Using storytelling to improve speaking skill for efl young learners at primary schools

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY HOANG THI VAN ANH USING STORYTELLING TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILL FOR EFL YOUNG LEARNERS AT PRIMARY SCHOOLS MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATIO

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

HOANG THI VAN ANH

USING STORYTELLING TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILL FOR EFL YOUNG LEARNERS AT PRIMARY SCHOOLS

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

Nghe An, 2018

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

HOANG THI VAN ANH

USING STORYTELLING TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILL FOR EFL YOUNG LEARNERS AT PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Code: 60140011

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, Ph.D

Nghe An, 2018

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CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT

I certify that this thesis is the result of my own research, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this thesis or any part of the same has not been submitted for a degree to any universities or institution

Nghe An, July, 15 th 2018

Hoang Thi Van Anh

I am also grateful to all lecturers and the staff of the Department of Graduate Studies, Vinh University, for their useful lectures and guidance during my study at the Institution

Post-I truly wish to thank all the colleagues and the students at Tay Son Primary School for their assistance and co-operation in giving me valuable information

Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge my debt to my parents and

my husband, whose patient love enabled me to complete this work

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL: English as a foreign language

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Participants’ speaking performance between two groups before and after using storytelling ……… 30 Table 2: Participants’ speaking performance within two groups before and after using storytelling ….……… 31 Table 3: The results from the semi-structured interviews ……… 33

Chapter 2– Literature Review 6

2.1 Speaking Skill in the Classroom 6

2.2 Storytelling Using in the EFL Classroom 12

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Classroom

2.2.9 Storytelling as an English speaking teaching

technique with young learners at primary school

Chapter 4 - Findings and discussions 29

4.1.1 Results of the Evaluation of the Development and

Efficiency of Storytelling in improving Speaking skill for

EFL young learners at Tay Son primary school

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4.1.2 Results of the Improvement of Speaking skill for EFL

young learners at Tay Son primary school through the

storytelling

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4.1.3 Results of EFL young learners’ opinions toward

learning Speaking skill through storytelling

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4.1.4 Participants’ speaking performance at the two points

of measurement within two groups

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4.1.5 Participants’ opinions toward Studying English

speaking skill through the use of storytelling

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VII

4.2.1 Improvement of EFL young learners’ English

Speaking Skills through the use of the Storytelling at Tay

Son primary school

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4.2.2 EFL young learners’ opinions toward learning

Speaking skill through storytelling

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CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION

This part gives a brief introduction to the study which focuses on the problems

of teaching and learning English speaking at primary schools in Vietnam It covers the purposes, the research questions, the significance and the limitations of the

study, the definitions of the key terms, and a summary of this part

1.1 Rationale

English has become an international language that is taught in almost all levels

of education in the world People realize that the main purpose of learning foreign language is to use it in communication both in oral or written form The data revealed by British Council shows that the number of English speakers have reached 1.75 billion people or about a quarter of world population This large number is caused by the existence of English language in almost all aspects of life According to Gudu, O Benter(2010) statement, the mastery of speaking skill in English is a priority for many second-language or foreign language learners He said that speaking is a primary basic skill to tell and share ideas in communication Thus, speaking is one of the language skills that must be learned to start the communication

Considering the importance of mastering the speaking skill in language teaching, the national policy through the regulation of minister of national education reflects the importance of English in the standard of content Also, Vietnam establishes English as prominent foreign language taught as school and one of subjects tested in national exam This determination is intended to prepare Vietnamese students at schools in facing globalization era Therefore, they are able to compete with other people from where English becomes the second or first language

Focusing on the problem in English Foreign Language (EFL), the problems observed by the researcher in teaching and learning English especially in teaching speaking Dealing with the expectation of the objective in English speaking skill is not easy and simple, either for the teachers or students They face some difficulties

in the teaching and learning of speaking Based on the researcher’s experience and observation in classroom activities, the researcher found some problems

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First, commonly students feel afraid and nervous when they want to speak or communicate using English in front of their classmates Second, the students do not have any ideas or initiative to speak English; it is caused by the lack of vocabulary, grammatical patterns, and lack of practicing English speaking Third, the students still frequently make mistakes in pronouncing the English words Fourth, their problems with prosodic features such as intonation, stress, and other phonological nuances still cause a misunderstanding in communication Those problems make the students reluctant and unmotivated to speak

