ahead of work experience, motivation, and academic permits as criteria for new recru itment for employment. Communicat ion skills help children to guide their self-inquiry and discover their individual possibilities. (Mostafa, 2017) stated that children who are active communicators can incorporate the things they hear, chants and short stories, faster in their framework of knowledge than a passive counterpart. In his own view, Tramel (2011) observed that Children can also exh ibit better concentration and memory when they develop good communication. Shiel (2012) explain that oral communicat ion is the child’s first, most important, and most frequently used structured medium of communication. In addition, and most significantly, oral communication is the primary mediator of culture, the way in www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 35 Published by SCHOLINK INC. which children locate themselves in the world. Basically, oral communication is about communicating with other people. It involves a process of utilizing knowledge and skills in o rder to listen and speak effectively. Zhang (2009) asserts that pupils who study English as a Foreign Language (EFL) usually have limited opportunities to communicate in English outside the classroom and also have limited exposure to English speakers or members of the international community. Th is might be one reason for teachers to provide more situations, activities, and strategies for pupils to strengthen their OCP such as storytelling. Nowadays educational institutes are constantly developing new techniques for sounds, pictures, and prints. ST is used as the most basic level of communicat ion- person-to-person. Past research has shown that teachers often ignore the OCSs in classrooms assuming these skills are already developed. Patil (2008) asserted that building up the learner's performance was a prio rity that the teacher should consider in order to make the learner feel comfortable with their language use. Songsiri (2007) assures that OCSs could be developed from an appropriate syllabus design, methods of teaching, and sufficient tasks and materials which are included in ST. Digital Storytelling (DST) provides pupils of 10-11 years old with more opportunities to create and communicate different story texts (e.g., personal stories, historical stories, and Quran ic stories) in English through different modes of communication, such as visualizing and writing ideas, using technology to document and present their stories as a historical diary, and using more meaning-making resources such as photographs, video clips, art, music, script text, audio narration, and sound effects. In this way, the pupils will learn integrated language skills, such as writing, speaking, listening, and reading through the creation of digital stories. Widodo (2016) said that as Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) continues to flourish, research into this area has begun to grow. Despite this, there remains a lack of classroom-based studies in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Werner (2011) suggests using one of the participatory activities such as DST for improving Oral Communication Performance (OCP). In addition, we know little about how young learners interact with technology such as digital stories to learn English or how they work multimodal texts such as digital stories. In addition, if children are engaged effectively, there will be a great potential for creat ivity, and a passionate commitment to things which interest them. Tatum (2009) argues that almost nothing more exciting than a class of involved young people at this age pursuing a learning goal with enthusiasm as it happens in DST. Our job, therefore, must be to provoke student’s engagement with material which is relevant and involving. At the same t ime, we need to do what we can to bolster our pupils’ self-esteem and be conscious, always, of their need for identity. In this respect, the researcher suggests that ST and DST can be one of those activities/strategies which encourage pupils to learn and practice English. ST is an aspect of oral communication which encourages young learners to be active during the learning process. It is not a one-way act as there are usually at least two people involved, a teller and a listener. Norrick (2000) declares that ST provides www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 36 Published by SCHOLINK INC. familiar th ings to children and creates an active interaction amongst pupils. If a topic is difficult to explain to children, we can integrate the topic into a story. ST presents the solution which might help children to visualize the textbooks and understand them better. In this study, to engage pupils in meaning making-oriented English learning, ST and DST are introduced because this category is rarely taught in Egyptian primary schools, and it is a new strategy suggested to be included in Egyptian English curricula. In the context of primary schools, ST helps to share knowledge, wisdom, morals and cultural values. With this in mind, teachers may be encouraged to include stories in their language classrooms. 2. Method and Procedures The current study methodology includes the research design, the participants and sample selection, the research instruments (oral communication checklist, semi-structured interview, pre-posttest, and the reflection log), the pilot study, and the procedures used for data collection as well as the data analysis. The study aimed to improve pupils’ English OCP via ST/ DST. 2.1 Research Design The present study used the quasi-experimental design to detect the effect of using ST versus DST to develop the English OCP of primary fifth pupils at Dr. Ahmed Zewail primary school. Two groups were selected to represent the experimental groups: the first experimental group (n=30 t aught according to DST) and the second experimental group (n=30 taught according to ST). The whole experiment from beginning to the end lasted for six weeks. The results of the pre-post tests were analyzed using t-tests for independent samples to investigate if there was any significant difference between the mean scores of the two groups and between the pre-posttest for each group as well. 2.2 Participants of the Study The participants of the study consisted of 60 pupils from the fifth year at Dr. Ahmed Zewaill primary school, New Damietta for the academic school year (2017-2018). They were divided into two experimental g roups: the first group (n=30) and the second group (n=30). The first experimental group was taught in using the DST to improve their English OCP and the second experimental group was taught in using regular ST to improve their English OCP. The following table shows the distribution of the participants. 