Storytelling
in the EFL classroom in Public Primary School in Costa Rica
May 14, 2019
9 - 11 am
Summary of Key questions and points from the Webinar
Intentions
It is important to know your intentions when using storytelling. These are 8 that we think are useful:
1.Vocabulary and/or grammar learning and reinforcement
2.Developing visual literacy
3.Developing listening and speaking skills
4.integrating critical thinking and/or creativity
5.Developing phonemic and phonic awareness
6.Developing pro-social skills
7.Increase the enjoyment of reading
8.Integrating reading and writing
Strategies
There are 4 main strategies that we suggest when incorporating storytelling:
Strategy 1: Choosing and adapting stories
Does the story have a meaningful context?
·Is the language level appropriate?
·What language skills and vocabulary are in the story?
·Do I need to change or adapt the words in the story?
·Do I need words? Can I create a visual story that only has pictures?
Strategy 2: Theatrics
What gestures can I use that match what happens in the story?
What words or phrases can students chant or read along with me?
Where or when can I use a dramatic pause?
How might I use different voices for each character?
What facial expressions can I use that match character emotions?
What speed and tone can I use that reflects the story?
How can I remember to speak slowly and clearly to help students understand?
Strategy 3: Props
Visuals for the place/characters
Create a big book or a PowerPoint of the story
Drawings of key story elements
Masks for students to do a role play
Hand or finger puppets
Background music or sound effects
Decorating or arranging the class differently
Strategy 4: Active Engagement
Students look at the pictures in the book before reading and make predictions
Students answer yes/no or open comprehension questions
Students talk about how each character is feeling
Students make sound effects
Students read chorally
Students use puppets or role-plays to retell part of a story
Students retell a story to a partner
Students talk about the pictures in the story
Students draw events or characters from the story
Frameworks
MEP's Framework/PDP . (Pre-task, Task Rehearsal and Completion and Task Assessment
Storybird
Materials
Paper Books
Big books
Mini books
hand-drawn pictures
Photo stories
Small objects
Video of the Webinar
PDF of Slides from the Webinar
Slides before the webinar:
Slides from Storytelling in the MEP Classroom .pdfSlides with results from the webinar:
Post Webinar_Storytelling in the MEP Classroom .pdfAdditional Resources
Strategies_Telling_Stories_Handout.pdfIntegrating Storytelling into the new English Curriculum. at MEP.pdfmini book directions.pdfReferences and Bibliography
About the presenter(s) and Resource People on this webinar
Matt Schaefer
Matt was born and raised in California, where he received his Bachelors degree in English & Creative Writing from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Matt completed two years of Americorps service volunteering with the educational non-profit Reading Partners, a 1-on-1 literacy intervention program. Matt traveled to Costa Rica and completed his SIT TESOL certificate at Centro Espiral Mana, where he has served as a volunteer and coordinated the English program there for 4 years. He recently finished his Master of Arts in TESOL at Marlboro College in Vermont, and works as a licensed SIT trainer as well as English Language instructor in rural Costa Rica. Matt is a fellow at the Institute for Collaborative Learning.
Ivan Suazo
Ivan Suazo is the Academic Consultant for Oxford University Press in Nicaragua and Panama. He was granted the Fulbright scholarship to do his MATESOL at the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont, US. He has been the Academic Coordinator of two language schools in Nicaragua, a teacher trainer for the last ten years and a presenter at the TESOL Conferences in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and the U.S. Ivan has taught English at public and private schools in Nicaragua and the United States of America, and he has been the Trainer for the Pre-Service program of Peace Corps Nicaragua. He graduated from the Translation School at the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua. Ivan is a fellow at the Institute for Collaborative Learning.