1. TEACHING WITH STORIES

2.  10 REASONS TO USE STORIES IN THE
ENGLISH CLASSROOM
 Wonderful tool for practising listening skills
 Good fun
 Put students’ imagination to work
 Develop fantasy
 Develop human feelings
(happiness/understanding/empathy/sadness/pity)
 Connect the present with the past and the future
 Release tension
 Cooperative
 Increases self-esteem
 Enriching experience

3.  OTHER REASONS
 For motivation
> Story Telling
> Story Reading
 To practise different skills good reading starting point
to make own books
to role-play/dramatize
to develop conceptual skills:
prediction
guessing meaning
training memory
 For interest Stories can be chosen to reflect on the language topic
on other areas

4.  For social relevance:
To discuss and explore issues of social relevance:
* awareness of good/bad social behaviour
* emotions
* share culture/history
 For variety:
Stories broaden the use of English, expanding course book contents
 For context:
Stories give context and meaning to the language
a genuine reason for listening

5.  Theoretical Background
Literature in F.L.Teaching increased
material /activities from
Lit. Texts
appeal to the learner’s imagination,
increase motivation,
create a rich and meaningful context
 STORYTELLING technique most frequently used
established part of the curriculum
stories: seen as first-rate
resource

6. AGE GROUPS
 4-year-old children : capable of telling
stories in snatches
 6-year-old children : include cause and effect
relationship between events
recognize 3 of the main
features of storytelling
* location of the action in space and time
* the main plot
* the final outcome

7. 4-6 year olds
Characteristics Implications Need
*pre-school/beginning * not used to class- * training in class
school room conventions routine
* limited motor skills * clumsy control of * to develop motor
pen/scissors control
(colouring)
* learn holistically * child needs stimulation * opportunities to
move, sing, play,
explore,etc.
* cannot distinguish * cannot analyse lang * exposure to chunks
betw.different parts of lang. (chants/
language stories)
* limited reading/ * introducing reading/ * Lots listening/
writing skills writing in Eng. speaking activ.
* see no need to * use L1 exclusively * reasons to speak
communicate in Engl. Engl.
(games, chants)
* love stories, fantasy * bored with many topics * stories, fantasy,fun

8. 7-9 year olds
Characteristics Implications Need
* beginning to be * can see patterns, * opportunities to
logical / anlytical aware of lang. Experiment
•asking questions * need answers * freedom to express
* reading and writing * still need support * practice and
success
still minimal in L 1 and help oriented activ.
* still have problems * group activ. not * teacher guides,
sharing always successful chances to work
alone
* developing confidence * own views on what * chance to state
to express they want to do/talk opinions
about
* developing knowledge * know more than we * chances to use
what
of the world around them often think they know

9. 10-12 year olds
Characteristics Implications Need
* longer attention span * greater range of activ. * opportunities to
engage
possible in class in tasks that
require
focus &
commintment
* knowledge of the * more topics can be * stimulation
(information
world growing addressed from
Internet/cross-
curricular)
* take learning more * can be given * chances to be
seriously responsibility independent
* still children * have need for security * teacher sensitive to
and pleasure their needs &
moods
* more cooperative * can do more group * variety of grouping
with peers work (work on own, in
pairs,
in group,as

10. Reasons which make storytelling useful in linguistic
terms:
 Development of listening skills: Listening for gist (main idea/plot)
 Acquisition of new vocabulary lang.: Lang. contextualised
and repeated
 Development of the child’s literary competence:
Ability to understand and enjoy lit.
Introduction to narrative conventions
 Communicative exchange involved in stories:
Interaction betw. storyteller/audience
Audience collaboration
Interaction with an adult in a shared context

11. HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT KIND OF
STORY have these elements:
Stories should
• simple storyline lends to:
 dramatization and pantomime
 heavy use of visuals and realia to illustrate content
• should not be too long
• language should match or be easily adapted to their level of proficiency
• have a clear plan of activities to exploit the story
• dialogues should be short and memorable
• predictable structures or familiar to the children, with a large proportion of
previously learned vocabulary
• repetitive phrases: formulas and patterns that occur regularly and
predictably
• clearly visible print
• attractive pictures

12. STORYTELLING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE
TEACHING
o An aid in the teaching of a foreign lang.
o Reasons to use them with lower level learners:
need for classroom activ. which are meaningful
implies greater learner involvement
need to create activ. which most closely reflect the
process of natural acquisition of language
the need to communicate
o Content-based syllabuses
developed out of this need
selection based on certain topic
use of all opportunities for real
communicative interaction
(spontaneous
use of lang.)

13. LISTENING TO STORIES
Why is listening so important?
 the skill children acquire first
 the basis for the development of all other skills
 children start to learn a language mainly through their ears
 main channel to make initial contact
* Important to give visual back-up: facial expression/movement/miming
To teachers:
• say things clearly
• repeat words and phrases
• re-tell the story again and again
• create a friendly atmosphere
• establish a story telling routine
• rearrange seating to make eye contact
• make pupils feel comfortable and relaxed

14. Listening to stories
REFLECTS THE PROCESS OF NATURAL ACQUISITION OF THE
LANGUAGE
Stephen Krashen …. the need to communicate in a meaningful way…..
the comprehensible input
1) Simplified utterances: lots of repetition – classification – deliberate
rhythm
2) Characteristics of the story: easy to imitate ( with rhyme,
onomatopoeia, rhythm, intonation)
3) Comprehension of the story: use of visual aids – gestures- mime
Silent period : recommended in the early stages of language learning

15. STEPS IN THE STORY TELLING PROCESS
Planning
1) Choose a suitable story and go through the story first
2) “Skeletalize it”: major features and characters
the setting and the story line
2) Emphasize vocabulary or structures through repetition
3) Present or revise vocabulary through: visuals, flashcards,
realia,etc
4) Story teller begins the tale using: mime- gestures- body
language- dramatic expressions- visuals
5) Involve learners through: actions - predictions
7) Use meaningful activities: It leads to a greater learners’
involvement
8) Divide the story telling activities in 3 stages:
- before you read or tell the story
- while you read or tell it (during the second time)
- after you read or tell it

16. STORY READING
LISTENING Main source of lang., when
pupils
start to learn it.
PRINT 2nd main source of expanding the lang
stregthening the lang
READING Language skill easiest to keep
BOOKS Open up other worlds to children!!!!!

17. READING STORIES
 Additional benefit of connecting narrative with printed page
 Teachers read very familiar stories aloud at early stages of
language
acquisition
 While reading aloud:
> is helpful to point to the words or lines
> we emphasize the connection of oral lang to
print
 You should not change the story
 Children like to have their favourite stories repeated
 They are able to tell the story word for word (they do not like
changes!!)
 Older groups: a continuing story, so that you read a bit of the

18. Children progress through 3 stages as readers:
Emergent readers
 Become aware of the basics of reading
 Young children need predictable books/repetition and
rhyme/illustrations
that match the text
Early readers
 Understand the basics of print
 Use various strategies to gain meaning
 Can read more detailed and complicated stories
Fluent readers
 Are confident readers
 Use many strategies
 Read a variety of genres

19. Reading experiences
SHARED READING
 Select the appropriate book
 Ask about what they see in the cover
 Point out the title and ask them to predict it
 Point out the illustrations
 Ask them to make predictions about the story plot
 Read aloud with enthusiasm (Model book handling,page sequence,etc)
 Pause frequently to comment on the illustrations and actions
 Ask questions about objects or characters in the illustrations
 Lead simple discussions
 Ask questions that reflect opinions