According to the standard competence for the speaking skill for the beginning semester, students at primary high school are expected to be able to express meaningful ideas for both simple transactional (to get something done or get the information) and interpersonal (to get in touch with others for social purposes) communication to interact with people in their nearest environment The students at this level are forced to achieve the informational level which is to be able to communicate orally and in written form to find information

In order to solve the students’ problems and enhance their speaking ability, the teachers should provide some good techniques that can involve the students in practicing speaking and also give some motivation

Here, the researcher thinks that storytelling technique will make the speaking activity become joyful and attractive Storytelling is a means for sharing and interpreting experiences Through storytelling technique, she believes the students will be more motivated to speak English freely because at first, they have been stimulated to comprehend the story It also makes the students enjoy the learning process

According to Egan (1989), storytelling is one of methods in teaching speaking that students can briefly summarize a tale or story they hear from somebody beforehand, or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates So, the students can share their ideas in storytelling

Moreover, in pedagogical theory there are strong supports for the story telling technique to be used in language teaching In summary, storytelling is an interactive

of English is required by many employers and in many other parts of people’s life

It will be important to understand English very well in the future and this is the reason for finding better and more enjoyable ways how to start teaching primary students

Children from an early age should learn about foreign cultures so that they grow

up tolerant and sympathetic towards others The earlier a man starts the more he gets As a result of this, English teaching has started to be increasingly important Most language teachers concentrate on vocabulary, grammar, sometimes on pronunciation which is covered in textbooks, but there are more pleasant, practical and useful ways to introduce and practice all these common requirements Children love tales and stories and learning through pleasure is the way to reach the goals Learning English at primary schools is not very successful because most young students lack opportunities to learn and practice English in an English environment For young learners at primary schools, English speaking is deemed to be difficult since English is not their native language Students’ tension, nervousness, and lack

of confidence during a speaking class time are constraints as also are the problems

in the teaching and the learning of English Because of above preseasons, I decided

to write about the use of stories in language teaching at some primary schools in Ninh Binh province And this is a case study done at Tay Son primary school

1.2 Aims and Objectives of the Study

The purpose of the study is to:

- investigate the influence of storytelling on EFL young learners’ speaking skills (fluency, accuracy, etc)

- improve the English teaching and learning for EFL young learners

The object of the study is to:

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- find empirical evidence that storytelling technique can improve young learners’ speaking

ability at primary schools

- help young learners can improve their speaking ability in EFL classroom

1.3 Scope of the study

Although there are many different ways to motivate EFL young learners’ speaking skills, they cannot be fully covered in the scope of a thesis Due to the word limit and the time frame of the study, the researcher only focused on the influence of storytelling as a way of motivating EFL young learners to learn English speaking skill at primary schools Besides, the target subjects that the study investigated were 60 students from two classes of grade 5 at Tay Son primary school

1.4.2 The instruments for data collection

This study is conducted by applying experimental research

•60 participants are selected from two classes of grade 5 at Tay Son primary school All of the participants have the same educational and language background

•The instruments used in this study are questionnaires and tests The questions on this questionnaire included the items about the gender, age and the educational and language background of the participants

•The tests consist of two separate sections: one pre-test and one post-test In the first class, the students used storytelling to improve speaking skill and in the second class, the students in the control class are not applied Then, the post-test is administered

5 Organization of the study

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The thesis is divided into five chapters

• Chapter 1- Introduction presents the basic information including rationale,

aims, significance, research methods, scope, and the structure of the thesis

• Chapter 2- Literature Review provides the theoretical background of the

study

• Chapter 3- Methodology describes the participants, data collection

instruments, data analysis methods as well as procedure to conduct the research

• Chapter 4- Findings and discussions presents analyze and draws out the

findings from the data collected basing on two research questions

• Chapter 5- Conclusion summarizes the main points presented in the study,

pointing out the limitations of the research, pedagogical recommendations relating

to the research topic and suggestions for further studies on the topic

Following this chapter are the References and Appendices

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CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW

This review of literature discusses the relevant research on teaching and learning as a foreign language in the classroom which focuses on English speaking skills, definitions, problems, and activities in the classroom Then, storytelling in education is presented according to the types which are used in the English speaking classroom, storytelling strategies, and storytelling activities Then, storytelling is discussed for using in the English speaking classroom

