How To Use Stories To Engage Children With EAL
Posted by EYR Team on 3rd Jun 2019
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This article has been written by storytelling specialists, Tonya and Natasha, from Little Creative Days
The importance of stories for children with English as an Additional Language
Stories are used in cultures all over the world and there are many versions of the most well-known stories. I think we’ve found 14 different versions of Cinderella and there are probably more! So, using traditional tales and stories in your setting can be an ideal way of engaging children with English as an Additional Language (EAL). As its likely that they will be familiar with a version of the story. This will help them to understand similarities and differences, which is a crucial thinking skill. They will also be able to understand and develop language.
Stories are a great way to help children put new vocabulary into context. Additionally, they teach us how to model language in a meaningful way. They also help children to understand language structure such as questions, commands and exclamations. This is because as you tell a story you will be able to act it out, thus providing more context with tone of voice and actions. You will really need to exaggerate your actions, this will increase understanding and make it more fun.
So how can you use stories to engage children with EAL?
Look for stories with repetition or maybe something the children can sing. This will help them to learn how to form the words and practice the sounds. Children need an opportunity to practice making the sounds and this is an ideal way to do that.
Also look for stories with actions as these are helpful for giving greater meaning to the words you want them to learn. Children may also find it easier to learn the actions with the words which creates much better word association.
Puppets are also a brilliant way to engage the children especially if they make the puppets themselves because they form a greater attachment to them. The children will be keen to make the puppets talk so will pay more attention to learning new words and practising those words.
Tonya and Natasha, the storytelling sisters, are authors of a series of books about a little dog called Pojo who gets itchy paws and goes off on adventures.
They have won multiple awards for their puppet making kits that accompany the stories including Teach Early Years Excellence award for Communication and Language Resource.