Speaking is an essential skill in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning; however,
many Indonesian students experience difficulties due to limited practice opportunities,
low confidence, and speaking anxiety. This study investigated the effect of Digital
Storytelling on students' speaking achievement and language anxiety at SMAN 11
Palembang. A quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design was employed. The participants were 68 tenth-grade
students in the 2025/2026 academic year, comprising 35 students in the experimental
group and 33 students in the control group, selected through purposive sampling. The
experimental group received instruction using Digital Storytelling, while the control
group received conventional instruction. Data were collected through a speaking test and
a language anxiety questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the
Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, and the Mann-Whitney U Test. The findings revealed that
Digital Storytelling significantly improved students' speaking achievement. However, no
significant difference in speaking achievement was found between the experimental and
control groups. Furthermore, Digital Storytelling did not significantly affect students'
language anxiety, and no significant difference in language anxiety was found between
the two groups. In conclusion, Digital Storytelling may support improvements in
speaking achievement but did not demonstrate a significant effect on language anxiety.
The findings highlight the importance of considering instructional duration and students'
affective needs when implementing Digital Storytelling in EFL classrooms.