TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS THROUGH STORIES: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HANDY PARALLEL SYLLABUS

By Ntinou Loukia, M.Ed. in TESOL biodata Ntinou Loukia is a teacher of English in primary schools in the city of olos, !reece. She holds a B" in English Language and Literature and a Masters of Education #egree in Teaching English to Speakers of $ther Languages %M.Ed. in TESOL&. She has participated in a number of teacher training programs organi'ed by the (ouncil of Europe and seminars conducted in !reece and Europe. She has published articles in !reek and "merican )ournals and has made presentations in seminars and (ongresses. *er main field of interest is inno+ati+e ,ays in the teaching of English Language to young learners and speciali'es in teaching the language through stories. *er second field of interest is using educational technology in promoting collaboration bet,een schools and their students. ldinou-sch.gr Abstract The paper is based on the conviction that stories, apart from being every young childs bedtime friend, can become every young learners school time treasure. Moving within the context of English language teaching in Primary schools in Greece through a compulsory course boo , the paper identifies a mismatch between what is considered as good primary practice and what is reali!ed in practice through the use of stories inside the course boo . " parallel, story based syllabus is developed, which aims to cater for the problems conceived, and the theory behind it is presented in order to #ustify the selection of both the framewor and the materials. "ndrews $%&&&'() uses the term *framewor + to ,refer to a diagrammatic representation of a course outline or plan and this is also the view of *framewor + adopted in this paper. The paper also analytically presents seven teaching sessions within the framewor and alternative assessment for one. The framewor will be presented and evaluated in relation to the theories about how children thin and learn and about ac-uisition.learning of /0 and /%. 1uggestions will be made for improving and further developing the framewor .

The teachi ! sit"ati# The !reek State.s policy regarding foreign language education is reflected in the 2omprehensive 34year 2urriculum for the Teaching of English %/001234533&. English as a foreign language to be taught to and learned by !reek students is gi+en 6first priority7, one main reason being that

8 ...it is the mother tongue of se+eral largely populated countries ...,hose peoples en)oy a high le+el of technological, economic and cultural de+elopment.. 9n practice the situation is as follo,s2 English is not the principal language in the country but it holds a prominent position %it is a strong asset for getting a )ob, it is a language of communication in tourism and business&. The children do not hear it used much around them in e+eryday situations as sub)ect teaching:learning is conducted in L/. *o,e+er, the media and technology %computers, computer games, (#.s& pro+ide increasingly more chances for children to contact the language. Teaching English in the pri+ate language school sector has been an industry for many decades and, for the past decade, English as a foreign language is being taught ,ithin the State school system also. The lessons come in 4;5minute periods three times a ,eek. The teacher of English does not teach other sub)ects and uses an ELT syllabus for ,hich the te<tbook is the main pro+ider and +ery often the only resource. The materials used for instruction is the series 5un 6ay $0, %, ( for the =th, 4th, 3th grades respecti+ely& ,hich consist of a Student.s book, a >orkbook, a Teacher.s book and an audio cassette. The books are ,ritten by !reek authors. They are pro+ided to the students by the State? the teachers are not restricted to the use of e<tra material, pro+ided they find the resources to generate or reproduce it. Getti ! t# the $ra%e&#r' I(e ti$)i ! a area i ee( #$ a(a*tati# + (e,e-#*%e t @or a course to ha+e a coherence of purpose, it is impertinent that the aims and ob)ecti+es of the Syllabus 8are not contradicted at the classroom le+el. %Nunan /0AA203&. Therefore, in order to identify an area in the teaching material that ,ould need further de+elopment, a cross reference had to be made bet,een The 2omprehensive 34year 2urriculum for the Teaching of English, the Syllabus #ocument reBuirements and the ,ay these are reali'ed in the te<tbooks and Teacher.s Book. Three steps ,ere taken to this end2 /. The leading Syllabus aims ,ere isolated. These ,ere identified as follo,s2 a. the Syllabus #ocument adopts a communicati+e frame,ork ,here 8kno,ledge is a learning e<perience ... that results from a process ,hich reBuires the acti+ation of cogniti+e, social and functional skills. %Syllabus #ocument2 1/51C&, b. a learner centered teaching:learning approach is adopted and considerable attention is gi+en to the conceptual and psychological de+elopment of the target audience. C. " story incorporated in the course book ,as e<amined, 6Bong.s story7, first as a story in itself and, then, as a story used for instruction. The course book ,riters, being a,are of the importance of stories as a tool in teaching the language in a conte<t familiar to the child, decided to reali'e the State aims by incorporating this story in 5un 6ay 0. D. The comparati+e analysis, bet,een the Syllabus demands and the ,ay these could be de+eloped through a story5based syllabus, pro+ided the rationale for the de+elopment of the parallel syllabus that is presented in the paper. Tar!et !r#"*. c-ass *r#$i-e

