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How To Teach English Through Storytelling
How To Teach English Through Storytelling
HOW TO
TEACH ENGLISH
THROUGH
STORYTELLING
- A MODEST PROPOSAL -
BY
ARNOST S.
In order to make the most of a story, you need to spread it over a few
classes. Here's what I do with a story like Amelia and John.
CLASS 1
I introduce and explain the vocabulary, without in any way
indicating what type of story it relates to.
Later on I tell the story. That's the fun part. Or the scary part,
depends.
Either right after that or a little later, I inquire about the story
to make sure everyone understood it, all of it.
At the end of class, it's conversation time, during which I
have the students piece the story together in pairs.
CLASS 2
I recall the story to bring everyone up to speed.
Later, I point out the most important bits to see if the class
can connect them to their native language.
Then, once again, it's conversation time, this time with a
little twist. (Hint: Must-Use sheet)
CLASS 3 / 4
I ask individual students to translate random point-out bits
in front of the whole class. That'll teach them.
There's talking, too, this time centered on spin-off improvized
conversations.
* Since I teach 90-minute classes, I have space to do other stuff besides
the main story. This means that by the time I get to class 2 with the
Amelia story, I'll already be introducing a new one and finishing work
on a story I had begun three classes earlier. In other words, in most
classes I work on three different stories in various stages.
phrases while recounting the story rather than dumb it down to the
most primitive level possible.
(While my students are engaged in this activity, I walk around the
classroom, stopping at desks to correct errors, doing some extra
explaining, occasionally frowning or shaking my head but mostly
doling out compliments. Yeah, I'm pretty nice that way. It is a also
great opportunity to address individual students' problems.)
At a certain point in the process, students will be able to tell the whole
story, give or take. We're not stopping there, though. (Not to mention
everyone's probably totally bored with the story by that point.) Which
is why I always come up with a bunch of spin-off conversations
loosely based on the story. These may take the form of an argument, a
brainstorming session, a phone call, what have you.
The point here is that students are forced to improvize, which may
sound scary at first, but is actually a lot of fun once they get used to the
idea. There are no boundaries, no guides, nothing. They can go crazy
and invent the weirdest scenarios. However, correct and rich English
is still key. Students must not get overwelmed by emotion to the point
where the exchange turns into a series of primitive exclamations.
There are other activities that are fun and not as exhausting. There
are the fill-in sheets where students guess the right words to fill the
gaps. There are the point-out sheets for students to practice their
translation skills. The sky's the limit. Actually, the teacher's
imagination is, but you get the idea.
CLASS ONE
1.
vocabulary
2.
tell story
3.
inquire
4.
conversation
VOCABULARY
Early in the class I introduce the vocabulary (without indicating what
kind of story it comes from or if there's even a story attached to it). I
write all of it on the whiteboard and then define each word/phrase using
entertaining real-life examples.
Once I notice most of the class nodding their heads, I move on to the
next word. It's only when I go through at least five or six that I ask for
translations into Czech. This makes it a little more challenging and,
dare I say, fun.
TELLING THE STORY
Then, later on, after one or two non-related activities, I get to the story
itself. The first line really needs to grab the students' attention and
make them wonderhey, what's going on here? where and when is this
happening? who's this John guy?
You need to make it sound as if all this stuff really happened to you or
someone close to you. Even if the students suspect or know that neither
is the case, they'll still play along because why wouldn't they, right?
Also, you can tell the story from a different perspective than the
original. The ich-form obviously works, but so do others. As long as you
don't start like this:
I will tell you a story about a woman named Amelia who met her husband at a
party. It is very funny and interesting. Is everybody listening? Listen very
closely please because we will be talking about the story later on and I will ask
you questions, ok. So one day sixty years ago Amelia was at a party and she
met John, her husband...
CLASS TWO
1.
recall
2.
point out
3.
conversation
RECALL
It's not a bad idea to recall the story one more time (inquiry-style,
only from a different perspective because why the hell not) at the start
of the next class just in case everybody forgot what it was about or for
the benefit of previously absent students. You need to bring everyone up
to speed or else some students will be left out of the loop and may
disrupt the rest of class.
POINT-OUT: GROUP
Later on, you can point out the best parts of the story by calling them
out (in your native language) in random order and maybe a different
context. The students collectively try to guess the best possible
translations. Keep it short and sweet.
what if it turns out I was right?
he ended up getting fired
what did you just call me?
who am I trying to impress here?
that sounds made up
Make sure that no one student hijacks the exercise. Give the class some
time to think about the translations. Urge the students to ask about
phrases/grammar points that still don't make sense to them.
