QUICK RESOURCE SHEET #74
Storytelling
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Studies show that EFL learners need to possess at least 3000 word families (Nation, 1990) to be able to read an unsimplified text… Although it has been argued that implicit strategies are inefficient, listening to stories (a comprehensible input based approach) has been suggested as an effective method for increasing vocabulary size… An investigation shows that the acquisition rate using the storytelling method is as efficient as that seen in children acquiring English as a first language. Furthermore, this method is cost effective, as no textbook is necessary for learners.
---from http://www.eltcalendar.com/events/details/2743
Storytelling stimulates students’ oral and written expression, provides a model of accurate inflection in addition to other modeled oral skills. It can be used as the basis for discussions, to provide material about which students can write as well as cultural information, including varied language register and/or dialect. Stories can be used to introduce more advanced material (more complex literature, cultural topics, etc.)
---from http://www.people.virginia.edu/~hac8g/html/courses.htm
To find out more about the use of storytelling in teaching English, along with suggestions for storytelling activities to use in the classroom, click on the following links.
http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol39/no4/p10.htm
“Stories, a form of narrative, help us to make sense of our world. Even in academic research, they have lately been given a higher status (see Pavlenko and Lantolf 2000 for an overview) …stories also have the power to reach deep within us into areas that regular teaching may not visit, thereby validating the language classroom for reasons that go beyond language learning… students tell us and show us that they have changed beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors after hearing our stories. This deep impact makes language learning an enriching experience that students find intrinsically valuable.”
http://campusweb.yuntech.edu.tw/~huangje/paper/paper.doc
“Contextualized storytelling is proposed by Stephen Cary (1998) as an instructional approach to help ESL learners improve their English acquisition in the U.S. It is a multi-sensory approach, which relies on both verbal and nonverbal communication in the telling process. Thus, with the use of heavy props, visual aids, concrete referents for L2 vocabulary, proper prosodic delivery, and rich body language in the telling, the contextualized storytelling utilizes learners’ nonverbal knowledge by giving abundant contextual clues for them to grasp the language in use without the help of the mother tongue.”
“…storytelling can be used by students to make connections between home and school. Storytelling can help students learn about and build respect for classmates who are different from themselves. I think that if students were able to tell stories to their peers they would communicate a lot about themselves. This would be a good way for students to get to know each other and to build relationships. Students would learn how to construct and tell stories for an audience.”
http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol33/no1/P2.htm
“Storytelling is the original form of teaching. There are still societies in which it is the only form of teaching. Though attempts have been made to imitate or update it, like the electronic storytelling of television, live oral storytelling will never go out of fashion. A simple narrative will always be the cornerstone of the art of teaching. While listening to stories, children develop a sense of structure that will later help them to understand the more complex stories of literature. In fact, stories are the oldest form of literature.”
The following links will take you to descriptions of storytelling activities you can use with your students.
· http://www.saberingles.com.ar/teachers/storytelling.html
· http://bogglesworld.com/lessons/TEFL_grapevine.htm
· http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/%7Eleslieob/storybasket.html
Previous editions of the QUICK RESOURCE SHEET
#1 – Creating quizzes (and more) online
#2 – Vocabulary builders
#3 – Online discussion groups for English teachers
#4 – Grammar headaches – and how to cure them
#5 – Resources for new teachers
#6 – International Education Week
#7 – Mentoring programs
#8 – Education publications online
#9 – Applied Linguistics
#10 – English for Young Learners
#11 – World AIDS Day
#12 – Online writing guides
#13 – E-mail exchanges
#14 – Free online English courses
#15 – Effective e-mail communication
#16 – Libraries online
#17 – American Studies
#18 – Teaching methodologies
#19 – Internet tutorials
#20 – Using the newspaper – Part I
#21 – Making books
#22 - Using the newspaper – Part II
#23 – Human rights in language teaching
#24 – Blogging
#25 – Poetry and language teaching
#26 – The communicative approach
#27 - Idioms
#28 – Earth Day
#29 – Alternative assessment
#30 – Peer assessment
#31 – Self-assessment
#32 – Portfolio assessment – Part I
#33 - Portfolio assessment - Part II (Online Portfolios)
#34 – Intercultural communication
#35 – Teaching Adults
#36 – Learning disorders / Special needs
#37 – Using computers in reading instruction
#38 – Use of authentic materials
#39 – English for Medical Purposes
#40 – Sources for authentic materials
#41 – Education and technology
#42 – Academic writing
#43 – Teaching and stress
#44 – Back to school
#45 – Motivating students
#46 – Action research
#47 – Internet terminology
#48 – Fluency
#49 – Curriculum design
#50 – Pragmatics
#51 - Podcasting for English teachers
#52 – Critical reading
#53 – Learner autonomy
#54 – Scaffolding
#55 – Holidays
#56 – English for Academic Purposes
#57 – Mixed-level classes
#58 – The brain and language learning
#59 – Book clubs/Readers’ groups
#60 – Teachers and technology
#61 – Using video in the language classroom
#62 – Internet-based classroom projects
#63 – Observing student teachers
#64 – Digital literacy
#65 – Group work
#66 – Giving feedback on student writing
#67 – Vlogging
#68 – Educational leadership
#69 – The first five minutes: How to get a class warmed up
#70 – Managing test anxiety
#71 – Developing listening comprehension
#72 – Discourse analysis
#73 – English for Tourism