Exploring The Role Of Digital Storytelling In Reducing Writing Anxiety Among Junior High School Students In Bekasi

sitti aisyah ratna furi; dr. syaadiah arifin, m.pd.; hamzah puadi ilyas, ph.d.;

Technological advancements have transformed writing instruction by introducing tools like digital storytelling, offering new tools to mitigate writing anxiety. This study aims to investigate the influence of digital storytelling on students' writing anxiety. Additionally, it aims to explore students' perceptions of the effectiveness of digital storytelling in teaching writing in English classes for junior high school students in Bekasi. The Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) and semi-structured interviews were used to obtain a depth description of students' writing anxiety. Seventy-one students, comprising twenty-nine male and forty-two female students from seventh grade at SMPN 1 Bojongmangu and SMPN 2 Bojongmangu, participated in this study. T-tests were conducted to measure pre- and post-questionnaire anxiety levels. The interview responses were analyzed by content analysis. The pre-questionnaire data indicated that the average score of anxiety was 69.27, which was in moderate level. The pre and post- questionnaire data showed that students writing anxiety levels decreased from 69.27 to 64.27. The semistructured interview showed that digital storytelling increases writing ability, helps students in reducing errorrs, and motivates them to write. The implementation of digital storytelling reduced the anxiety levels among students at SMPN 1 Bojongmangu and SMPN 2 Bojongmangu. Overall, the findings suggest that digital storytelling reduced the writing anxiety of the students.