2.3 Variables of the Study To assure the results’ accuracy and avoid any marginal interference, the groups were randomly chosen from a purposive sample (150 5th grade pupils) from Dr. Ahmed Zewaill p rimary school where the researcher works by using the following procedures: • The participants were filtered by drawing out pupils who have a hearing or sight impairment. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 37 Published by SCHOLINK INC. • The researcher divided the participants into two groups by choosing the individual numbers for the first experimental g roup and the even numbers for the second experimental group to avoid bias. • The researcher tried to control some variables before apply ing the study: 1) Age variab le: The researcher recorded the pupils' ages from their school files at the beginning of the school year (2017-2018) 2) Determin ing the equivalence between the two experimental groups: To make sure that the participants are equivalent in their previous English language achievement, the researcher admin istrated the pre- achievement test. The results of the participants were recorded and statistically analyzed by using T-test. Table 1 Shows the mean and the standard deviation of each group in English previous learning. The results indicate that there are no statistically significant differences between the first experimental group and the second experimental group at (0.05 ) level. 2.4 The Instruments and Materials of the Study 1) The Oral Communication Skills checklist. 2) A pre-posttest for assessing pupils’ EFL oral communication skills. 3) The semi-structured interview of the fifth-year primary pupils. 4) Reflect ive log 2.4.1 The OCSs Checklist The Oral Communicat ion Skills Checklist:  The purpose of the checklist: The checklist aimed at determining the most important OCSs to be developed for the fifth year EFL primary school pupils and constructing the oral communication pre-posttest.  Sources of the checklist: In order to construct a checklist of the most appropriate OCSs for the fifth year EFL primary pupils to be the basis of the pre-post oral communication test, the researcher made use of the following sources; a. Rev iewing the relevant literature and related studies of oral communication and ST/DST. b. Questioning specialists and experts in the field of TEFL. c. Reviewing the specifications of the activities assigned to the fifth year EFL Language primary pupils in the Teachers’ Guide to determine if there was anything related to OCP skills.  Checklist Description: After rev iewing the sources, it could be concluded that the relevant literature is fu ll of OCSs and every researcher and specialist divided them according to his variables and participants. While choosing the skills, the clarity and the appropriateness of these skills to the fifth year EFL primary pupils were taken into consideration. Therefore, an init ial checklist including seventeen OCSs thought to be appropriate to the fifth year EFL primary pupils was designed. The skills were written in a logical order according to the pupils’ stage and the nature of the text they were going to tackle (see Appendix, A). www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 38 Published by SCHOLINK INC.  Checklist Scoring: To let the jury be confined to a particular standard, the seventeen OCSs were put in three levels of importance. Each level of importance was given an estimated value. The first level (very important ) was assigned 3 marks. The second level (important) was assigned 2 marks. The third level (not important) was assigned one mark.  Checklist Admin istration: The checklist init ial form was submitted to a TEFL panel of the jury (7 members) to determine the degree of importance and the appropriateness of each skill to the fifth year EFL primary pupils. Moreover, the panel of the jury was kindly requested to modify, omit, or add to the OCSs checklist whatever they considered important. The jury recommended some modifications; 1) Restating the following skill: “listen to identify the words of a story” to “listen to identify the keywords of a story”. 2) Omitting some skills 3) Confin ing the research to a fewer number of skills to be more manageable and applicable for the final form of the OCSs checklist and for all the modifications  Checklist Validity: In order to obtain the content and the face valid ity of the OCSs checklist, the jury responses were statistically calcu lated. The researcher selected the skills that were agreed upon at least by 80% of the jury members. The ju ry indicated 7 skills to be valid, very important and required for the fifth year EFL primary pupils. Then, two formulas were used to get the percentage and the relative weight of each sub-skill. After validating the checklist, it was concluded that there were seven English OCSs to be valid, very important and required for the fifth year EFL primary pupils. Consequently, those skills were used as a basis for the pre-post OCSs test. The selected OCSs were operationally defined as follows: - Listening to identify the keywords of a story: pupils try to identify the keywords during listening to the story. - Listening and repeating sentences in a story: pupils’ ability to repeat full sentences cut out of the story. - Listening and answering some questions in a story: pupils think out of the box reflect their understanding of the story events. - Listening and rearranging the parts of a story: pupils’ ability to predict the init ial and forthcoming parts of a story. - Describing some p ictures of a story: pupils’ ability to form ideas about things they watch. - Playing a character role in a story: pupils’ ability to imitate and impersonate others. