The Use of Formulaic Chunks by EFL Very Young Learners: Interactive Games vs. Interactive Stories

This study investigated the extent to which interactive storytelling and story-based drama activities would influence very young learners' use of formulaic language chunks in English by following a mixed-methods approach with a quasi-experimental design. In a public preschool 4-year-old context, the control group was taught English via interactive game-based activities, besides contextual listening and speaking activities, whereas the experimental group was taught through interactive storytelling and story-based drama activities. Different data collection instruments were used to ensure credibility and confirmability of the findings, including video recording of the classes, speaking rubric, and the researcher’s field notes. The quantitative data were analysed using the Mann-Whitney U test, and the findings revealed that there were no significant differences between the post- and delayed assessment scores of the students regarding the use of formulaic language chunks in English based on the yes/no questions, but there were significant differences regarding wh-questions. Given the experimental group's superior performance in answering the wh-questions, it appears that interactive storytelling and story-based drama are effective techniques for improving learners' speaking skills in English. The qualitative findings highlighted learners' engagement and positive attitudes towards interactive storytelling and story-based drama, reinforcing the effectiveness of these techniques in enhancing speaking skills.