Teaching English as a Second Language through Storytelling

Storytelling is an engaging and extremely lively and effective way to teach English as a Foreign or Second Language. This 2 week course will include the tiny stories of classic English nursery rhymes, games and poems, as well as a selection of folk tales that can be exciting doorways into understanding and speaking English for students of all ages. Grammar, spelling and comprehension exercises will also be presented.

Participants will learn to tell stories in a lively and engaging way that meets the needs of each stage of child development. Teaching students to tell stories to each other is a wonderful way to enliven and enrich the classroom environment and will also be taught. Each of these activities is particularly helpful in expanding vocabulary and deepening students understanding of another culture. Follow-up exercises will be provided to assist teachers in creating meaningful activities that students find engaging and fruitful.

Storytelling awakens the imagination within everyone who participates in it and thereby deepens our understanding of another language and culture. This generates enthusiasm, empathy, and excitement which, in turn, foster comprehension and retention of the new language. The focus of the first week will be the early years through to age 11 and the focus of the second week will be older students through to age 19. The general course content is spread over the two weeks.