Articles corner
The Joys of Storytelling (cont.)
story. I’ll sing or chant a chorus, often with told, it is a very different experience from listening
accompanying percussion, and invite students to to a TV or radio broadcast. Morgan and Rinvolucri
repeat each line after me. In many instances the write ‘To be told a story by a live storyteller
chorus is repeated at intervals during the story, involves one in ‘I-thou’ listening, where the
which increases the level of involvement. As the listeners can directly influence the telling.’ Learners
story progresses, students pick up the song or are listening globally to a real and present person
chant and often join in together with me. It’s a before them. The live story experience involves
natural and fun part of storytelling and an picking up on non-verbal language both for teller
enjoyable alternative to traditional choral drilling. and listener. It influences and is influenced by the
relationship between the students and the teller.
Celebrating Cultural Diversity
On youtube, you will find a large number of
Storytelling is valuable as a way of bridging recordings of me doing live storytelling with
cultures within the classroom and across the language learners. Feel free to borrow any
community. ‘Fairy stories…are often familiar in techniques
outline…the language is simple yet the meanings yourselves with your students.
you
like
when
you
tell
stories
are evocative and many-layered’ (Morgan and
Rinvolucri 1983). Between different cultures there As we are all storytellers, learners and teachers,
is a great deal of commonality in terms of features perhaps we can all find ways of building those all-
such as structure and themes evident in many important bridges that transcend cultural and
traditional folk tales. Of course within these language barriers and benefit from the joys
structures of storytelling.
and
themes
there
are
important
differences which make the exchange of stories
between different cultures so vital to mutual
understanding.
‘Each
culture
offers
stories
representing its own values and perceptions and
behaviour and these can help individuals and
References
Heathfield, D. (2014) Storytelling with our Students,
DELTA Publishing.
Morgan, J. & M. Rinvolucri (1983) Once Upon A Time,
CUP
of identity’ (Wright 2003). Paran, A. & E. Watts (ed.), Storytelling in ELT, IATEFL
(2003) (including Wright, A. “The Place of Stories in
ELT”)
Students in a classroom have a real opportunity to There are huge resources of folk and fairy tales from all
over the world published in English on the internet.
societies
to
establish
their
sense
celebrate cultural diversity when they are told and
tell tales from other cultural heritages as well as
their own.
The Live Experience
Further reading
Wright, A. (2014) Storytelling with Children, Cambridge.
D AVID H EATHFIELD | F REELANCE
STORYTELLER
When language learners listen to a story being
3
| UK