CONVERSATION
The students will then be expected to use these phrases in narrating the
story. In order to make things easier/harder, provide them with MUSTUSE sheets. That way, they can't dumb the story down as they are
forced to hit all the right spots.
2.
conversation
POINT-OUT: INDIVIDUAL
Early on, hit each student with one or two phrases that they have to
translate. Take into consideration each student's level and choose the
lines accordingly. Knowing that they will be called out in front of the
whole class will force many students to study harder than they
normally would. It may have the opposite effect on others, sad to say.
CONVERSATION
By now the students are pretty bored with the story so you need to keep
things fresh.
John's ex-girlfriend complains to a friend (Can you believe he
left me for this girl? -- Yeah. What a jerk! -- I mean, what does she
have that I don't have? -- Nothing. You're perfect. -- So how come he
likes her so much? -- Apparently, she really enjoyed that party trick
of his that you hate. -- Oh. Could that be it?)
a beer tells its side of the story(So the guy pours me into a glass
and then he waits for people to gather around him. Once he has an
audience, he lifts the glass and he pours me down his throat. I have
no idea what happens next but I'm guessing everyone is pretty
impressed. I travel through his body until I join my fellow beers in
his stomach...)
bus driver (I'm done waiting for those two, I'm leaving. They must
be having a pretty good time if it's worth missing the bus for. It's a
pretty long way to walk. It's at least five miles. But they don't seem
to mind. At least it'll give them a chance to get to know each other.
Then again, it's raining pretty hard so maybe they'll regret it after
all. But you know what they say, whatever floats your boat.)
OPENING LINES
NARRATOR
So Amelia finds herself at a party one night. She doesn't know a lot of people there
so a friend of hers introduces her to people whose company he thinks she might
enjoy. One of these people is a guy named John. John has been at the party for a
while and by the time he and Amelia meet, he's had quite a lot to drink. Amelia
thinks to herself "This guy is a little drunk already." And she's right. John finds
Amelia cute and he tries to impress her by pouring...
JOHN
So I'm at this party and I'm doing this party trick that I'm kind of sort of famous
for. What I do is I basically just pour a whole beer straight down my throat. It's
not a big deal to me, but apparently not many people can do it. So whenever I
perform the trick, people applaud and many are impressed. So I'm getting ready
to do it when a friend comes up to me and says, "Hey John, there's someone I
want you to meet..."
AMELIA
So you know my husband, John, right? You wanna know how we met? Let me tell
you the story, it's kind of fun. We actually met at this partythat's not the fun
part, that's how most people met back then. This was sixty years ago and I had
just broken up with this guy that I'd been with for a year or so. A friend invited
me to this party so I went. I had no expectations at all, I just wanted to take my
mind off the break-up. So anyway, when I got there, my friend started
introducing me to a whole lot of people, one of whom was John...
INQUIRY / RECALL
I'm guessing the likeliest answers here and base my next questions on those
guesses. Obviously. If there's a really good answer that the students fail to think
of right off the bat, I'll just wait until someone puts on their thinking cap and
gives me the right answer. Meanwhile, I grimace to convey my disappointment.
JOHN
1. Why did I call Amelia "funny face?" (Because you forgot her name.) Does that
happen to me often? (Probably.) What do I do when I forget someone's name?
(You come up with a nickname.) Am I good at making up nicknames? (Yes.) Did
Amelia like hers? (She didn't mind.) Did I keep calling her "funny face." (You still
call her that.) I do, right? How long have I been calling here that? (Sixty years.)
That's right. When did we decide to get married? (On the way home from the
party.) Did we take a bus? (No, you walked.) We did, didn't we? Why didn't we
take a bus. (You missed the last one.) Was that because we were drunk? (It was.)
How much did I have to drink? (A lot.) Was I drunk by the time I was introduced
to Amelia. (Oh yes.) Who introduced us? (A mutual friend.) ...
2. What's my favorite party trick? (Drinking beer.) That's not a trick. Everyone
can drink beer. (Yes. But you drink it very fast.) How fast exactly? ...
3. Am I going to marry this girl? (Yes.) But how am I going to get her attention
though? (By drinking a lot.) Is that really the best way to a girl's heart? [The class
is split on this point] Of course it isn't. But there's more to me than that, right?