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 39 Published by SCHOLINK INC. - Retelling parts of a story: pupils’ ability to restate and recap the events of a story. 2.4.2 The Oral Communicat ion Skills Test  Purpose of the test: The main purpose of the test was to measure the EFL pupils ’ performance level in the identified seven OCSs before and after implementing the tradit ional ST and DST in teaching Time for English syllabus. Another purpose of administering the posttest was to identify if there was any difference between the two experimental groups (digital and traditional ST).  Test Description: Based on the identified seven OCSs, the final version of the oral communication test was designed. The test consisted of seven questions. All the skills were given the same score for the final fo rm of the oral communicat ion test  Test Validity: Different facets of validity; fo rmative and self-validity were used by the researcher. The format ive validity was obtained by examin ing the content presented to the two experimental groups (tradit ional and digital) with the purpose of determining its objectives to be measured by the test. a. The self-validity This was done through the square root of the validity Coefficient which reached (0.86), and it is a high coefficient valid ity which indicates the accuracy of the phrases of the test and their abilities to measure what they are intended to measure. b. Construct validity: The validity of the sub-skills of the test was calculated as follows: The calculation of the coefficient correlat ion between the score of the subtest and the total test. Table 3. Es tablishing Test Construct Validity The contents of the test Coefficient correlat ion Significance at (0.01) Listening 0.712** Significant Speaking 0.608** Significant Table 3 proved that the OCSs test was statistically valid.  Test Reliability: In order to verify the test reliability, the internal consistency method was used. Cronbach's Alpha technique was calculated by (SPSS) program using (Coefficient Alpha). Accordingly, the test was www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 40 Published by SCHOLINK INC. administrated to a randomly drawn group of (20) the fifth year primary pupils at Ahmed Zewail School. Those pupils were not included in the study groups. The reliability coefficient of the test was 0.74, see Table 3. So, this result proved that the OCSs test was statistically reliable. Table 4. Finding Test Reliability The test Alpha Coefficient 0.74 After analyzing the statistical value of the previous table, it can be said that the coefficient consistency of the test as a whole is high which mean that the test was high in the consistency and steadiness.  Test Piloting: The test was administered to a pilot sample of 20 EFL fifth year primary pupils in order to make sure that the questions were understood by pupils. Based on piloting the test, it was estimated that a period of 40 minutes would provide suitable time for pupils to answer the test questions . The group used to calculate the test reliab ility was the same group used to estimate the test time. This t ime was estimated according to the time which is taken by all the pupils divided by their number. It was 40 minutes.  Test Scoring: The test was scored by the researcher; as the questions included in the test with its skills were controlled in scoring. When scoring the question; two marks were given for a ‘complete answer’ of the skill; one mark was given fo r an ‘uncompleted answer’ of the skill and ze ro for ‘wrong or missed answer’ of the skill. Thus, the total score of the test was 14 marks as each skill was given two marks.  Test Instructions: To avoid pupils’ misunderstanding, the researcher exp lained the test content and instructions clearly and orally before admin istering it. The researcher somet imes had to use the Arabic language to explain some instructions for the pupils in order to make sure that they understood what is required for each task.  Test Administration: After modify ing the test items and estimat ing the time according to the result of the test piloting as well as the suggestions offered by the jury, it was pre-admin istered to the two experimental groups on the first of October 2017. The post-test was admin istered to the two experimental groups two days after the experiment, which ended on the 14thof November 2017. Post-test conditions were nearly the same as those of the pre-test in terms of time and place. 2.4.3 The Semi-Structured Interview (SSI)  The purpose of the Semi-Structured Interview www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 41 Published by SCHOLINK INC. The Semi St ructured Interview aimed at highlighting the most important categories of pupils’ responses to the OCSs through ST/DST to be developed for the fifth year EFL primary pupils and constructing the oral communication responses’ items post-test according to the juries’ opin ions and modifications.  Sources of the Semi-structured interview: The researcher made use of the stories included in this study, the OCSs, the specifications of the activities assigned to the fifth year EFL primary pupils in the Teachers’ Guide to determine if there was anything related to OCP skills. He also consulted the EFL primary school teachers, the EFL researchers, and curriculum designers to construct the items of the Semi Structured Interview.  The Semi-structured interview Description: In order to construct the rubric of the semi-structured interview, the researcher reviewed the general English supervision directives of the Egyptian Ministry of Education and the relevant literature and related studies of the English OCSs. The semi-structured interview consisted of three main categories including fourteen items (Appendix, D). These items are rated for the extent to which “the statement is fulfilled by the pupil” (1=“cannot”, 2=“can hardly”, 3=“can”). The three main ca tegories are basic skills, content understanding skills and learning strategies skills. The basic skills (oral, written and digital), content understanding skills (core knowledge and personal reflect ion) and learning strategies skills. Those semi-structured interview items were modified according to the jury panel and used to measure each of the English OCSs (listening and speaking).  