This is what I am going to tell you…

Both teachers and students dream of reflecting their inartificial interests to their surroundings in foreign language classes. The art of storytelling is considered the so-called lucky coincidence for all reasons. This is what makes the activity indisputably preferable. 

Firstly, the storytellers share their own experiences among similar and also various mates. The way of combining similarities (in age, selected major and nowadays-determined interests) and differences (this is what makes each single student unique) is a precondition of a keen interest in what’s been told.

Secondly, teachers dispose of a variety of methodical solutions, significantly contributing to achieving both single class and the whole course purposes. Students’ efforts can be guided in the right direction where the target plot or vocabulary is preset by the teacher when necessary.  

Thirdly, storytelling encourages imagination, permanent usage of the already learned vocabulary, and learning new ones. Words and expressions used by a storyteller are changed from what students are only able to recognize into what they can use consciously.  

Finally, teachers can vary learning techniques significantly by setting different tasks. This can be a gap story in which students complete the heard or written stuff in single fragments, the preset or deliberate endings using their ideas. The teacher can e.g. suggest one part of a group coming up with a happy ending and another part with an unhappy one. Alternatively, a story map can be prepared for students to order single images, prompts, dates, and phases of certain happenings to make the whole of a story. Advanced-level students tell stories behind idioms, proverbs and paraphrases to illustrate, confirm or deny them. Discussing ready stuff lets the group continue conversation combining a casual environment and achieving learning program goals.   

News prepared by Dr. V. Klochkov, associated professor of the English department