developing digital stories as pedagogic materials: exploring english language teachers’ challenges

Stories and storytelling have long held a special place in english language teaching and learning. the rapid advancement of information and communication technologies in this digital age has altered the old face of traditional stories into the modern shape of digital storytelling (dst). on pedagogical grounds, the implications of dst in second and foreign language learning have been widely investigated over the last decade. however, less is known about language teachers’ views concerning the challenges of developing digital stories (dss) as pedagogic materials. the participants of the study, nine iranian female english teachers, initially participated in a seven-session dst workshop and practiced creating dss for their classes. they then took part in a focus group and an in-person interview and shared their views regarding their acquired experiences. the analysis of interview data revealed that a number of extrinsic barriers, including the time-consuming process of dst development, lack of freemium professional applications, lack of technical knowledge and professional courses, restrictions in educational settings, and lack of financial support, inter alia, as well as intrinsic barriers like technophobia, the fear of underestimation, and lack of motivation hindered the teachers from developing and implementing their created digital materials.