Digital storytelling as a Study Abroad Project in Spanish: learnings, difficulties and changes

Abstract

This study explores university students’ perceptions about creating a digital story about their Study Abroad (SA) experience. The process is inspired by the autobiographical model proposed by Story Center (storycenter.org) with some adaptations to the Spanish as a second language (L2) context. The topic of the project focuses on intercultural and/or target language learning discovery narratives. This study collects data through two questionnaires completed by 162, 98 and 46 volunteer participants (before the project, after and in both cases). Although motivation was the main initial emotion, inexperience with video editing tools generated an attitude of stress in some students that interfered with perception of an opportunity for learning. This result matches a significantly higher time spent in editing than in writing, the essential task of the digital storytelling process. Findings showed a more positive final perception. Different learnings are analyzed in relation to (a) linguistic-communicative, both in oral and written expression, (b) social and (c) biografical and identity sense-making aspects.