Animated Storytelling: Student-Created TALES in Irish-Language Learning

Abstract

This article examines how digital and animated storytelling can be employed as an instructional methodology to foster communicative, creative and authentic Irish-language experiences in the primary school classroom. Irish is one of Ireland’s two official languages, where Irish is the national minority language and English is the dominant majority language. Students underachieve in Irish compared to other subjects taught at primary level. Poor performance in Irish, particularly in listening and speaking skills, is often attributed to traditional teaching methods and a reduction in Irish-medium teaching, a shortage of language resources, and limited opportunities for using Irish outside the classroom. This research explores how digital storytelling, animation and coding tools can enhance students’ abilities and interest in Irish. The setting for this study is a third-grade classroom in an English-medium primary school over the course of one academic year. It culminates in a practical innovative model called TALES (Technology, Activity, Language Learning, Engagement and Story). TALES integrates all four language skills through the storytelling phase and maps them to four corresponding multimedia skills during the digital recreation phase, developing language and technology skills in the process. TALES externalises student thinking while co-creating shareable learning artefacts, negotiating meaning and deepening learning in the process. It engages students in the meaningful production of the Irish language, and provides them with increased and spontaneous opportunities to speak and write the language through creative writing and digital recreation activities. It supports a curriculum-aligned, student-centred, technology-enhanced, design-based, constructionist and collaborative approach to language learning.