Yoel and Zalfa

LEARNIN G T H ROUGH
S TO R IES
Stories and themes as holistic approaches to
languange teaching and learning

Stories offer a whole imaginary world,

created by language, that children can enter
and enjoy, learning language as they go.

Themes begin from an overarching topic or

idea that can branch out in many different
directions, allowing children to pursue
personal interests through the foreign
language.
Stories and themes as holistic approaches to
languange teaching and learning

What is the different between this chapter with the

previous chapters at aspects of the foreign language ?
Bringing the world into the classroom by using stories
and themes creates different demands for the
foreign language teacher.
Stories are frequently claimed to bring many
benefits to young learner classrooms
Stories and themes as holistic approaches to
languange teaching and learning

Classrooms are not family sitting rooms,

teachers are not their pupil’s parents, and
many of the texts in books found in schools
are not poetic, meaningful stories that will
instantly capture children’s imagination
 The discourse
organisation of stories

story telling is an oral activity, and stories have the shape they
do because they are designed to be listened to and, in many
situations, participated in.

Key organising feature of stories :

1. Events
2. Thematic structure
Little Red Riding Hood
 The discourse
organisation of stories
The structure of typical stories was analysed by Propp (1958)
and many of the same features have been found in analyses of
how people tell stories in their conversations (Labov 1972)
Prototypical features of stories, that will be found in most
versions of LRRH, are :
An Opening
Introduction of characters
Description of setting
Introduction of a problem
Events
The resolution of the problem
A closing
A moral
Language use in stories
children’s stories contain uses of language that are considered
typical of poetic and literary text. Many of these devices
offer opportunities for foreign language learning

1. Parallelism
2. Rich Vocabulary
3. Aliteration
4. Contrast
5. Metaphor
6. Intertextuality
7. Narrative/Dialogue
 Quality in stories

Some common features that can be identified as

characterising quality :

1. Quality stories have characters and a plot that engage

children.
2. Children need to be able to enter the imaginative world
that the story creates.
3. Potentially useful tools in the foreign language classroom.
 in g s to rie s to
Cho os e
m ote la ng ua g
pro
learning

1. ‘Real’ books or specially written ones ?

2. Will the content engage the learners ?
3. Are the values and attitudes embodied in the story
acceptable ?
4. How is the discourse organised ?
5. What is the balance of dialogue and narrative
6. How is language used ?
7. What new language is used ?
Ways using a story
 Ways using a story

A. Evaluating the language learning opportunities of the story

1. ‘Real’ books or specially written ones ?
2. Will the content engage the learners ?
3. Are the values and attitudes embodied in the story acceptable ?
4. How is the discourse organised ?
5. What is the balance of dialogue and narrative
6. How is language used ?
7. What new language is used ?
 Ways using a story

B. Language learning tasks using the story

1. Preparation activity : Brainstorming Vocabulary

2. Core activity reading the story
3. Follow-up activity : Vocabulary learning
 Ways using a story

Pollution Paradise
 Developing tasks
around a story

A. Listening Skills
If a story appeals to children, they will want to
hear it again and again
B. Discourse Skills
Acting roles
Retelling the story
Using the discourse of the story in other contexts
Using situations from the story as starting point
C. Focused reading skills practice
We see how stories might contribute to focused
literacy skills practice.
Thank
You