TREMENDOUS BENEFITS OF STORYTELLING
CARLO B. NORIEGA
English teachers should further explore the benefits of storytelling when it comes to learning the English language. There will be struggles, especially concerning children with no English language skills, but teachers should make sure to engage these students as both an educator and a storyteller.
There is a certain power to a story, especially guidelines when telling a story: * Speak slower and put more dramatic emphasis into your voice. * Use more physical actions and sound effects to help associate universally recognised body actions (running, sleeping, etc.) with new English words. * Ask the audience to repeat key words and actions. * Use physical humor, as laughter is essential to breaking down the barrier of language. You would be surprised that after just a few sessions, there will be surprises, like one student being able to write her own stories, and another one being able to speak the language. He, too, can be a storyteller like the first student.Others would then start sharing stories, overcoming shyness and worries about publicly making mistakes.
In no time, these students would make rapid progress in the wider curriculum, with writing and telling fiction remaining their favorite activity.
Why are stories so important? They are innately part of human experience, in any language, and it is the one commonality between all world cultures, regardless of literacy rates.
Because Ccildren naturally inhabit fantasy worlds, stories are a natural way for them to express language and emotion. What more, stories have a beginning, middle, and end, thus have a structure that creates a sense of achievement.
And when their peers appreciate their stories, students have a big boost to their confidence.Storytelling is not complex and technical vocabulary, but a narrative that can be understood with just a few words.
Spelling, grammar, and handwriting at an early stage will be a challenge, and teachers should focus on these areas later on. Children must have the freedom to take risks and make mistakes. if a teacher implements the following — oOo— The author is English Teacher 1 at Pampanga High School, City of San Fernando, Pampanga