The series of obser+ed lessons ,ere conducted ,ith the =th grade class of the Cnd Eublic Erimary School of olos. The class consists of t,enty nati+e !reek /;5year5old students all of ,hich are monolingual. Si<teen of the students ha+e also been learning English in a pri+ate language school for / or e+en C years. T,o students study English only at school. The ,ay these learners are taught the different sub)ects at school in their mother tongue reflects an attitude to,ards learning the language and not learning through language. Fna+oidably this attitude becomes deeply rooted and forms their e<pectations in learning the second language also. Teaching conte<tuali'ed language and de+eloping cogniti+e a,areness through stories is not considered as an effecti+e language teaching methodology for !reek sub)ects. Literary te<ts in general are used as a basis for teaching structure and de+eloping grammar drills. Teaching children of this age is not easy, but it is certainly challenging. Bre,ster insists that one of the se+en main features of good primary practice is 8reading literature for en)oyment, responding to it critically and using that reading for learning. %/00/24&. *o,e+er 6comforting7 it might be for the teachers to be 8in charge of the proceedings. %Skehan /0032/1& ,ith a traditional model of teaching, they should not ignore that stories are made for children and that young learners are also children. "n area, therefore, ,hich is less de+eloped, is the possibility of using children.s stories for the production of a ,ide +ariety of language and learning acti+ities. These can lay the foundations for the de+elopment of more positi+e attitudes to,ards the foreign language and language learning. /h) "se st#ries0 Ellis and Bre,ster %/00/& gi+e se+eral reasons ,hy teachers should use storybooks. Storybooks can enrich the pupils. learning e<perience. Stories are moti+ating and fun and can help de+elop positi+e attitudes to,ards the foreign language. Stories e<ercise the imagination and are a useful tool in linking fantasy and the imagination ,ith the child.s real ,orld. Listening to stories in class is a shared social e<perience. (hildren en)oy listening to stories o+er and o+er gain. This repetition allo,s language items to be acBuired and reinforced. Listening to stories de+elops the child.s listening and concentrating skills. Stories create opportunities for de+eloping continuity in children.s learning %among others, school sub)ects across the curriculum& %"dapted from Ellis and Bre,ster /00/2/5C&

The Buestion arises, then, of ,hat ,e mean by 6stories7. (hildren ha+e already formed their schema of ,hat a story is since early childhood. >ithin the family en+ironment children ha+e had opportunities to listen to stories being read to them, hold and disco+er the ,orld of the colorful pictures and, later, make efforts to 6decode7 the letters and sounds until they make sense to them as ,ords and sentences. Teachers can choose from a ,ide range of storybooks of this kind2 traditional stories and fairy tales common in most European cultures %1now 6hite or /ittle 7ed 7iding 8ood for e<ample&? picture stories ,here children can build up their o,n +ersion of the story? fantasy stories?

