The use of digital stories for listening comprehension among Primary Chinese Medium School Pupils: some preliminary findings

Abstract

This article reports on preliminary findings based on observations and comprehension exercises during an on-going study on the use of digital stories for listening comprehension among Primary Year 3 students in a C­hinese medium school. The preliminary findings would inform the main study that looks at the effectiveness of digital stories for listening comprehension. 30 primary Year 3 students (aged 9) were involved in the listening/viewing of 8 animations of fairy tales over a period of 8 weeks. The findings based on the observations revealed that the students displayed high levels of interest, attention and motivation. The students also showed interest in fairy tales. The results from the comprehension exercises showed some level of improvement in their comprehension of the stories. Finally, it was also noted that pre-teaching vocabulary is essential to ensure the success of digital stories in improving students’ listening comprehension. The findings indicate the potential of digital stories in increasing the level of motivation, interest, and attention in ESL/EFL learning.