2.1 Speaking Skill in the Classroom

2.1.1 Definitions of Speaking

Some language learning experts have tried to define speaking in their own way Alonso, A Rosa (2014) said that speaking is the verbal use of language and a medium through which human beings communicate with each other It is the most demanding skill that people need to communicate in everyday situation We must make ourselves understood by the people we are speaking with, and this is not an easy task, especially at the beginning and intermediate levels

In other words, speaking is seen as an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving information in order to get the particular end between speaker and listener

Based on Achmad, D & Yusuf, Y Q (2014), speaking is simply concerning putting ideas into words to make other people grasp the message that is conveyed When people communicate with others, speakers will use some utterances in order

to tell their purpose to the listeners The speakers should be able to transform their ideas into words and make sure the listener understand what they are talking about Speaking also depends on the context speaking being used People learn language because they want to apply language in specific purposes For example, speaking between students is about the assignments, score and everyday situation at school It

is different if speaking is used by air traffic controllers They often speak in English

to guide aircraft through the skies It is also different with speaking used by fisherman because they often speak about the boats, weather and fish harvest among fisherman

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In summary, of the four key language skills, speaking is considered to be the most important in a second language It is an ability that requires the processes of communicative competence, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary improvement Speaking is the ability to express something in a spoken language It

is the action of providing information or expressing one feeling in speech Speaking activities commonly involve communicative conversation between the speaker, who delivers a massage, and the listener, who receives it

There is an information gap between what speaker said and what listener received when they are talking Both of them should be able to comprehend the information given in order to achieve communicative end This means that students should have not only knowledge of target language forms and functions, but also knowledge of the interaction between the speaker and listener in order their meaning are made clear

2.1.2 Functions of Speaking

According to Gudu, O Benter (2010), there are two main functions of speaking The first is interactional function of speaking which serves to establish and maintain social relations, and the second is transactional function, in which focus on the exchange of information Moreover, speaking has three communicative functional; talk as interaction entertain, talk as transaction, and talk as performance

The first is to talk as interaction; it refers to what people normally mean by

“conversation” and describes interaction that serves a primarily social function This function focuses on the speakers and how they wish to present themselves to each other than on the message For the example, when people meet, they exchange greetings, engage in small talk, tell the experience, and so on

Another function is talk as transaction; it refers to situation where the focus is

on what is said or done The message and making oneself understood clearly and accurately is central focus, rather than participants and how they interact socially with each other For example, students may be engaged in hands-on activities to explore concepts associated with floating and sinking

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The last function is talk as performance It is about public talk, talk transmits information before audience, such as classroom presentation, public announcements, and speeches

In addition, there is a relation between the three functions of speaking with storytelling technique Storytelling is one of speaking activity which force or stimulate students to perform their speaking skill So, it means that storytelling can

encourage the students use the function of speaking

2.1.3 The Elements of Speaking

Speaking can be maintained by having some components as follow:

1) Pronunciation: Pronunciation focuses on production and identification of the

sounds, stress patterns, and intonation in English It introduces multiple-choice hearing identification English pronunciation is considered by some aspects First, it relates to the speech organs and how the organs produce sounds The flow of air which comes from lungs will have modification at vocal cord, pharynx, mouth, and nasal cavity It happens as the open and close of the vocal cord While the upper part of speech organs like at pharynx, mouth, and nasal cavity, the air will be modified into plosive, lateral, velar, nasal, bilabial, alveolar, dental, etc Without a good pronunciation, listeners cannot understand what another person says and this will make the communication process more difficult Therefore, pronunciation has a central role in both academic and social fields in the way that students can be able

to participate and integrate successfully in their community

2) Grammar

Grammar is about proficiency in matters ranging from inflections to syntax

We will not be able to say the language without knowing the pattern of the language itself Since knowledge of grammar is essential for language learner, it is clear that students need some knowledge of these rules to be able to speak correctly Students should learn grammar such as modals, modifiers, prepositions, clauses and other grammatical features

3) Vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of important elements in teaching and learning speaking It is important for language learners to choose appropriate words in certain situations in

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order to make their speaking meaningful For example, when people want to describe their feeling about something, they have to be able to find a word which reflects their feeling Therefore, students need to understand the importance of meaning in context and the facts about word formation and how to twist words to fit different grammatical contexts

in speaking on all professional and general topics without a big effort and smooths

as good as the native speakers

In conclusion, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension are the important and complementary components in the development of students’ speaking skill These elements support each other to gain the goal of speaking