animal stories. "lternati+ely, many authentic storybooks ,ritten for English speaking children are suitable for use in an E@L classroom. The ad+antage is that they bring the 8real. ,orld in the classroom and they are an e<cellent opportunity for pro+iding our students ,ith e<amples of authentic language use. @or the story5based syllabus, ,hich ,ill supplement the e<isting frame,ork, three stories ,ere selected2 6heres 1pot, 1pots 9irthday, by *ill E., and Meg and Mog by Nicoll E. and Eienko,ski G., There are se+eral criteria a teacher could use for selecting a story accessible and rele+ant for the learners. The successful choice, ho,e+er, is not enough to ensure the good use of a story in class. The acti+ities designed for each story and the e<ploitation of the rich material in the story itself are +ery important also. The table belo, sho,s ,hich of the criteria for selecting stories 6Bong.s story7 fulfills, and ,hich of these criteria are actually e<ploited by the ,ay this story is to be taught if ,e follo, the ,riters. guidelines in the Teacher.s Book. Criteria $#r the se-ecti# #$ st#ries appropriate -a !"a!e -e,e- %+ocabulary, structures, notions: functions& c# te t %interesting, fun, moti+ating, memorable, encourages participation& ,is"a-s %attracti+e, potential to ,ork ,ith, si'e& *r# " ciati# %intonation, rhythm, repetition& %#ti,ati# %de+elop imagination, arouse curiosity, dra, on personal e<perience& La !"a!e -ear i ! potential %skills de+elopment, language practice, recycling, prediction, other strategies& potential in terms of learning other sub)ects, target:other culture, metacognition B# !1s st#r) @ulfills E<ploits

The table re+eals that 6Bong.s story7 has great potential for use in class but this potential is not e<ploited. To co+er up for the lack of using a story producti+ely, the parallel syllabus ,ill pro+e e<tremely handy. The st#r)2base( $ra%e&#r' i c-ass The se-ecti# #$ st#ries a ( their *#siti# i the *ara--e- s)--ab"s The three stories selected are authentic ones, in the sense that they ,ere originally ,ritten for English speaking children. The language is not selected or graded? ho,e+er, they contain language traditionally found in most beginner syllabuses. Each story has different aims to accomplish ,ithin the parallel syllabus depending on its content, language features and acti+ities. The t,o syllabuses, main and parallel, need to run in tandem, since the parallel syllabus is used as supplementary to the main. @or this reason the stories ha+e a rather fi<ed position ,ithin the main syllabus of the class, the position dictated by the amount of language, skills and strategies de+eloped up to the point each story is introduced. The decision ,as made that children ,ould not ha+e to ,ork e<tensi+ely on acBuiring ne, language and structure %the course book does plenty on thisH&, but ,ould focus on other 5more 8original.5 aspects of language learning through stories.

The diagram sho,s the inter,ea+ing of the t,o syllabuses. @irst, the number of English sessions per year ,ere calculated? then the t,o syllabuses ,ere considered in detail in order to find the points ,here the parallel syllabus could best fit in? after that, the sessions ,ere estimated that should be de+oted to each Fnit of instruction in 5un 6ay 0? last the ,hole syllabus ,as put together as a year5plan for the specific group of learners. This organi'ing of the teaching material does not imply that it is rigid. The teacher may predict possible problems and pro+ide for them in ad+ance, but one may not predict e+erything. 9f such an unpredictable situation should arri+e, the teacher can make any amendments necessary. The first story, 6heres 1pot, is an easy one and appears as soon as students ha+e acBuired the basic language to ,ork ,ith it.

The st#r)2base( *ara--e- s)--ab"s

C#"rse b##' 5un 6ay 0 Fnits /5= %about C= sessions& C#"rse b##' 5un 6ay 0 Fnits 451 %about C= sessions& C#"rse b##' 5un 6ay 0 Fnits A5/; %about C1 sessions&

St#r) b##' 6heres 1pot C sessions St#r) b##' 1pots 9irthday C sessions

St#r)b##' Meg and Mog D sessions

Descri*ti# a ( rati# a-e $#r the $ra%e&#r' The story5based frame,ork is designed to sho, students ho, the language, they ha+e already learnt, is used in a different conte<t alternati+e to the course book. 9t aims to create a producti+e en+ironment ,here the students ,ill de+elop their ,hole personality. Learners are e<pected to start de+eloping a more positi+e attitude to learning the foreign language for the follo,ing reasons2 /. The stories are memorable, as the language is repeated, and this encourages students to participate. This recycling of patterns incites students to predict ,hat is coming ne<t in the story and, at the same time, e<ercises their imagination. C. The pictures are closely related to the te<t, sometimes they e+en structure the te<t %see Meg and Mog going do,n the stairs, ,here the te<t appears going do,n the stairs also&. This can support the learners. understanding. The strategy of inferring meaning of ,ords from the te<t is also supported by the illustrations. The colors, the simple shapes