The Semi-structured interview Scoring : To let the jury be confined to a part icular standard, the semi-structured interview was designed in three levels of importance appropriateness. Each item of importance and appropriateness was given an estimated value. The first item (can) was assigned three marks, the second item (can hardly) was assigned 2 marks, and the third item (cannot) was assigned one mark.  The Semi-Structured Interview Administration: The researcher submitted the initial fo rm of the Semi-Structured interview to a TEFL panel of the jury (7 members) to determine the degree of importance and the appropriateness of each item to the fifth year EFL primary school pupils. Moreover, the panel of the jury was requested to modify, omit , or add to questionnaire whatever they considered important and relevant to the v irtual world of literature. The jury recommended some modifications: 1) Restating some words in the SSI to be convenient to the current study as follows: - Replacing the word ‘story’ with the phrase ‘part of a story’ to be more specific. - Replacing the second and third categories in the orig inal form of the semi-structured interview namely ‘content understanding and learning strategies’ with a new category proved to be related to the current study after reviewing literature namely ‘oral skills. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 42 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 2) Omitt ing one or two items from each category completely (see Appendix, D) and blending all the items under one subtitle as follows: Oral skills Listen to/understand stories Retell a part of a story Identify the sounds the keywords of a story identify the characters of a story elicit what a story tells Play some roles of the story Present some informat ion of the story  The Semi-Structured Interview Validity In order to obtain the content and the face valid ity of the Semi-Structured Interview (SSI), the jury's responses were statistically calculated. The researcher selected the response items that were agreed upon at least by 80% of the ju ry members. The jury indicated three categories to be valid, very important and required at the fifth year EFL primary school pupils. Then, two formulas were used to get the percentage and the relative weight of each item. According to the Jury's responses, the percentage and the relative weight of each item of responses to the semi-structured interview were assigned and deducted the final form of the semi-structured interview. The Study material (Storytelling/digital storytelling) Procedure (sessions): This section covers the main procedure for the study and provides a systematic guide to teachers, administrators or any educationists who wish to emulate this study. Description The experiment continued for six weeks for both experimental groups as follows: - Concerning the second group (taught in regular storytelling) the teacher told the stories (the Campsite, Around the house, the Amusement Park, Food Festival, etc.) and the pupils then retold parts of the stories individually in simple sentences. - Concerning the first group (taught in digital storytelling) the teacher presented the stories using multimedia (computer &data show) to show pupils the stories in PowerPoint slides using audio and pictures - To encourage the pupils to communicate orally, the teacher asked them to retell parts of the stories in groups. - The pupils had the choice of what part of the story to act and how to present it in front of their classmates. (for sessions see page 148) Follow-Up Activit ies Steps www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 43 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 1) In the second session the teacher asked comprehension questions about the stories carefully. He used the usual who, what, where, when, how much, and why questions. 2) He used more creat ive ways of questions like mult iple choice questions and questions that can be answered by inference. 3) The teacher used exercises based on the story such as introduction of new vocabulary in lexical sets, rhyming sets, or grammat ical sets; verbal practice and grammat ical analysis of repeated phrases. 4) The teacher used listening activit ies. After the story, listeners can demonstrate comprehension by: comparing, discriminating, p redicting, sequencing, classifying, transferring informat ion, etc. Unlike other listening activities, stories are often repeated, but never in exact ly the same words. a) The teacher did oral act ivities. Choral read ing, story fill– in, add-on stories, building a tale from key words, etc. b) The teacher used discussion topics which are taken from the story ’s themes. c) Students retold their favorite parts of the stories. 8) The teacher asked pupils to rewrite and summarize the story activities. 9) The teacher encouraged pupils to use visual activities. They used posters, models, collages, crafts, masks, puppets, mobiles, photos, picture stories, blackboard drawing, etc. 10) He encouraged them to do creative drama activities. He prepared dialogues from the stories which can be recited or retold. 11) The teacher organized story corner where pupils can read stories of their own choice and at their own pace. The Role of the Teacher A critical friend was the English teacher for other fifth grade classes who is very experienced in teaching English to that grade level took part in the experimentation procedures t o help the researcher accomplish this work. Group work The researcher created six five-member groups in the fifth grade in each experimental group. He asked each group to arrange and retell the story parts to encourage their oral communication. In The Camp site and around the house and Around the House stories, the teacher told the beginning of the story and each group was encouraged to think and expect the end of the story in their own words. In the other story the Campsite, he told the beginning and the end of the story and pupils were encouraged to create the middle. Some of the shy pupils told short but vivid endings and middle parts, whereas the more outgoing pupils gave longer and more viv id components. The teacher observed pupils throughout the story, both when he was telling the stories and when their peers were telling one, to see their reaction. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 44 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Pupils’ reactions (smiling, laughing, some pupils even writ ing new words down, etc.) suggested that the method was effectively communicative. Group story outline In one set (3 groups) using DST and the other set (3 groups) using traditional ST, pupils decided just to have scripts with pictures to act on (picture reading). However, in six groups, story outlines and scripts with some sketches representing the pictures they intended to draw were handed to the teacher at the end of the lesson, for assessment and feedback. Pupils handed in the assessment form, which the teacher went through and gave written comments to mot ivate them. Assigning Roles Group members came to a settlement after long discussions as to what roles each member should take. It turned out that the original criteria under which the groups were formed changed in most of the groups. According to pupils, some of the members were better at play ing certain ro les than the original roles assigned in the creation of the group. In some cases, group members thought some other pupils should take certain roles (e.g., acting, drawing, etc.) other than the ones originally assigned. Pupils later d iscussed their decisions with the teacher, exp lain ing that those pupils were taking certain groups such as singing or translating and were already good in those areas. The teacher allowed them to change roles if they were comfortable and better in playing those roles other than the original roles since that would bring out the strongest intelligence in them. Even though pupils sat in groups, they performed different ro les, such as drawing, writing songs, or making musical noises here and there. The researcher sent pupils to the school’s sound room for their musical rehearsal. A ll groups communicated their final roles with him for corrections and suggestions before presenting them. Pupils accepted some suggestions and rejected others. Putting work together (Gallery Walk) Before the final, the teacher checked groups’ roles in the stories. Pupils then made posters on which they pasted their drawn pictures according to the beginning, middle and end of their stories. Some groups decided to also paste copies of their stories on posters so that after they were posted on walls, other pupils from other classes could see and read the stories they had presented. Pupils did the final rehearsal of their stories, ready for presentation in the next step. Presentation of group stories Pupils came to school more dressed up than usual on the day of their presentation. Pupils’ enthusiasm, smiling faces and the way they carried themselves suggested that they were proud of the stories roles and were happy to show what they had learned. The presentation started with group members saying their names, the tit le o f their story. Stories had both narrators and translators in the Arabic language. One pupil from each group narrated the story; other pupils pointed to the pictures with a pointer; others sang or recited poems, and the more outgoing pupils became the translators for the stories. Group www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 45 Published by SCHOLINK INC. members who had drawn pictures for their group story introduced themselves as the helping group. The whole process brought the scenes of both The Campsite and Around the House stories in the school playground that day. At the end of the presentation, pupils were given fifteen minutes to respond to a semi-structured interview generally about how they liked telling and p laying the roles of the stories and the ST method in teaching them. 3. Results The first hypothesis: “There is a statistically significant difference (α ≤ 0.05) between the mean score of the first experimental group (taught in digital storytelling) on the pre-post oral communication test, in favor of the post administration”. The following table shows the results reached: Table 6. T-test Results of the Pre and Post Measurements of the First Experimental Group (Taught in Digital Storytelling) Oral Skills The experimental group (taught in digital storytelling) N Mean Standard deviation t-test Significance Effect size Listening The pre-admin istration 30 11.36 3.34 5.32** (0.000<=0.05) sign 0.46 The post admin istration 30 14.40 3.72 Large Speaking The pre-admin istration 30 11.13 2.73 8.44** (0.000<=0.05) sign 0.68 The post admin istration 30 14.53 3.17 Large skills as a whole The pre-admin istration 30 22.50 5.40 8.32** (0.000<=0.05) sign 0.60 The post admin istration 30 28.93 5.57 Large Table 6 shows the following: a) Listening skills: As shown in Table 6, there is a clear statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group (taught in digital storytelling) in the test in favor of the post administration of the post test. In addition, T. calculated shows that there is statistical significance which reached (5.32) and it is higher than T. value which reached (1.69) at the significance level of (0.05). Therefore, the first hypothesis is verified as there is statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group in the pre-measurement and the post measurement of listening skills in favor of the post-measurement. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 46 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Speaking skills: There is a clear statistically significant difference between the mean scores o f the first experimental group in the test in favor of the post administering. In addition, T. calculated shows that there is statistical significance which reached (8.44) and it is higher than T. value which reached (1.69) at the significant level of (0.05). Therefore, the first hypothesis is verified as there is statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group in the pre-measurement and the post measurement of speaking skills in favor of the post-measurement. b) The oral communication performance as a whole: There is a clear statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group in the test as a whole in favor of the post admin istering. In addition, T. calculated shows that There is statistical significance which reached (8.32) and it is higher than T. value which reached (1.69) at the significant level o f (0.05). Therefore, the first hypothesis is verified as there is statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group in the pre-measurement and the post measurement of the test in favor of the post-measurement. This means that pupils' communicat ion performance, in general, has developed due to the experimentation. A lso, it can be said that the digital storytelling has a great effect on developing pupil’s skills with a doubt degree at the level of (0.05). Table (6) and figure (1) shows that the digital storytelling had a positive effect on developing the overall o ral communication skills of the EFL fifth year primary pupils. Therefore, this provides enough evidence to support hypothesis one. According to the referential framework of the effect size, it is apparent that digital storytelling has a large effect size. The second hypothesis states that “There is a statistically significant difference (α ≤ 0.05) between the mean score of the second experimental group (taught in traditional storytelling) on the pre -post oral communicat ion test, in favor of the latter”. The following table shows the results reached: Table 7. the Results of the Pre and Post Measurement of the First Experimental Group Pupils on the Skills Test as a Whole The experimental group (taught in tradit ional storytelling) N Mean Standard deviation t-test Significance Effect size Listening The pre-admin istration 30 11.33 3.55 4.97** Sign 0.42 The post admin istration 30 13.16 3.44 Large Speaking The pre-admin istration 34 11.06 2.46 5.64** Sign 0.49 The post admin istration 34 12.43 2.12 Large skills as a The pre-admin istration 34 22.40 4.87 7.73** Sign 0.64 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 47 Published by SCHOLINK INC. whole The post admin istration 34 25.60 4.70 Large Discussion Table 7 shows the following: a) Listening skills: There is a clear statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the second experimental group in the test in favor of the post administering. In addition, calcu lated T. value shows that there is statistical significance which reached (4.97) and it is higher than T. value which reached (1.69) at the significant level of (0.05), Therefore, the second hypothesis is verified as there is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the second experimental group in the pre-measurement and the post measurement of listening skills in favor of the post -measurement. b) speaking skills: There is a clear statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the second experimental group in the test in favor of the post administering. In addit ion, T. calculated shows that There is statistical significance which reached (5.64) and it is higher than T. value which reached (1.69) at the significant level o f (0.05), There for the second hypothesis is verified as there is statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the second experimental group in the pre-measurement and the post measurement of speaking skills in favor of the post-measurement. c) Oral communicat ion Skills as a whole: There is a clear statistically s ignificant difference between the mean scores of the second experimental group in the test as a whole in favor of the post admin istering. In addition, T. calculated shows that There is statistical significance which reached (7.73) and it is higher than T. value which reached (1.69) at the significant level of (0.05). Therefore, the second hypothesis is verified as there is statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the second experimental group in the pre-measurement and the post measurement of the test in favor of the post-measurement. Th is means that pupils' communication skills, in general, has developed due to the experimentation. Also, it can be said that storytelling has a great effect on developing pupils’ oral communicat ion perfo rmance with a doubt degree at the level of (0.05). Table 7 and show that storytelling had a positive effect on developing the overall o ral communication skills of the EFL fifth year primary pupils. Therefore, this provides enough evidence to support hypothesis one. According to the referential framework of the effect size, it is apparent that traditional storytelling has a large effect size. The third hypothesis states that "There is a statistically significant difference (α ≤ 0.05) between the mean score of the first experimental group (taught in dig ital storytelling) and that of the second experimental group (taught in traditional storytelling) in the post -test of oral communication. The following table shows the results reached: www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 48 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Table 8. The Results of the First Experimental Group and Second Experimental Group in the Post Administration of the Communication Test as a whole The post admin istration N Mean Standard deviation t-test Significance Effect size Listening The first experimental group (taught in digital storytelling) 30 14.40 3.72 1.33 (0.189>=0.05) Not Significance at 0.05 0.030 The second experimental group (taught in storytelling) 30 13.16 3.44 Low Speaking The first experimental group 30 14.53 3.17 3.01** (0.004>=0.05) Significance at 0.05 0.15 The second experimental group 30 12.43 2.12 Large skills as a whole The first experimental