Moreover, those elements will be the instrument or scoring rubric for the speaking test in this study Each element has the scoring scale to measure the learners’ speaking skills Then, the scores will be collected as the data of the research

2.1.4 Speaking Activities in the Classroom

According to Gudu, O Benter (2010): Speaking involved several skills which

require practice:

1) describing what students want to say,

2) choosing the pattern of the sentences,

3) choosing the suitable words,

4) using the correct arrangements of sounds,

5) making sure that what they want to say is appropriate for the situation

All of these are fundamental aspects of speaking skills which are very useful Moreover, speaking is a way of expressing ideas and opinions Many

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primary schools in Vietnam have been trying to start to develop their curriculum to provide opportunities for increasing students’ speaking skills in the classroom by paying more attention to activities Such activities provide opportunities for students

to practice their speaking skills As Achmad, D & Yusuf, Y Q (2014) reports there are stimulation activities in the classroom for motivating students, which increases their self-confidence by taking part in classroom activities, including answering questions, sharing ideas, and also making presentations

Some researchers believe that, if students do not get enough opportunities to practice their speaking skills in the language classroom, they may become quickly discouraged in their learning Therefore, activities and tasks must be designed to expose the students to the aims of the language and increase students’ motivation to learn the language in class Good speaking activities can motivate students

In teaching and learning process to young learners, storytelling is an effective way to motivate students in learning English since children love stories During the teachers tell the story, students of young learners:

a are always eager to listen to stories

b know stories work

c want to understand what is happening

d can enjoy hearing stories in English when they start English lessons

e enjoy looking at story books by themselves

The following are some recommended storytelling techniques from Wright,

c Make comments about the illustrations and point to them to focus the students’ attention

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d Encourage students to take part in the storytelling by repeating key vocabulary items and phrases Teachers can invite students to do this by pausing and looking at them with a

questioning expression and by putting the hand to the ear to indicate that we are waiting for them to join in then repeat what they have said to confirm that they have predicted correctly, and if appropriate, expand by putting the word into a full phrase or sentence

e Use gestures, mime, facial gestures to help convey the meaning

f Vary the pace, volume and your voice

g Pause where appropriate to add dramatic effect or to give children time to relate what they hear to what they see, and to assimilate details to the illustration

h Disguise your voice for the different characters as much as you can to signal when different characters are speaking and help convey meaning

i Ask questions to involve children

j Do not be afraid to repeat, expand and formulate This increases opportunities of exposure to the language and gives children a second chance to work out the meaning and have it confirmed

2.1.5 Speaking Problems in the Classroom

Inside the classroom, speaking and listening are the most often used skills (Broughton, G, 1980), however speaking English is still a problem for many students

Thornbury, S., (2007) argued that speaking remains the most difficult skill to master for the majority of English learners, and they are still incompetent in communicating orally in English According to Alonso, A Rosa (2014), there are many factors that cause difficulty in speaking, and they are as follows:

(1) Inhibition: Students are worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism, or simply shy

(2) Nothing to say: Students have no motive to express themselves

(3) Low or uneven participation: Only one participant can talk at a time because of large classes and the tendency of some learners to dominate, while others speak very little or not at all

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(4) Mother-tongue use: Learners who share the same mother tongue tend to use it because it is easier and because learners feel less exposed if they are speaking their mother tongue

In addition, Gudu, O Benter (2010) pointed out that there are many factors that cause difficulties in speaking English among EFL learners Some

of these factors are related to the learners themselves, the teaching strategies, the curriculum, and the environment For example, many learners lack the necessary vocabulary to get their meaning across, and consequently, they cannot keep the interaction going Inadequate strategic competence and communication competence can be another reason as well for not being able to keep the interaction going Some learners also lack the motivation to speak English They do not see a real need to learn or speak English Actually, motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks in a task at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he preservers The development of communicative skills can only take place if learners have the motivation and opportunity to express their own identity and relate with the people around them (Thornbury, S., 2007) Teaching strategies also contribute to this problem as they are inadequate, and they do not put emphasis on speaking, which results in a meager development of this skill Besides, vocabulary items are taught in isolation, and listening materials are not used by the majority of schoolteachers because of the large number of teachers compared with the number of cassettes available Teacher-training programs were found to be not very successful in changing the teachers’ methodology (Thornbury, S.,2007)

