Digital storytelling as a pedagogical strategy for EFL students’ intercultural awareness and critical thinking development in Vietnamese higher education

Abstract

This paper explores the use of digital storytelling on Microsoft Sway as a technology-enhanced pedagogical strategy for asynchronous learning in Intercultural Communication classes, with particular attention to the development of students' critical reflection and intercultural awareness. Adopting an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design, data were gathered from 94 EFL students' digital stories shared on Microsoft Sway through classroom activities and from 69 follow-up survey responses. The findings indicate that digital storytelling served as an effective pedagogical strategy that fostered students’ awareness of social practices, encouraged critical reflection on cultural experiences, and supported processes of self-exploration and self-transformation. Through their narratives, students demonstrated greater intercultural awareness and openness to cultural differences, while experiencing a stronger sense of inclusivity and social connectedness. The findings suggest the benefits of integrating digital storytelling as a technology-enhanced innovation into the pedagogy of intercultural communication to support students' intercultural engagement, critical reflection, and social connectedness in asynchronous learning environments.