Digital Storytelling to Enhance Eighth-Grade Students' Vocabulary Mastery of Verbs

Abstract

Learning English verbs requires understanding their meanings and forms within meaningful contexts. This study examined changes in eighth-grade students’ performance on a verb vocabulary test following digital storytelling instruction. A quantitative pre-experimental study using a one-group pretest and posttest design involved 30 students from one eighth-grade class at SMPN 1 Gubug, without a comparison group. The study comprised four meetings: a pretest, two treatment sessions, and a posttest. During the treatment, digital stories developed using Canva and displayed through a projector presented target verbs in simple past and progressive forms. Data were collected using an adapted 20-item vocabulary test and analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The mean score increased from 33.83 to 80.33, representing a gain of 46.50 points. Twenty-nine students obtained higher posttest scores, while one obtained a lower score. The reported Wilcoxon statistic was Z = −4.770, with a calculated effect size of r = .87. These findings indicate a substantial short-term improvement in performance on the measured verb items following the two instructional sessions. However, the absence of a comparison group prevents attributing the improvement solely to digital storytelling, and vocabulary retention was not assessed. The results provide preliminary classroom evidence warranting further investigation through controlled studies and delayed assessment.