Inspirational English, Issue 40, 2017 Inspirational English, Issue 40, Sep Oct2017 | Page 7

Hi, Ezzeddine. Thank you for being my next guest at “Teachers talk”. The readers of the e-zine have had the opportunity to read your short story GRASSHOPPERBOY in the last two issues. What inspired you to write the story? Actually I have been dealing with stories and tales since my early age. As kids we used to mothers, fathers and older relatives telling us stories. Then as a reader - I am a trilingual reader and speaker- I am a library worm, I read everything. And now I see that I must invest, as a teacher, to help my students -the young learners of English as a foreign language. It is really sad to see those screenagers (as one of your interviewees once called the teenagers of today) invaded by the modern technology and new social media that have bereaved them of all sense of creativity. How do you use short stories with your young learners in class? Story Reading and Story Telling are not a part of the curriculum. It has become a luxury which a lot of young learners cannot afford. In this issue Ezzeddine Cherni, a senior English teacher from Tunisia and author of the short story THE GRASSHOPPERBOY, shares his views on using short stories in class. 7