Digital Storytelling as a Space for Speaking Preparation among Lower-Motivation EFL Learners

Reluctant speakers in EFL classrooms often have few opportunities to practice oral communication. This study aimed to describe speaking-score patterns between pre- and post-intervention assessments and to explore how lower-motivation learners experienced digital storytelling (DST) as a context for speaking preparation and participation. First-semester undergraduates at a private university in Central Java, Indonesia, were purposively selected based on a motivation questionnaire and participated in an eight-week DST intervention. Data were collected through speaking assessments, classroom observations, reflective journals, interviews, and student-produced digital stories. The findings showed that post-intervention means were higher across fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension, with the largest gains in vocabulary and comprehension. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests indicated significant differences across all dimensions. No learner scored lower, although several showed no change in some dimensions. Qualitative evidence portrayed DST as a staged process in which rehearsal, self-monitoring, revision, and peer and teacher support were intertwined with the technical demands of editing and recording. Without a comparison group, these findings describe observed patterns rather than causal effects. Teachers may support reluctant speakers by staging the DST workflow, providing technical scaffolding, and assessing individual oral performance separately from group products.