Pedagogical Implications of AI-Enhanced Digital Storytelling in EFL Education

Abstract

Educational practices have often incorporated the sequential and structural parameters of digital storytelling into task-based methodologies to develop students’ language proficiency through interactive activities based on virtual narratives. The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) sparked a new era of creativity and innovation, opening up new possibilities for teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to postgraduate students. This study examines the integration of AI-based digital storytelling into language learning practices, specifically focusing on how AI can provide methodological guidelines to inform and prepare educators. Data were collected from 20 EFL students enrolled in a semester-long AI-assisted digital storytelling course at the University of Verona. The adopted methodology covers the three aspects of writing, image generation, and audio creation. The students created cultural tours on the platform izi.TRAVEL adhering to digital place-based storytelling principles. Data was gathered as students personalised story content within a task-based framework using the AI tools ChatGPT, Craiyon, Fotor, character.ai, Adobe Firefly, and Speechify. Qualitative observations of students’ activities and perceptual information on the methodological efficacy of AI-integrated digital storytelling practices are outlined to assess their impact on students’ creativity in EFL production. The study also showcases students’ digital stories and their iterative processes of generating AI content, images, and videos, with both individual and cooperative supervision. Results describe the methodological effects on student self-expression and experimentation through platforms of AI-assisted narration and address future implications for AI ethics and agency support in language education.