IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH STORYTELLING AMONG FIFTH-GRADE LEARNERS: AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY IN DONG THAP PROVINCE, VIETNAM

Huỳnh Thị Tú, Huỳnh Thị Nhĩ

Abstract


This study investigates the effectiveness of storytelling as a pedagogical tool for enhancing English-speaking skills among fifth-grade students in Dong Thap Province, Vietnam. Conducted as an action research project, the study involved 35 students over a 12-week period. Storytelling activities, including retelling, role-play, dramatization, and group storytelling, were implemented to foster oral communication. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests, classroom observations, questionnaires, and interviews. Results indicate that storytelling significantly improved students’ pronunciation, vocabulary retention, fluency, and confidence, while also fostering motivation, creativity, and collaborative learning. The findings contribute to global discussions on communicative language teaching, highlighting storytelling as a culturally responsive, low-cost, and impactful approach for resource-limited contexts.

Keywords


English speaking skills, storytelling, action research, communicative language teaching, primary education, Vietnam

Full Text:

PDF

References


Al Mansour, N. (2019). The effectiveness of storytelling in developing EFL learners' oral performance. International Journal of Instruction, 12(2), 17–34. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2019.1222a

Al Nakhalah, A. M. M. (2016). Problems and difficulties of speaking that encounter English language students at Al Quds Open University. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 5(12), 96–101. Retrieved from https://www.ijhssi.org/papers/v5(12)/version-3/O5120396101.pdf

Ardi, A., Joni, D. A. A. W., & Wirastuti, I. G. A. P. (2023). The use of storytelling assisted with picture series to improve speaking skill. Educational Tracker: Teaching English as a Foreign Language Journal, 2(1), 52–58. https://doi.org/10.58660/educationtracker.v2i1.13

Astuti, M. W., & Chakim, N. (2023). The use of digital storytelling to improve students' speaking ability in secondary EFL classroom. JELITA: Journal of English Language Teaching and Literature, 4(2), 190–202. https://doi.org/10.56185/jelita.v4i2.347

Bộ Giáo dục và Đào tạo. (2018). Chương trình giáo dục phổ thông môn Tiếng Anh. Ban hành kèm theo Thông tư số 32/2018/TT-BGDĐT ngày 26 tháng 12 năm 2018.

Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching: A guide for practitioners. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203863466

Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511733109

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (8th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315456539

Cremin, T., Flewitt, R., Mardell, B., & Swann, J. (Eds.). (2017). Storytelling in early childhood: Enriching language, literacy and classroom culture. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315679426

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Research_Design.html?id=4uB76IC_pOQC&redir_esc=y

Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486999

Ellis, G., & Brewster, J. (2014). Tell it again! The storytelling handbook for primary English language teachers (3rd ed.). British Council. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Tell_it_Again.html?id=sU6URwAACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Fu, J. S., Yang, S.-H., & Yeh, H.-C. (2022). Exploring the impacts of digital storytelling on English as a foreign language learners' speaking competence. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 54(5), 679–694. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2021.1911008

Harmer, J. (2015). The practice of English language teaching (5th ed.). Pearson. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/The_Practice_of_English_Language_Teachin.html?id=Bbf2sgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Hashemi, M. R., & Babaii, E. (2013). Mixed methods research: Toward new research designs in applied linguistics. The Modern Language Journal, 97(4), 828–852. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.12049.x

Isbell, R., Sobol, J., Lindauer, L., & Lowrance, A. (2004). The effects of storytelling and story reading on the oral language complexity and story comprehension of young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 157–163. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ECEJ.0000048967.94189.7f

James, P. R. A. P., Yong, K. L., & Yunus, M. M. (2019). Hear me out! Digital storytelling to enhance speaking skills. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(2), 190–202. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i2/5533

Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press. Retrieved from https://www.sdkrashen.com/content/books/principles_and_practice.pdf

Le, H. P. T., & Macalister, J.(2024). Engagement in oral production: The impact of a coursebook innovation. Language Teaching for Young Learners, 6(1), 32–59. https://doi.org/10.1075/ltyl.00042.eng

Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2016). Second language research: Methodology and design (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410612564

Nunan, D. (2003). The impact of English as a global language on educational policies and practices in the Asia-Pacific region. TESOL Quarterly, 37(4), 589–613. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588214

Robin, B. R. (2008). Digital storytelling: A powerful technology tool for the 21st century classroom. Theory Into Practice, 47(3), 220–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840802153916

Thornbury, S. (2005). How to teach speaking. Pearson Education. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/How_to_Teach_Speaking.html?id=LV_RnQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Tran, D. T. (2021). Storytelling to enhance speaking and listening skills for English young learners: A case study at language centers in Binh Duong Province. Vietnam Journal of Education, 5(2), 29–36. https://doi.org/10.52296/vje.2021.64

Trinh, Q. L., Nguyen, M. T., & Le, T. T. (2022). Using storytelling: From EFL teachers' perceptions to young learners' reading performance. rEFLections, 29(2), 301–324. https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v29i2.259402

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjf9vz4

Wright, A. (1995). Storytelling with children. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Storytelling_with_Children.html?id=IuQOKN63TCwC&redir_esc=y




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i7.6757

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Huỳnh Thị Tú, Huỳnh Thị Nhĩ

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2015-2026. European Journal of Education Studies (ISSN 2501 - 1111) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).