[Half-hearted nodding.] I mean, come on, I'm a fun guy. If you spend some time
with me at a party, for instance...
AMELIA
1. So... why am I looking so worried?
2. Why are we going to miss the bus ?
3. Do I have an ordinary face?
NARRATOR
1. So five miles... is that a long distance? (Depends on the situation.) Right. So
what situations are there where it's not that long? (When you're with someone...)
CONVERSATIONS
This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. If by the end of
your engagement with the story your students are still unable to tell it
from a different perspective and in a different time context, then the
whole thing was a major waste of time. Same goes for if they can't use
the best bits outside the context of the story.
In most conversation set-ups students work in pairs, helping each other
out / taking turns talking.
The mutual friend, PAST
You probably don't know this, but I'm the one who introduced Amelia
to John. It happened at a party. John and Amelia had never met
before, but I knew them both. I also knew that they would make a
great couple. That's why I invited them and hoped that they would
enjoy themselves. John arrived first and as usual started drinking
right away. By the time Amelia showed up, he was pretty drunk...
John, FUTURE
So I've been talking to this lady that knows the future... a fortune
teller, right. Anyway, I'm going to meet this girl soon. Apparently, we
are going to really like each other's company and if the lady is right we
are going to get married and have a bunch of kids. So there's going to
be a party and we will both be invited. We are going to have a great
time and we will both stay late and will miss the last bus home...
John + Amelia, LIVE
So I'm here at this party and I don't know anybody /// Yeah, you and I
haven't met /// but I guess we will soon /// right, we have this mutual
friend who is coming over right now /// and he is introducing us /// I'm
kind of tipsy by now /// and you are trying to impress me /// by
drinking a whole beer /// don't you do this all the time? /// I do, but you
seem pretty impressed /// that's right, but I have decided to keep an
eye on you /// you don't need to do that, I'm fine /// yeah, you know, but
just in case /// all right ... anyway, good to see you again, uh, funny
face /// did you just call me funny face? /// I did, does that bother
you? /// no, not really
CONDITIONALS
AMELIA: PAST
If I hadn't met you at that party, I wonder who I would have married
instead. /// If we hadn't missed that bus, we might not have been
together now.
FRIEND: PRESENT
If John wasn't drinking so hard, you wouldn't have to worry about him,
Amelia. /// If you knew you were going to meet this guy, would you have
come to this party anyway?
JOHN: FUTURE
Well, if Amelia misses the last bus, I guess I will have to walk her
home. ///If I'm funny, maybe she'll realize what a great guy I am.
TV NEWS: QUESTIONS
a) LIVE FROM PARTY: Are you having a good time at the party, John?
b) MEMORY LOSS: Why did I pour a glass of beer down my throat?
c) ASK A FORTUNE TELLER: Am I gonna meet someone interesting?
d) NURSING HOME: Mom, Dad, how exactly did you first meet?
GRAMMAR POINTS
These are a few grammar points randomly selected from the story that
you may decide to expand on in class. Ultimately, what you focus on
depends on the level of your students and their parrticular struggles.
SHE AND I MET AT A PARTY
x I met with her at a party / me with Amelia we met
x on a party / at a wedding, funeral
x at some/one party
HE'S HAD A LOT TO DRINK
x he has drunk very much alcohol / he's had a lot for drinking / for drink / of drink
IT TURNED OUT THAT IT WAS A PARTY TRICK
x it showed up that it was
LOOK, THAT'S HOW REAL MEN DRINK
x look, real men drink this way!
+ is that how you did this? (you did it in this way?) / that's not what I said ( x I
did not say THAT!)
I KEPT AN EYE ON HIM, JUST IN CASE
x I was very careful for him / you don't have to be afraid of him / I kept my eyes on
him
+ keep the receipt, just in case it breaks
+ we look out for each other / watch out for ticks / make sure there are no
typos / who's gonna watch the kids?
WE ENDED UP HAVING A GREAT TIME
x it ended up that we had a great time
x we ended up to have a great time
x it was really great for us at the party (we had a great time / we had a
blast)
ALSO: stay late (+ work late, sleep late) / he got that right (+ you got it all wrong)
/ I said I was worried + I knew he had been drinking / and many more
If on the other hand you teach advanced students, who breeze through
stories like this, you may want to give them something more to chew on.
