Using Stories in the ESL Classroom
by
Shelley Vernon
Do you
want to use stories in the preschool ESL classroom but
don't know where to start?
There are many great pre-k activities for ESL classrooms,
including games, but don’t discount the power of
stories. Whether you're reading a classic book, making up a
story as you go along or designing a story for a particular
lesson, you can include stories in the preschool ESL class
every day.
Motivation
One of the reasons why stories
work so well in the ESL preschool classroom has to do with
intrinsic motivation: the theory that people are motivated
by internal factors. Young children do not understand the
external factors that might motivate an adult to decide to
learn a second language.
So as a teacher it's up to you to create a classroom that
internally motivates them to participate in the activities
and, ultimately, learn the language you are teaching.
Stories are perfect for teaching young ESL students because
children already love stories and are already motivated at
the thought of listening to one. And when children listen
to stories, they’re able to internalise the language
structure.
Eventually they will begin recognize words and phrases they
hear in the stories. Besides, there are endless ways to use
them in the classroom. Here are some possibilities.
Teach
Vocabulary
Before you use a story in the
ESL preschool classroom, you'll need to teach the students
the key vocabulary needed to follow the story. The students
will both "learn" the words, and immediately see how they
are used. They will also hear them in context of the
language. This is much more beneficial than simply
memorizing a list of words.
Varying
Classroom Activities
Telling a story adds variety to your lessons in terms of
content and pace. Preschoolers don't have a terribly long
attention span, so you'll want to change your activities
every five to ten minutes. That's a great length of time to
spend telling a story.
You'll also want some activities to burn all that preschool
energy. To keep the class from getting out of control, use
a story after a boisterous activity. This allows everyone
enough time to settle down before moving onto something
else.
And remember that you’re young students will enjoy
you telling the same stories over and over again.
Be Creative
Have fun with your story and go with the flow. Make animal
sounds, change your voice, and sing little songs –
perhaps some of your students will join in. Most important
of all, use gestures.
Introduce
Other Activities
Stories are a great jumping board for other activities.
While following a story you could:
* Give each
student a picture that depicts the events of the story and
have them line up in order of the events.
* Have the students come up with different titles for the
story.
*
Repeat quotes from the story and ask the students "Who said
it?"
* Leave off the ending of the story. Let the students
predict what they think will happen. Compare with the
‘real’ ending
* Encourage the children to look for patterns in the story.
Let them guess, for example, what character will say.
* Teach them a song that goes along with the theme of the
story.
* Teach them actions to go along with the songs.
* Let them act out parts of the story.
* Allow them to dress up like characters in the story and
do the things they did. If they decorated cookies, let the
children decorate cookies.
* Tell a story to introduce a new unit.
* Give the students three events in the story and ask them
what came first.
* Let the students draw a picture about their favourite
part of the story and then explain it to the class.
* Let the students tell about a similar experience they
might have had.
There
are so many things you can do with stories in the ESL
classroom. Just let your imagination go and soon so will
the imaginations of your students!
For ideas to help you get started and free materials on
using games in the preschool classroom go to
onhttp://www.teachingenglishgames.com/3-5.htm .
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Shelley
Vernon has helped 1000s of teachers be an inspiration to
their pupils.
Improve
the effectiveness of your lessons and enjoy yourself
more.
Receive
free preschool ESL games and stories now on
http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/3-5.htm