Enhancing 21st Century Learning Skills Via Digital Storytelling: Voices of Malaysian Teachers and Undergraduates

Research studies have discovered that digital storytelling which combines the art of storytelling with a variety of interactive media tools can benefit language learning in a variety of ways. It has been found to encourage and motivate students and at the same time enhance their communication skills and enable them to build conceptual skills and technological skills – all in- line with 21st century skills required by the job market. This paper will describe the use of digital storytelling as an innovation for learning English in an English for Academic Purpose (EAP) course, and the teachers and students’ responses to the innovation. The analysis of preliminary data will be derived from interviews with five teachers, and the students’ questionnaire survey. The discussion of the preliminary findings will explore to what extent the project enhances the promotion of 21st century skills, such as interactive communication skills, interpersonal skills, technology literacy skills as well as language skills.