Like a spin-off conversation that they can reenact, play around with, be
tested on, whatever.
You might want to cut down on the drinking, John.
Actually, I'd rather not. Why should I?
Because I want you to.
It'll take more than that to make me stop.
Oh yeah? What do I have to do?
You're going to have to let me walk you home.
I'll be happy to do that.
As long as I stop drinking.
Yes. I'd hate to have to drag you home.
Have you done that before?
Not with you. But I have.
Sorry to hear that. But ok, we have a deal. This is my last drink.
You'd better not be lying to me, John.
I'm not. It's killing me, but you are worth it.
Look, there's plenty more where all of the above came from. But there's
only so much time you can spend on a story before squeezing the last bit
of life out of it. We are at that point right about... now.
WORKSHEETS
Here is a collection of worksheets. Some are hand-outs or print-outs for
students to work on in class, others are supposed to provide a leg-up to the
teacher. Hope you find the useful.
READING SHEET
large-font version to keep in front of you while telling the story
TEACHER'S SHEET
the text to highlight and write notes into + vocabulary to note definition ideas in
best conversation set-ups and topics + opening line and inquiry/recall options
STUDENTS EMAIL
the version to email students at some point
OPENING LINES
interesting ways to get the story started
INQUIRY/RECALL
fun ways to inquire about the story
CONVERSATION
ideas for conversation between students (students usually work in pairs)
sometimes both students speak for the same character, sometimes they complement each other
from two different perspectives (the latter is way more fun)
some conversations follow the storyline, others are totally improvized
KEYWORDS
keywords guide students through the text without giving them much in the way of grammar hints
(vocab is provided for comfort)
MUST-USE
phrases/grammar the students absolutely positively have to use while telling the story
three ways to go through the story, cut up into stripes, then select one or do all three
POINT-OUT
the most important phrases/grammar for the students to learn
select those that apply to your class level, translate them into your native language
use as a translation sheet for months afterwards to keep the information fresh
FILL-IN
two alternating versions a/b, one gap equals one word
option a) hand out a+b for pair work (students take turns guessing their mystery words)
POINT-OUT
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KEYWORDS
PA R T Y J O H N - - - I N T R O D U C E
DRINK! BEER --- REAL MEN
S M A L L : D R I N K ! - - - PA R T Y T R I C K
IMPRESS? WORRY! --- KEEP EYE
" F U N N Y FA C E " - - - S I N C E !
M I N D ? - - - W O R S E + FA C E : R I G H T
G O O D T I M E L AT E - - - B U S , WA L K
H O M E : G E T K N O W E T C.
mutual friend
have a lot to drink
pour
insist
hold one's liquor
turn out
make an impression
keep an eye on sb
just in case
bump into sb
make st up
on the spot
come to think of it
as far as ... go
nickname
honeymoon
FILL-IN (A)
FILL-IN (B)
John and I met ___ a party sixty years ago. Hed had a lot ___ drink when
John and I met at ___ party sixty years ago. Hed had a lot ___ drink when
I was introduced to him ___ a ___ friend. In fact, he had just ___ a glass
poured a glass of beer ___ down his throat right in ___ of me as if to say,
Sweetheart, this is ___ real men drink. I said I was worried ___ him, but
Sweetheart, ___ is how real men drink. I said I ___ worried about him,
___ a small guy he sure ___ how to hold his ___. It then turned ___ that
For a small ___ he sure knew how to ___ his liquor. It then ___ out that
it was a party trick of some sort that he was famous ___. He especially
it was a party trick of some sort that ___ was famous for. He especially
enjoyed doing it in front of people who ___ never seen him do it. It
enjoyed ___ it in front of people who had never seen him ___ it. It
certainly ___ an impression on me. ___, I kept an ___ on him for the
certainly made an ___ on me. Still, I ___ an eye on him for the rest of the
When we bumped ___ each other a little later, he ___ me funny face.
