The Effects of Digital Puppetry in Enhancing English Language Skills among Undergraduate Students: A Conceptual Paper

English language proficiency is a key requirement for academic and professional success in Malaysia, especially among undergraduate students navigating an increasingly globalized and digitally connected world. Despite widespread recognition of its importance, many Malaysian undergraduates continue to face challenges in acquiring effective English communication skills, particularly in speaking and listening. Traditional classroom approaches often emphasize grammar and rote learning, resulting in low student engagement, limited oral practice, and language anxiety. These limitations underscore the need for innovative, interactive, and learner-centered approaches to language instruction. This conceptual paper explores the potential of digital puppetry as a creative educational tool to enhance English language skills among undergraduate students in Malaysia. Digital puppetry combines traditional puppetry with real-time digital animation, allowing students to animate and voice virtual puppets through storytelling and dialogue. Drawing on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory, multimedia learning principles, and constructivist pedagogy, this paper proposes a conceptual framework that positions digital puppetry as a technology-enhanced, culturally responsive, and motivational learning approach. Through a synthesis of current literature and Malaysian educational practices, this paper identifies key benefits of digital puppetry: increased learner motivation, reduced speaking anxiety, improved pronunciation, vocabulary acquisition, and oral fluency. The framework also emphasizes student autonomy, collaboration, and creative expression, all of which align with Malaysia’s national education goals for higher-order thinking and digital innovation. The proposed model has implications for curriculum development, teacher training, and future research in integrating digital tools into English language instruction. Ultimately, digital puppetry offers a promising avenue to bridge the gap between traditional pedagogy and the demands of 21st-century language education.