YOUNG LEARNER’S DIGITAL STORYTELLING OF KOREAN FOLKTALES: CROSS-CULTURAL AND TRANSLANGUAGING IMPLICATIONS IN CONTEXTS

Abstract

This practitioner inquiry research study on digital storytelling reviewed how young learners, 1st-4th graders, integrated classroom activities with digital platform storytelling to express their authentic stories, engage Korean cultural elements in their daily lives and use translanguaging practice. In this study, the practitioner taught Korean folktales of "Two Brothers' Story, Hungboo and Nolboo (흥부와놀부)" and "Brother and Sister Turned into Sun and Moon (해와 달이 된 오누이)" and then allowed students to create their fictional stories on the digital platform. Data collected included teacher communication with students, digital storytelling scripts, audio recordings, and group discussions, which were used to analyze writers' authentic stories, cross-cultural engagement, and translanguaging practice. Three sets of findings were discerned. First, concerning writers' authentic stories on the digital platform, young learners were initiated to express their ideas, thoughts, or understanding through fictional characters in imaginary settings. Second, young learners' digital storytelling proved they freely expressed their perspectives of Korean cultural elements of 1) food, 2) family, 3) friendship, 4) moral lessons of poetic justice, and 5) traditional society's attitudes toward women, good people, being strong, and dying, summarized from folktales in class and reflected in contemporary life lessons, style, manner, habits, or attitudes. Third, the young learners' digital storytelling platform supported students' translanguaging practice of English and Korean. Students repeated practice of script reading and verbal conversation on the digital platform enabled the teacher to correct young learners' habitual mistakes and improve their Korean language proficiency. Thus, a digital storytelling class is suggested as a complementary educational model that encourages young learners to initiate and actively interact with teachers and their peers in learning culture and language.