group 30 28.93 5.57 2.50* (0.015>=0.05) Significance at 0.05 0.11 The second experimental group 30 25.60 4.70 average Discussion a) Listening Skills: Table 8 clarifies that the pupils ’ mean score in the first group of the listening skills as a whole is (14.40), whereas the pupils’ mean scores in the second experimental group of the listening skills as a whole are (13.16). So, the pupils’ mean score in the first experimental group was higher than their mean score in the second experimental group. The above table also clarifies that the calculated t value, which reached (1.33), which indicates that there is no significant statistical d ifference between the pupils' mean scores in the first and second experimental group of the listening skills as a whole. It was compared with the value of t table in order to know the significance level. It was found to be (2.00) at the level of (0.05). b) Speaking Skills: Table 8 clarifies that the pupils ’ mean score in the first group of the speaking skills as a whole is (14.53) whereas the pupils’ mean scores in the second experimental group of the speaking skills as a whole are (12.43). So, the pupils’ mean score in the first experimental group was higher than their mean score in the second experimental group. The above table also clarifies that the calculated t value, which reached (3.01), which indicates a significant statistical d ifference between the pupils ’ mean scores in the first and second experimental group of the speaking skills as a whole. It was compared with the value of t www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 49 Published by SCHOLINK INC. table in order to know the significance level. It was found to be (2.00) at the level of (0.05). c) Oral communicat ion skills as a whole: Table 8 clarifies that the pupils ’ mean score in the first group of the oral communications as a whole is (28.93), whereas the pupils’ mean scores in the second experimental group of the oral communication as a whole are (25.60). So, the pupils ’ mean score in the first experimental group was h igher than their mean score in the second experimental group. The above table also clarifies that the calcu lated t value, which reached (2.50), which indicates a significant statistical difference between the pup ils' mean scores in the first and second experimental group of the oral communications skills as a whole. It was compared with the value of t table in order to know the significance level. It was found to be (2.00) at the level of (0.05). The Semi-Structured Interview statistics The following table shows the results reached: Table 9. the Results of the First Experimental Group and Second Experimental Group in the Post Administration of the Semi-Structured Interview Test as a whole The post administration N mean Standard deviation t-test Significance Effect size listen to and understand the story The second experimental group 30 3.0 - - Not Significance at 0.05 - The first experimental group 30 3.00 - - retell a part of the story The second experimental group 30 2.36 0.76 1.29 (0.200>=0.05) Significance at 0.05 0.04 The first experimental group 30 2.60 0.62 Large say the key words of the story The second experimental group 30 2.50 0.57 0.61 (0.538>=0.05) Not Significance at 0.05 0.01 The first experimental group 30 2.60 0.67 Low Recognize the characters of the story The second experimental group 30 2.80 0.48 - Significance at 0.05 - The first experimental group 30 2.80 0.48 - elicit what the story tells The second 30 2.26 0.78 0.72 (0.469>=0.05) 0.015 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 50 Published by SCHOLINK INC. experimental group Not Significance at 0.05 The first experimental group 30 2.40 0.62 Average play the roles in the story The second experimental group 30 2.33 0.80 2.16 (0.035<=0.05) Significance at 0.05 0.12 The first experimental group 30 2.70 0.46 Low present some in formation of the story The second experimental group 30 2.23 0.72 2.60 (0.004<=0.012) Significance at 0.05 0.17 The first experimental group 30 2.66 0.54 Large As a whole The second experimental group 30 17.50 2.14 2.62 (0.011<=0.05) Significance at 0.05 0.11 The first experimental group 30 18.76 1.54 Average Table 9 clarifies that the pupils ’ mean score in the first group of the Semi-Structured Interview as a whole is (18.76), whereas the pupils ’ mean scores in the second experimental group of the speaking skills as a whole are (17.50). So, the pupils' mean score in the first experimental group was higher than their mean score in the second experimental group. The above table also clarifies that the calculated t value, which reached (2.62), which indicates a significant statistical difference between the pupils' mean scores in the first and second experimental group of the Semi-Structured Interview as a whole. It was compared with the value of t table in order to know the significance level. It was found to be (2.00) at the level of (0.05). 4. Discussion The results of the present study, the post-test results and the semi-structured interview results, proved that storytelling (tradit ional and digital) had a positive effect on developing the English oral communicat ion performance. Therefore , the significant difference which was found on the post administration may be due to exposing such sample to the reflective learn ing using storytelling. This result agrees with the studies of Richard (2006), Tsou, Wang and Zeng (2006), Belmonte (2007), Lester (2008), Rains (2009), Rahman (2010), Kearney (2011), Efrizal (2012), Alam, Bashiruddin, Ampha Jenprai (2013), Odoubwu and Oluwakemi (2014), and Seckin Celik (2016). which approved the significance of storytelling on developing the English oral communication performance of primary school pupils. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 51 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Main findings can be summarized as follows: 1) There is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group (taught in digital storytelling) on the pre-post-admin istration of the oral communication test, in favor of the latter. 