and figures do not distract the learners but rather guide them to key points of the te<ts. "nother merit of this kind of illustrations is that they are easy to imitate or copy, so it comes natural for many creati+e acti+ities to fit in the frame,ork. D. The stories are e<pected to moti+ate the learners and arouse their curiosity about the target language and its culture. The fact that Spot.s stories are also ,ell kno,n in !reece %they ha+e been translated and published&, indicates that some of the children may ha+e read them in their mother tongue. This, far from being discouraging for the selection of the stories, ,as actually one of the reasons for choosing them2 making such associations ,ith the children of the other culture is ,elcoming, so that learners disco+er by themsel+es that they can ha+e many things in common. The acti+ities follo, guidelines in their design. The de+elopment of the guidelines are based on the theories of ho, children think and learn and o,e much to the ,ork of >ood %/00A& and the edition of Teaching English to children by Brumfit, Moon and Tongue %/004&.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES RESULT

they are en)oyable:moti+ating they e<ercise imagination they e<emplify language features in use they allo, freBuent repetition they build up the child.s confidence

they encourage social interaction:social skills they present:practice through concrete ob)ects, follo,ing the child.s conceptual de+elopment they e<ploit the child.s enormous amount of physical energy they consider the short concentration span of a child at this age

create a desire to continue learning de+elopment of useful strategies %predicting, hypothesi'ing, planning, seBuencing, classifying& real life use of language language items are acBuired:reinforced non5threatening conte<t for learning familiar genre raises background kno,ledge pair:group ,ork, cooperation:sharing illustrations, +isuals, touch5and5see things enhance comprehension:long term memory action games, action songs, creati+e acti+ities are ,ays to learn5by doing planning feasible lessons, good management of the class

This story5based syllabus places a lot of attention to the de+elopment of areas ,hich are rather neglected in the main syllabus for the class. "n area that can pro+e a source of ,ealth for our learners is that of 6learning to learn7. Ellis insists that 8in order to de+elop an a,areness of learning and learner responsibility, learning5to5learn should be built into the curriculum in an e<plicit and systematic ,ay. %Ellis, /00/2/0/&. Learners can be guided to reflect on the process of learning e+en if they are young. Students of the age of A5/; are beginning to de+elop greater self5a,areness and can take responsibility of their learning. Small scale Eortfolios, simple Buestionnaires or learners. diaries can be designed to increase the students. metacogniti+e a,areness and could also ser+e as ,ays of alternati+e assessment:e+aluation of both the students. achie+ements and the program.s effecti+eness.

The parallel syllabus makes an effort to link the stories ,ith cross5thematic learning. There are many areas in the curriculum ,here links can be made. Telling the time, counting, numbers, shapes, relate to Mathematics? the life cycle of animals, outer space, understanding the passing of time relate to Science? food, Nature relate to En+ironmental Education? action songs and games relate to Ehysical Education. The story5based syllabus can raise cultural a,areness issues. " carefully selected story can gi+e information about life in the target language. 9n this syllabus 1pots birthday and Meg and Mog inform about birthday celebrations and *allo,een in the target language culture. #iscussions can be held %probably in the mother tongue&, pro)ects and sur+eys among other community members of the target culture can be arranged. 9n this ,ay learners become a,are that learning can be an e<perience of their e+eryday life, ,hich is not confined to the school en+ironment only. The lesson plans illustrate in practice the use made of each story.
Wheres Spot T&# teachi ! sessi# s SYLLABUS Mai c# ce*t : spatial conte<t Ai%s Let1s %eet S*#t %session /& Structural: Simple present @unctional aims prepositions Skills Listening to the story, to instructions and statements, Buestions and ans,ers, games Iesponding to instructions:prompts Ieading2 ,ords and sentences erbs2 imperati+e. Simple present of the +erb to be Jes:No Buestions %interrogati+e& negati+e5affirmati+e ans,ers prepositions of place %on, in, inside, under, behind, in front of& "nimals2 re+ision %dog, puppy, bear, snake, lion, monkey, crocodile&? ne, %hippopotamus, tortoise& Birds2 re+ision %penguin& @urniture2 re+ision %armchair, door, ,ardrobe, bed, table& Ob)ects2 re+ision %bo<, basket, telephone&? ne, %clock, piano, stairs, rug, +ase& #ra,ing, singing Eredicting, de+eloping memory En+ironment2 life of a pet 9ntroducing:re+ising +ocabulary2 listen and arrange pictures of animals Miming and disco+ering animals 6>hat.s missing7 game ,ith furniture "ction game2 follo,ing instructions ,ith prepositions %e.g. Stand on the chair& Practice+*r#("cti# #$ 'e) str"ct"res K follo, up for action game2 Ss take positions in class and T guesses !roup ,ork2 SeBuencing game:listening: memory2 Ss put pictures of the story in the right order, then T reads and Ss +erify: correct their seBuence Eair ,ork:information gap acti+ity2 >orksheet %pictures of furniture, one S has the complete pictures&2 Ss ask:ans,er and dra, the animals in the right place according to their peer.s instructions

