Digital Storytelling and Indonesian Cultural Narratives through AI-Generated Animations for Children English Learning

This study investigates the design and development of an AI-assisted animated folktale platform designed to support English language learning for young learners in Indonesia. Responding to the need for culturally relevant and engaging instructional media, the research applies a Design and Development Research framework to create a digital storytelling tool rooted in Indonesian folktales. The methodology integrates needs analysis, multimedia design, iterative prototyping, expert validation, and classroom-based evaluation. Respondents of the study included 80 elementary school students, 4 teachers, and 5 parents. Instruments of data collection used were direct observation notes, questionnaires, and interview guides. The resulting platform presents English version simplified Indonesian folktales through AI-generated animations, narration, and gamified tasks. Findings indicate that the platform significantly enhances learner engagement, vocabulary recognition, and comprehension, with students demonstrating active participation, improved attention, and positive responses to multimodal input. Teachers and parents noted increased motivation and cultural awareness, while expert evaluators affirmed the platform’s feasibility, usability, and alignment with contextual teaching principles. The incorporation of culturally grounded narratives activated prior knowledge, reduced anxiety, and fostered moral and ecological reflection. Technically, the tool functioned reliably across devices and provided intuitive navigation suited to primary learners. The study contributes to the growing body of research on Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL), AI-supported learning, and digital storytelling by offering an integrated model that merges cultural narratives with interactive multimedia design. These findings highlight the potential of AI-enhanced folktale platforms as effective supplementary tools for language instruction and suggest directions for future improvements, including adaptive learning features and expanded story collections

Data collection · Digital Storytelling · Educational technology · Indonesian · Language acquisition · Narrative · Storytelling · Vocabulary · Child Development and Digital Technology · Digital Storytelling and Education · Human Motion and Animation