2.2 Storytelling Using in the ESL Classroom

2.2.1 Definitions of Storytelling

Storytelling has been used as a means of communication since earliest times Stories create magic and a sense of wonder at the world Stories teach us about life, about ourselves, and others Storytelling is a unique way for students to increase an understanding, respect, and appreciation for other culture

Storytelling is a uniquely human act, aiming to create and share a social world It occurs when a storyteller, a narrative and an audience come together in person, to

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re-tell and co-create a story Storytelling exists in the world since the time making sense and new meaning out of our existence and experiences became essential to our survival and prosperity

Storytelling is the way we interact to visit new and old ideas together, remember, learn, dream, communicate and imagine our future It is the way we learn about who

we are, where we come from, pass on values, examine those values, question what

we are doing and see new possibilities

D Heath field (2014) explains that storytelling is an activity that can be defined very simply as that which is done by storytellers As human being, people usually tell their story to other They tell other about their feeling, opinion, ideas, or even anything, happened in their lives It is very simple to tell story to others, as simple as expressing what is on mind

As people like to share their stories or experience, it is explained further on the book of Cameron, A Wright (2003), storytelling is thought of as something belonging to a pre- industrial or mythical past Stories have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, and instilling moral values Crucial elements of storytelling include plot, characters, and narrative point of view

As the understanding of storytelling explained above, it can be concluded that actually storytelling is an activity to share what is on mind It has many benefits, such as for entertainment, education, cultural preservation, and instilling moral values It also has elements that have to be noticed, they are plot, characters, and narrative point of view

2.2.2 History of Storytelling

Storytelling has been used as a means of communication in ancient times until now Early storytellers told of significant encounters with animals and other tribes whether they were true or imaginary The early storytellers are as old as the storytelling which was told by painting pictures on cave walls or rocks around the world It was used to explain the forces of nature that humans did not understand and found frightening, such as storms, tidal waves, and lightning Stories were also told about gods and heroes and to remind people how to behave well and help

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others Moreover they also told of encounters with their ancestors, and of imaginary adventures In addition, forms of storytelling have also been presented primarily by oral communication combined with gestures and expression They can also motivate listeners and they are very interesting for students and promote their communication Wright, A (2003) reveals that the excitement and interest of storytelling can provide a context which will hold students’ concentration

2.2.3 Benefits of Storytelling

According to D Heath field (2014), storytelling technique can motivate students to develop positive attitudes towards the foreign language and language learning In every story, there will be a moral message that can be taken, whether it

is negative or positive If it is negative, teacher must tell the students not to copy, but if it is positive, teacher must tell the students to do so Moreover, through storytelling students will be taught listening, good oral language, plot, sequencing, characterization

Also, the importance of storytelling is about visualization, so storytelling mentally stimulates students as they naturally begin to imagine and make sense of the story while they listen Storytelling can increase students’ ability to share social experience Storytelling is not only enjoyable, but can help build up students’ confidence and encourage social and emotional development

Oral storytelling allows students to show their communication skill It results in the use of paralinguistic features (gestures, facial expression) as well as linguistic features (use of tenses, linking devices, and clarification of ambiguity)

Moreover, there are some objectives of storytelling in teaching English skills: (a) to enhance students’ confidence in speaking skill; (b) to develop problem solving; (c) to teach narrative structure and practice description; (d) to improve pronunciation and intonation; (e) to encourage interaction and share culture

Here, the writer believes that storytelling technique is an effective strategy that incorporation the aesthetic ways of knowing into instruction Also, storytelling has one benefit in enhancing the arts of education of English and surely motivates students to connect with their learning process

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From those aims of storytelling, it can be concluded that storytelling gives many benefits besides improving speaking skills Other skills that can be improved through storytelling, such as students’ positive attitudes towards the foreign language and language learning, listening, good oral language, plot, sequencing, characterization, students’ ability to share social experience and linguistic features

2.2.4 Types of Storytelling Using in the EFL Classroom

Storytelling is part of the key which helps students to develop their creativity and fantasy which in turn builds on problems solving competences It is also important to inform students about the different kinds of storytelling to guide them

in how to construct their own stories

Wright, A.(2003) divide storytelling into 8 types, all of which are used for teaching

in the classroom, including fables, fairy tales, folk tales, myths, tall tales, cumulative tales, and pour quoi tales