Language features

S*#t i #"r c-ass3 %session C& 9nterrogati+e forms %yes:no Buestions& >h5 Buestions Statements ,ith the +erb to be Listening to the story, to instructions and statements, Buestions and ans,ers Speaking2 asking and ans,ering Buestions, games, role5play Ieading2 retelling the story ,ith prompts >riting2 copying games, gap5filling Iecycling

+ocabulary

Rec)c-i ! ,#cab"-ar)

(reati+e acti+ities Learning to learn (urriculum links "cti+ities

#ra,ing, dramati'ation %role5play& seBuencing pictures, de+eloping memory

K ,ork ,ith story pictures2 gradually de+elop memory %e.g. 9s Spot in the ,ardrobeL& and prediction skills %e.g. >ho is behind the ,ardrobeL& Song %*ockey (ockey& >orksheet %room ,ith furniture:ob)ects& @ollo, instructions and dra, the animals in their place in the room

>riting2 copying game2 Ss choose from lists on the board and complete ,orksheet Ietelling of story T uses prompts on the board and Ss reconstruct the story by relating the pictures in the story book to the Buestions:prompts on the board Optional2 Iole5play2 Ioles2 child, mother and dog. (hild can.t find his dog and asks Buestions to mother.

S*#t1s birth(a) T&# teachi ! sessi# s Mai c# ce*ts: "%bers %# ths (a)s Ai%s O#*s3 S*#t a!ai %session /& Structural: 9mperati+e, possessi+es, articles @unctional aims Skills Listening to story:instructions, Buestions, ans,ers Speaking2 inter+ie,ing, Buestions and ans,ers Ieading chart %birthday dates; >riting completing chart Language Simple present, simple past, features 9nterrogati+e, Jes:No Buestions Erepositions %in, on, inside, under& +ocabulary "nimals, house places %recycling from 6heres 1pot2 rug, curtain, door, plant, cupboard, bath, coat& Numbers %cardinals and ordinals&,Months, days (reati+e Make birthday cards:in+itations for the party acti+ities Learning to Ereparing a party5discussion:decision5making learn (lassifying (ultural (elebrating birthdays in t,o countries elements (urriculum Maths2 numbers and Buantity, links Music2 singing songs "cti+ities 9nter+ie,2 Ss find out peers. birthdays, list them as for each month and closest birthdays Sing 8*appy Birthday. Erepare birthday party %decide number of people for the party, make in+itations, preparations for food, drinks

>hat a partyH 4sessi# 56 imperati+e Listening to ,ords in Bingo game Speaking2 singing birthday song, party reception Ieading in+itations Simple present, simple past >h5Buestions Erepositions %behind, in front of& recycling

Eut party decorations Making arrangements, follo,ing plans (elebrating the 8English. ,ay #ramati'ation of the story2 real life party:acti+ities Ehysical education2 mo+ing around, understanding spatial conte<t Bingo game, party games2 action games, Simon saysM, find the treasure

Me! a ( M#! Three teachi ! sessi# s Mai c# ce*ts: colors, si'e and shape, time Ai%s Let1s %eet Me!. M#! a ( the O&- %session /& Structural: "sking for and gi+ing information @unctional using Jes:No and >h5Buestions aims #escribing clothes, people Skills Listening for general understanding using +isual clues Speaking? asking and ans,ering Buestions, describing Ieading2 ,ord flashcards Language "d)ecti+es %big, black, long, tall,

