Articles

The Use of Digital Storytelling to Improve Speaking Skills for Students at Ba Ria – Vung Tau College of Technology

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The article aims to investigate how digital storytelling can motivate students to learn English speaking with greater interest and active participation. It also explores the influence of digitised learning environments on traditional teaching practices, highlighting changes in the way of language teaching and learning. Quantitative data was collected through self-assessment surveys and structured questionnaires, and qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The selected students of 60 were then evenly assigned into two groups of the control group (n = 30) and the experimental group (n = 30). The findings from quantitative data indicate that students exposed to digital storytelling achieved significantly better speaking skills than those taught with traditional methods. Students also had greater motivation when learning speaking skills with digital storytelling. Besides, digital storytelling made teachers change their traditional teaching method. In addition, the findings from qualitative data revealed that both teachers and students have positive attitude with the use of digital storytelling. These results suggest that digital storytelling can play a vital role in enhancing speaking proficiency by integrating technology into English language teaching and learning.

Speaking Skills Development in Indonesian Senior High School: A Mixed Methods Needs Analysis of Student Preferences, Challenges, and Teacher Support

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Despite widespread recognition of speaking proficiency as central to English language learning, senior high school students in Indonesia continue to exhibit significant difficulties in oral communication, and the specific preferences, challenges, and support needs driving these difficulties remain insufficiently understood. This study investigates two interrelated questions: (1) what types of learning activities do students prefer to enhance their speaking skills, and (2) what challenges do students encounter in learning English speaking skills, and what teacher support do they identify as most beneficial? A convergent mixed-methods design was employed, integrating quantitative data from a 25-item Likert-scale questionnaire administered to 15 students across five needs analysis dimensions Target Situation Analysis (TSA), Present Situation Analysis (PSA), Learning Needs (LN), Learners’ Wants (LW), and Learning Preferences (LP) with qualitative data from semi-structured interviews conducted with five purposively selected participants. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics; qualitative data underwent systematic thematic analysis following Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña’s (2020) interactive model. Findings revealed that students demonstrated Very High awareness of speaking importance (TSA M = 4.78) while simultaneously recognising significant deficiencies in current proficiency (PSA M = 3.83), particularly vocabulary limitations (M = 4.00) and difficulty expressing ideas fluently (M = 3.93). Students articulated strong learning needs (LN M = 4.41), prioritising frequent oral practice (M = 4.53), immediate constructive feedback (M = 4.40), and teacher modelling. Qualitative analysis identified six themes: linguistic challenges, affective barriers, peer influence, classroom contextual factors, out-of-class environmental factors, and desired teacher support. The consistent convergence of quantitative and qualitative strands strengthens the validity of the findings and generates evidence-based implications for speaking instruction design, teacher professional development, and curriculum policy in Indonesian EFL contexts.​

Teaching Speaking Skills to Grade 4 Students at A Primary School in HCMC

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This study investigates the teaching strategies and challenges related to developing English speaking skills among fourth-grade students at a Primary School in HCMC. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected through questionnaires with 15 English teachers to evaluate the application of five pedagogical models: the Consideration Model, the Cognitive Development Model, the Value Classification Technique, the Rational Formation Model, and the Non-directive Model. Results indicated that the Non-directive and Consideration Models were most frequently used, promoting student-centered learning and interactive language practice. However, aspects like peer feedback, creative storytelling, and visual support were underutilized. Teachers reported several persistent obstacles, including large class sizes, low student motivation, limited English proficiency, and insufficient learning resources. The study highlights the importance of communicative language teaching strategies that are developmentally appropriate and adaptable to classroom constraints. Based on these findings, the study recommends a more balanced integration of all five models, improved teacher training, resource allocation, and class size reduction. These changes aim to foster an engaging, supportive environment where students can actively participate and build confidence in using English for real-life communication.