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Why tell stories?

In every society, adults tell children stories to teach them about life. Stories present us with situations that parallel our own. They help us to explore relationships, hopes, fears, and ideas at a safe distance from our own lives. As stories are essential to the learning of the mother tongue, they are also invaluable to children learning a second language. Here are a few reasons why:

Stories set language in a meaningful context

Dry language drills are quickly forgotten because they don’t engage children’s interest. New language makes sense when it is used in real situations.

Storytelling is a motivator for language learning

When children are breathless to know what happens next, they will concentrate – and their brains will be alert to make sense of unfamiliar language.

Stories are enjoyable

Children learn when they are having fun. Stories are not only enjoyable for themselves; they also give scope for role play, mime, craft-work, and games – all of which are natural ways for the child to learn.

Stories link well to topics and cross-curricular work

Many stories have a theme that enables the teacher to explore popular primary topics. So, for example, in this book, The bus won’t go can serve to introduce vehicles and The Elves and the Shoemaker can introduce the topic of clothes.

Stories teach about ethical behaviour

Teachers of children are not only responsible for teaching a language but for educating decent, responsible human beings. Most children’s stories provide the bedrock for living with other people – the happy ending is usually given to those who are kind and brave.

Stories teach ideas

Stories can teach abstract concepts because they root ideas in concrete situations. It isn’t easy for children to understand that the world is round when it looks flat, but a story like The Balloon (Unit 3) can show how our familiar surroundings can be scaled up to an image of the earth in space.