P##r Me!333 %session C& !i+ing instructions "sking for and telling the time Listening to instructions Speaking2 imitating spells Ieading2 dictionary >riting2 copying, recipes Listen to the story on the cassette and follo, book Iecycling of first session,

P##r %e3333 %session D& Telling the time Listening to instructions Speaking2 gi+ing instructions Ieading2 food package, recipes >riting2 copying Iecycling and transferring to

features

+ocabulary

(reati+e acti+ities Learning to learn (ultural elements (urriculum links "cti+ities

striped, straight, curly&5,ord order erbs %hook, make or chant a spell& @ood2 re+ision %eggs, bread, milk, )am&? ne, %kipper, cocoa& "nimals2 re+ision %cat, spider, frog, bat, mouse&? ne, %beetle, ,orm& (lothes2 re+ision %shoes, hat, stocking&? ne, %cloak&,Broomstick, cauldron singing (lassifying, seBuencing The image of ,itches in the t,o cultures Science2 life cycle of animals Ie+ise +ocabulary2 clothes2 ask and ans,er about clothes pupils ,ear "nimals2 describe your pet @ood2 ,hat.s your fa+orite food Eicture dictation2 Meg.s picture to describe Listening dictation2 listen and dra, Meg

further practice

another conte<t %food recipe&

Iecycling of first session, further practice

Iecycling and e<tension

#ra,ing, puppet making Eredicting, hypothesi'ing, using dictionary @ood in another country %breakfast ingredients& Mathematics2 telling the time Fse puppets2 to retell the story, to make prompts for ,riting a small +ersion of the story Iebus2 gi+e sentences ,ith ,ords at random order, Ss put them in order Listen to the story on the tape

Making a cake Memory training

En+ironment2 food isit the school canteen and make the cakeH

The acti,ities &ithi a -ear er ce tere( e ,ir# %e t Bre,ster rightfully claims that 8inclusion of a +ariety of teaching styles is a realistic reflection of ,hat actually goes on in primary schools. %Bre,ster, /00/24&. The story itself and the acti+ities, built ,ithin the corpus of the te<t, are the structuring components of the lesson. The stages of the lesson, ,here e<tra acti+ities can be inserted, are clearly defined. 9n this ,ay, the conte<t assumes great importance? young learners can more readily make associations bet,een the language needed and the language produced, because ,e pro+ide them ,ith a coherent conte<t, ,here language and structures are not used for their o,n sake but ha+e a target. (hildren can thus store ne, kno,ledge more easily and retrie+e it ,hen they find themsel+es in a similar conte<t. The different acti+ities for each session act as a guide for the organi'ation of indi+idual:pair:group ,ork. (hildren.s stages of de+elopment, according to Eiaget, play an important role in ho, they learn. The target group for the sessions e<emplified ha+e )ust gone beyond the beginnings of the 6operational stage7 %,here the social instinct starts de+eloping& and ,hich occurs 8to,ards the age of 1 or A. %>ood /00A2 CA, see also Brumfit /00/2C&. These learners are no, at the stage ,here in ygotsky.s +ie,, 8speech comes to form the higher mental processes ,hich are culturally formed in social interaction. %Bre,ster /00/2D&. Therefore, in order to follo, the children.s conceptual de+elopment, the teacher must pro+ide for alternati+e organi'ational patters for her class. Not all children de+elop at the same speed and it is certain that each child has a different style in learning and a uniBue personality.

