Proceedings of the 22nd International Academic Conference, Lisbon

EXPLORING CYBERNATED STORYTELLING: ENHANCING COMMUNICATION SKILL.

ROZIANA ROSLI, FAIZAH IDRUS

Abstract:

Storytelling is one of the most common activity used in teaching English proficiency to language students. It requires narration of the story in oral, and sometimes aided by audio-visual elements. It is widely accepted as a teaching technique to many educators because it engages students in learning. Storytelling can also be used to enhance students’ communication skill. Upon listening to a story, students are anxious to share the stories and relate it to their own experience. However, until recently, little attention has been paid on how storytelling with the help of cyber or online social network could be utilized in order to engage students during class activities and at the same time to improve their communication skills. Thus, this study intends to fill the gap of the factors that inhibits students’ engagement in classroom activities that promotes communication skill. The assumption here is that many teachers and students lack the knowledge of cybernated storytelling or find it difficult to be implemented in the classrooms. This investigation explores how cybernated storytelling is accepted or rejected by students when it is introduced in the classroom. The term ‘cyber’ can be denoted as computer-generated setting in the internet environment Initially, by sharing stories in the cyber or a more common term, online social network, these stories can be developed and shared more broadly at the same time helping students to learn and be aware that their education place is part of a broader community. Students can learn to connect their own stories with their surroundings. Besides that students can learn to combine auditory and visual elements to ultimately create their own storytelling. The software WhatsApp and (WA) online social network,Facebook(FB). will be used as the communication tools among the students and teachers. If planned appropriately as part of an educational project, the same technologies and features of WA and FB would be able to facilitate and produce effectual and meaningful learning of English within an online community of English language learners. Hence, storytelling activity can be enhanced by using WA and FB. This research will contribute to conceptualize the theories behind the perceptions of teachers and youth towards cybernated literacy especially in English language classrooms. These findings will be very useful in terms of solving problems in groups, generating ideas and formulating models of digitized storytelling, modules and programmes for youth on cybernated literacy.

Keywords: Storytelling, Cybernated, Communication

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2016.022.048

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