When we ___ into ___ other a little later, he called me funny face. He
He just made that ___ on the ___. He later admitted that he forgot my
just ___ that up ___ the spot. He later ___ that he forgot my name so he
had to come ___ with something. Hes called me funny face ever ___,
___ since, come to ___ of it. I didn't mind then and I ___ now. As far as
come to think of it. I didn't ___ then and I don't now. As ___ as
nicknames ___, you could ___ a lot worse. And I do have a funny face, so
nicknames go, ___ could do a lot worse. And I ___ have a funny face, so
Anyway, we both ___ up ___ a really good time at the party and we
Anyway, we both ended ___ having a really good time at the party and
stayed so late that we missed the last bus and had to ___ five miles in
we stayed so ___ that we missed the last bus and had to walk five miles
the rain. Not only did we ___ to know each other on the way home, by
in the rain. Not only ___ we get to know each other on the way home, ___
the ___ we got there we had planned our honeymoon and agreed ___
the time we ___ there we had planned our honeymoon and agreed on ___
TEACHER'S SHEET
1. John an d I met at a party sixty years ago. He d ha d a lo t to dri nk when I was
introduced to him by a mut ua l frie n d . I n fac t , he had just po u red a glass of beer
straight down his throat right in front of me as if to say , Sweetheart, this is how real
VOCAB
OPENING LINE:
MUTUAL FRIEND
POUR
INSIST
men drink. I said I wa s worrie d a bo ut him, but he i nsi sted he was fi ne.
2. For a sma ll gu y he su re kn ew how to ho ld hi s liq uo r . It then t urne d o ut that it
was a party trick of some sort t h at he was famou s fo r . He especially enjoyed do ing it
in front of people who had never se e n h im do it. It certainly ma de an impre ssi o n on
me. Sti ll , I kept a n eye on him for the rest of the night, just i n ca se .
I do is I basically pour...
TURN OUT
INQUIRY / RECALL:
MAKE AN IMPRESSION
JUST IN CASE
CONVERSATIONS
BUMP INTO SB
3. When we b umpe d i nto each other a little later, he called me funny face. He just
ON THE SPOT
COME TO THINK OF IT
AS FAR AS ... GO
NICKNAME
HONEYMOON
GRAMMAR
she and I met at a party
he's had a lot to drink
late that we missed the last bus and had to walk fi ve miles in the rain. Not only did we
get to k now e ac h o th er on the way home, by t he ti me we got there we had planned
our honeymoon and agreed on w h at we we re go ing to name our three kids.
KEEP AN EYE ON SB
MAKE ST UP
John, FUTURE
John + Amelia, LIVE
CONDITIONALS FRIEND:
FUTURE
MEMORY LOSS: Why did I pour a
glass of beer down my throat?
ASK A FORTUNE TELLER: Am I
going to meet someone interesting at
this party?
a) John Amelia: when they first
met (why drink?)
b) John Amelia: later at the party
(Funny Face)
c) John Amelia: end of party (bus
gone?)
d) John Amelia: on the way home
(honeymoon)
SPITBALLING (John and his
friend come up with ideas how to
impress Amelia)
MUST-USE (A)
MUST-USE (B)
MUST-USE (C)
to name sb agree
Q'n'A
There's so many stories out there. How do you know which ones will go over well
in class?
If you have a story and you wonder if your students will enjoy it, simply tell it
to an empty room and imagine your students sitting right there and listening
to you. You'll know in your gut if it's going to work or not. By the way, there are
very few good stories. You'll be lucky to come across one every once in a while.
You can also ruin a perfectly good story in a number of ways: with a clumsy
opening, by letting it meander, or through too much new vocabulary. You will
be able to pinpoint and then remove all of these problems by play-acting the
hell out of it beforehand.
So you pick a story and that's it, you just tell it in class?
Hell no. I also spend a lot of time editing these stories and rehearsing them. I
add things and I trim a lot of fat in order to make sure there are no weak spots
and no confusing elements. I rephrase passages that are way too simple to
teach the students new phrases. At the same time, I try not to overload a story
with challenging language. It needs to strike just the right balance between
too simple and too complicated.
But a good story is a good story, right? I mean, if it's good, you can go ahead and
use it.
Not really. Plenty of fine stories don't make the cut. Others end up being
significantly altered. I have read hundreds of wonderful stories that for some
reason or another just wouldn't work in class or don't carry enough language
heft to be worth my time. Choosing the right story is a science. So is making it
fit your students' needs. So is presenting it right.
Doesn't it feel funny to be pretending someone you're not? In telling the story, I
mean.
It does. I used to feel slightly embarrassed at first doing this, but it turns out
that most students (all, actually, in my experience) are willing to suspend
their disbelief and play along. Or maybe I'm just that good of a teacher.
Do I need to be a natural storyteller to pull this off?
Probably. Then again, I don't think I am much of a storyteller so... You can get
good at it with practice, I guess. It's definitely worth a shot.