The different stages ,ere designed ,ith *alli,ell.s suggestion in mind that 8children cannot concentrate on one thing for a long period and lessons should, therefore, be di+ided into series of acti+ities lasting no longer than 4 or /; minutes. %*alli,ell /00C2C1&. The pro)ects and sur+eys suggested may last much longer. Students can ,ork alone or in groups outside the school in their free time? this reinforces the idea that learning English is not restricted to the classroom en+ironment but connects to their e+eryday life. The pictures ha+e a central role to play in the story5based syllabus and the learning5 to5learn process. They can be a stimulus for forming hypothesis, predicting, seBuencing and e<ercising memory. >ords are better associated ,ith pictures. 9n addition, a story is more memorable if it can be related to a seBuence of pictures. This Buality of theirs makes pictures a useful tool for the design of acti+ities, especially oral or ,ritten ones. They can help in practicing speaking and ,ritings skills2 the story can be reconstructed orally or on paper %guided tasks& ,ith the help of key5+isuals from the storybook. Moreo+er, they can pro+ide high face and content +alidity as stimuli for pure ,riting or speaking tasks in a con+entional testing situation %if the teacher chooses this kind of assessment&. /hat ab#"t a "se$"- *iece #$ a(,ice t# teachers0 #on.t forget the stories as soon as you ha+e ,orked ,ith them, they ha+e e+en more to offer. Begin certain sessions %the first of each ,eek for e<ample& ,ith a re5reading of the story as a ,arm up acti+ity. (hildren en)oy reading o+er and o+er again the same stories. *a+e a copy of the book handy, so that the students can read and touch it in their free time. This may make their relationship ,ith books stronger. C# c-"si# " story5based frame,ork of teaching and learning can become a +ery po,erful tool in the hands of a teacher. " ,ell5organi'ed story session can intrigue the students and make them ,ant to e<plore many features of the language. "s teachers, ,e ,ant to make our students autonomous, lifelong learners. >e ,ill ha+e made a large step to,ards this aim if ,e make them learn consciously and assume responsibility for their learning. Re$ere ces
Bre,ster, G., %/00/&, N>hat is good primary practiceLO in Brumfit (, Moon G, Tongue I %eds& Teaching English to 2hildren. 5rom Practice to Principle, edition published by Longman !roup Ltd, /004 Brumfit (., Moon G., Tongue I. %eds& %/00/& Teaching English to 2hildren. 5rom Practice to Principle, edition published by Longman !roup Ltd, /004 Ellis, !. P Bre,ster, G., %/00/&, The 1torytelling 8andboo for Primary Teachers, Eenguin Ellis, !., %/000&, N(hildren.s literature as a means of de+eloping metacogniti+e a,arenessO in /iterature and the :oung /earner ;"TE5/ :oung /earners 1;G <ewsletter, >hitstable2 9"TE@L Eublications. ELT (urriculum #esign (ommittee, %/001&, The 2omprehensive 34year 2urriculum for the Teaching of English, Eedagogical 9nstitute, "thens, !reece European (ouncil, %/003&, " 2ommon European 5ramewor of 7eference, Modern Languages #epartment, http2::culture.coe.fr:lang:eng:eeduC.=.html *alli,ell, S., %/00C&, Teaching English in the Primary 2lassroom, FQ, Longman Little, #. P Eerclo+a, I., %C;;;&, The European /anguage Portfolio' a Guide for teachers and teacher trainers, document number #!9 :E#F:L"N! %C;;;& CA, Modern Languages #i+ision, Strasbourg, (ouncil of Europe. Nunan, #., %/0AA&, 1yllabus =esign, O<ford Fni+ersity Eress, O<ford Skehan, E., %/003&, NSecond language acBuisition research and task5based instructionO, in 2hallenge and 2hange in /anguage Teaching, Gane >illis P #a+e >illis %eds&, *einemann, pp. /15D;.

ygotsky, L.S., %/01A&, Mind in society, (ambridge, Massachusetts2 *ar+ard Fni+ersity Eress. >ood, #., /00A&, 8ow 2hildren Thin and /earn, F.Q., Black,ell St#r)b##'s *ill, E., %/0A;&, 6heres 1pot, first published by *einemann Ltd, this publication by Euffin Books, *armonds,orth, /0A4 *ill, E., %/0AC&, 1pots 9irthday, first published by *einemann Ltd, this publication by Euffin Books, *armonds,orth, /0A4 Nicoll, E. and Eienko,ski, G., %/01C&, Meg and Mog, first published by *einemann Ltd, this publication by Euffin Books, *armonds,orth, /014. C#"rse b##' Eedagogical 9nstitute, %C;;=&, 5un 6ay 0, $R#S, "thens