1) Fables are a short and compact animal tales They have a few characters that represent aspects of human nature in simple and normal situations, for example, The Hare and the Tortoise This story describes race between a speedy hare and a slow moving tortoise They most often have a moral or lesson in the form of a proverb

2) Fairy tales are simple stories of humans and their dealings with marvelous things and magical beings such as fairies, dragons, and wizards, which always occur

in fairy tales The stories are mostly narratives of supernatural events The term embodies folktales such as Snow White: the beautiful girl who falls unconscious after she eats a poisoned apple

3) Folk tales originates from oral traditions which are passed down by word of mouth through generations and which feature morals or lessons They narrate the relationship between people in fantastic and symbolic terms Such as Hansel and Gretel, relatives who eat a candy house, is one of the world’s most famous folk tales

4) Myths are traditional sacred stories which are related to the qualities of super natural beings who were the heroes of these stories They often focus on human qualities such as good and evil, and also show the relationships between gods and

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heroes One famous myth is that of Hercules, who had superhuman strength and was a brave superhero that carried out twelve very difficult labors, such as killing lion with his bare hands

5) Tall tales are stories that have a main character that is bigger or stronger than real people with a special job He always solves his problem in an amusing way Tall tales are always exaggerations of actual events, such as Paul Banyan Paul Banyan was the biggest and strongest lumberjack with a big blue ox for clearing the way as he passed and made it safe for others

6) Cumulative tales are built up by repeating lines and adding to them over and over again They also often include repetition of rhymes and rhythm Such tales depend upon repetition and rhythm for their effect as, for example, in The Gingerbread Man The story is about a gingerbread which jumped out of the oven and ran away

7) Pourquoi tales are a fictional narrative that explains the world and how things become Pour quoi means “why” in French The stories usually describe something in nature, especially animals, such as “Why the elephant has a long nose”

or “Why bees buzz” Pourquoi tales are told firstly as a tale but then they are used to explain the reality that occurred in nature

8) Legends are considered to be true stories about human heroes that occurred in the past and may feature some religious references For example, the Odysseus, who is the hero of a Greek myth? The Odysseus is a story about a hero king fighting against the gods

All of different types of stories can be used in the ESL classroom to illustrate the meaning and format of each type of story to students Students must learn about the different types of stories so that they know what is appropriate when telling a story themselves They can also notice the different ways of making up and telling stories themselves after reading or listening to them Teaching the different ways of telling a story in the classroom is easier when the teacher plans good strategies for organizing the important English language skills which are required to the stories to

be related in the lesson plans

2.2.5 Storytelling Strategies

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Storytelling strategies utilize the vocabulary and structures which need to be taught in the early stages of language learning This can be achieved by incorporating them into stories which the students listen to, watch, retell, read, and write Moreover storytelling is a successful strategy to increase pragmatic oral skills Subsequent stories can be used to introduce additional vocabulary and structures in meaningful contexts Giving students an opportunity to tell stories can help their language development by enhancing vocabulary, syntactic complexity, sense of story structure, and comprehension It allows them to become active participants in the creation of language Because students usually tell stories cooperatively to other, the activity provides a social context as well The students are already familiar with stories from their experiences life, and now they are exposed to this familiar genre as the teacher presents it in a new language with an abundance of gestures, pictures, and other props to facilitate comprehension After hearing a story, various students act it out together or assume different roles while their peers watch Students are not required to memorize the stories; on the contrary, they are encouraged to construct their own variations as they retell, using props such as illustrations and labels Storytelling then is not only used to stimulate the students’ imagination, but also to develop their language abilities Stories are more than just words; they offer a constant source of language learning The ultimate goal

is to have learners develop original stories and share them with others

2.2.6 Storytelling Activities

In the researcher’s opinion, activities in teaching and learning or instructing are procedures that impart knowledge or skills They are an important approach to attract students’ interest in activities during class Many classroom activities can help develop students’ ability to integrate their English skills As D Heath field (2014) suggests, storytelling is one of the most effective techniques for conveying amusing presentations There are many kinds of interesting storytelling activities which can be used in the classroom

Storytelling in the classroom should hold the interest of the students and let them be participants in the process of telling a story Such activities not only entertain students, but also encourage them to participate more in class As the list of