Muhammad Akhir, Idawati, Ratnawati, Rahmawati, Adri, Rukman Pala
Storytelling has been widely incorporated into Indonesian language speaking instruction. Yet, much of the existing literature continues to approach it primarily as a technique for improving speaking outcomes, offering limited insight into how narrative-based instruction mediates the integration of linguistic and affective dimensions of speaking competence. Addressing this gap, the present classroom-based design study reconceptualizes storytelling as a narrative-based mediational mechanism that shapes learners' speaking development over time. Informed by sociocognitive and interactional perspectives, this study examines how iterative storytelling activities in the Indonesian language classroom support the co-development of fluency, grammatical accuracy, pronunciation, intonation, and learner confidence at the junior secondary level. Analytic speaking assessments and systematic classroom observations conducted across two instructional cycles were used to generate data. The analysis reveals that storytelling operates through four interrelated pedagogical mechanisms: narrative structuring, affective engagement, interactional scaffolding, and iterative performative practice, which collectively reorganize learners' speech planning, oral performance, and self-regulation. This study offers a mechanism-oriented conceptual model of narrative-based speaking instruction rather than advancing claims of instructional effectiveness alone. The findings provide theoretically grounded and transferable insights for designing Indonesian-language speaking pedagogy that integrates linguistic performance and affective readiness into classroom practice. © 2026 ACADEMY PUBLICATION.
Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, UNISMUH, Indonesia; Universitas Negeri Makassar, UNM, Indonesia; Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, BRIN, Indonesia