2) There is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the Second experimental group (taught in storytelling) on the pre-post administrations of the oral communication test, in favor of the post-test results. 3) There is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the first experimental group (taught in digital storytelling) and that of the second experimental group (taught in storytelling) on the post-admin istration of the oral communication test, in favor of the first experimental group. 4) There were also highly significant differences between the first experimental pupils’ scores and the second experimental pupils’ scores on the post measurement of the semi-structured interview in favor of the first experimental group (taught in digital storytelling) 5) Storytelling/digital storytelling has an effect on developing EFL oral communication performance among fifth year EFL primary pupils. Reflective Log What have been achieved: The current study emphasized the effect of digital storytelling on d eveloping the oral communication skills especially listening and speaking. And this supported the previous researches results of: Richard (2006), Tsou, Wang and Zeng (2006), Belmonte (2007), Lester (2008), Rains (2009), Rahman (2010), Kearney (2011), Efrizal (2012), Alam, Bashiruddin, Ampha Jenprai (2013), Odoubwu and Oluwakemi (2014), and Seckin Celik (2016). In addition, the current study emphasized the effect o f trad itional storytelling on developing the oral communication skills especially listening and speaking. And this supported the previous researches results of: Bas (2008), Reeder (2009), Hsu,Trudel and Voho (2010), Brady and Millard (2012), Leahy (2013), Eman Mohamedand, Hasnaa Sabry, Kirby and Perrin (2014), Byrine, Katsara and Zandian (2015), Yim (2016), and January and Mostafa (2017). What have not been achieved: The sample size was about 60 pupils and they represented one elementary school of thousands of schools in Egypt. This was one of the limitations which faced the researcher as it was difficu lt to generalize the results on all the Egyptian elementary schools. So, the researcher hopes that the results could be generalized on all the elementary schools to improve the oral communicat ion performance. 5. Conclusions This chapter presented the findings, discussions of results. Accordingly, the main question which stated “What is the effect of storytelling vs digital storytelling on developing the primary school pupils ’ EFL www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 52 Published by SCHOLINK INC. oral communicat ion performance?” was answered as it was approved that there is a highly significant difference between the mean scores of the pre and post admin istration of the two experimental groups test in favor of the post one. In addition, it was proved that the first experimental g roup’s performance was higher than that of the second experimental group. Summary, recommendations derived from these findings and suggestions for further research. References Ahern, A. K., Bermejo, M. L. G., & Fleta, T. (2008). Holistic learn ing through stories: Children’s literature in the EFL classroom. ELT in Primary Education, 98-103. Akkari, A. (2004). Education in the Middle East and North Africa: The current situation and future challenges. International Education Journal, 5(2), 144-153. Elmeshad, S. (2012). Egypt’s school system: Taking a look at schools, their curricula, and accreditation . Egypt Independent Newspaper. Ginsburg, M. (2010). Improving educational quality through active-learning pedagogies: A comparison of five case studies. Educational Research, 1(3), 62-74. Haridy, A. S. M. (2012). Investigating the developments of the methodologies used in English textbooks in the Egyptian public schools: A descriptive study. Jalongo, M. R. (2008). Beyond a pets theme: Teaching young children to in teract safely with dogs. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(1), 39-45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-008-0272-1 Juraid, R. A., Ibrah im, M. M. A., Methods, T., & Munawrah, M. (2016). The Effectof Storytellingon Developing Communication Skillsof EFL Females Studentsandtheir Attitudestowards IT, 5(November). Mostafa, M. K. I. (2017). The Effect of Chants and Short Stories on Primary Stage Pupils’ Communicat ion and Attitudes. World Journal of Educational Psychology, 1, 1. Patil, Z. N. (2008). Rethinking the objectives of teaching English in Asia. Asian EFL Journal, 10(4), 227-240. Ryokai, K., Vaucelle, C., & Cassell, J. (2003). Virtual peers as partners in storytelling and literacy learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning , 19(January), 195-208. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0266-4909.2003.00020.x Schady, N. (2011). Parents’ education, mothers’ vocabulary, and cognitive development in early childhood: Longitudinal evidence from Ecuador. American Journal of Public Health , 101(12), 2299-2307. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300253 Shiel, G., Cregan, Á., McGough, A., & Archer, P. (2012). Oral language in early childhood and primary education (3-8 years). Dublin : National Council fo r. Songsiri, M. (2007). An Action Research Study of Promoting Students’ Confidence in Speaking English, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ct Children and Teenagers Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 53 Published by SCHOLINK INC. (March). Tatum, M. E. M. (2009). Digital storytelling as a cultural-historical activity: Effects on information text comprehension. Thapa, A., Cohen, J., Guffey, S., & Higgins -D’Alessandro, A. (2013). A review of school climate research. Review of Educational Research , 83(3), 357-385. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313483907 Zhang, Y. (2009). Reading to Speak: Integrating Oral Communicat ion Skills. English Teaching Forum. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ923446 Widodo, H. P. (2016b). Engaging young learners of English in a genre-based digital storytelling project, (March). Retrieved from http://languageresearch.cambridge.org/images/pdf/2015-16_Widodo_CUP_TRP_final_report.pdf