Drawing Feelings, Speaking English: Arts-Based Storytelling and Emotional Literacy in Childhood EFL Learning

This study investigates how visual storytelling supports emotional expression, engagement, and intercultural awareness among Iranian children learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Employing a qualitative, arts-based case study design, 20 upper-elementary learners (ages 9–12) participated in drawing-based storytelling activities over six to eight weeks in a private EFL classroom. Data were collected through visual artifacts, classroom observations, reflective journals, and semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically. Findings reveal that visual storytelling enabled children to externalize emotions, construct complex narratives, and develop empathy toward peers and imagined characters. Teacher scaffolding and guided reflection further enhanced learners’ linguistic confidence, emotional literacy, and intercultural perspective-taking. The study highlights the transformative potential of integrating arts-based multimodal practices into early language learning, demonstrating their capacity to promote holistic cognitive, affective, and social development. Implications for pedagogy, limitations of the study, and directions for future research in non-Western EFL contexts are discussed.