Webinar# 2 part 2 – Reading storybooks to young learners

 

Why read stories to children especially in a foreign language?

The speaker in the second webinar mentioned an important topic – reading stories to children. The use of storytelling in the foreign language classroom creates a good learning environment and provides meaningful and comprehensible input.

There are many benefits in reading storybooks. First of all, children enjoy listening to stories and this allows them to acquire language unconsciously. Stories allow educators to repeat and revise vocabulary as well as introduce new ones. The exposure to language in a different context enriches their thinking skills. They convey meaning through pictures, gestures and basic words. Repetition helps children learn the patterns and structure of a story, and, eventually, fosters word recognition. They also provide essential language chunks to internalize. She also mentioned that storybooks can help students with their imagination. In addition, it is possible to share various cultures through a story and even convey certain morals.

How to pick a good story book? There are few general points to remember:

• The book should be large enough for the whole class to see.
• It should be relevant to the topic of the lesson – which includes key vocabulary.
• It shouldn’t be too long – as young learners could lose interest after a while.
• It shouldn’t be too difficult – depending on their language level.
• It should be colourful.
• It should be relatable to students such as the characters could have similar features e.g. age.
• Books should build their knowledge about the world around them.

I enjoyed that she provided titles of books without text. The teacher or students can create stories to fit the topic of the lesson.

Magdalena recommended a few storybooks such as:

1.      Herve Tullet

Title examples: 

• Press here
• Mix it up
• The finger sports game

2.      Polish authors such as Aleksandra and Daniel Mizielińscy. 

Such titles include:

• Miasteczko mamoko (Mamoko Town)
• Mam oko na litery / liczby/ miasteczko (I keep an eye for letters/ numbers/ cities)
• Dawn temu w Mamoko (Long ago in Mamoko)
• Mamoko 3000

Here are a few recommendations for older learners:

· The very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

· Brown bear, Brown bear. What do you see? By Eric Carle

· The Rainbow Fish. By Marcus Pfister

· One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. By Dr. Seuss

· Curious George (series) by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey

Do you have a favourite storybook to read? Please comment down below!

Sara