ESL587

Marian Bradshaw

July 16, 2013

Why Do Stories Matter?

The ability to see our lives as stories and share those stories with others is at the core
of what it means to be human. We use stories to order and make sense of our lives, to define
who we are, even to construct our realities: this happened, then this happened, then this. I
was, I am, I will be. We recount our dreams, narrate our days and organize our memories into
stories we tell others and ourselves. As natural-born storytellers, we respond to others stories
because they are deeply, intimately familiar.
John Capecci and Timothy Cage (2013)
Why narratives?
Having English as a Second Language (ESL) students write their own story, a
narrative of their life, or a portion of their life, is a valuable instructional tool in the ESL
classroom. It is one of the most authentic forms of instruction that will help improve a
variety of skills from language skills, to writing skills, to interviewing skills, to research
skills. Additionally, engaging in this type of activity reveals to the students that THEIR story
matters. That THEIR story is important. It affirms to them that their identity, their existence
as individuals is important (Cummins, 2005). As Professor Sonia Nieto states, We always
have to start with what children know. You don't stay there, but you use it as the basis for
understanding the world and then moving beyond that experience and embracing other
experiences. [Students] need to know that their experiences do matter. Their lives and
realities, their culture, and the language that they speak are important and that these can be a
good foundation for education (Nieto, 2013). But, most importantly, narratives will help
students construct their own personal and cultural identity while building community in the
classroom.
Powerful form of instruction
To begin with, having students write the story, or parts of the story, of their lives is a
message to ESL students, who are often marginalized, that they matter, that what they have to
say, in their own words, is important. No one else in the classroom, or in the world, has the
same story as they have. They are unique. They are special. While writing and researching
(formally and informally) about their lives, a variety of skills will be learned, or enhanced,
during the process. Skills such as interviewing, researching, writing and language skills will
either be introduced, developed, or refined, depending on the level of the ESL student.
Besides skills, why is narrative writing such a powerful form of instruction? It is
emotional. It touches the heart of the student, their peers, their teacher, and their family.
While students are interviewing their family members about their family history, it may stir
up memories of the past. Some of those memories may be painful. Others may be joyful,
while others may be nostalgic. Regardless of the emotions touched, emotions will arise.
Emotions are how we learn best; students learn more when they feel happy, secure, and
excited about their subject matter (Darling-Hammond, 2013). When people are asked about
what they remember about school, they dont remember dates, mathematical formulas,
scientific theory, but activities that stirred emotions in them, like writing about themselves
and their family. Emotional intelligence, which expands on Howard Gardners multiple
intelligence, deals with understanding oneself and others and narrative writing is one of the
best ways to understand oneself and others (Darling-Hammond, 2013).

Narrative writing is also an opportunity for students to record, most likely for the first
time, their family history in writing (Kear, 2012). Most often family history is unspoken
because it is too painful, too taboo, or considered unimportant. But, once forced to complete a
class assignment, a family has to confront themselves. Family members will have to recall
and reconstruct events in their lives, to put the pieces together in order to get the full picture.
This record would then become a part of the family history that can be passed down to future
generations. For example, if an ESL student (lets call him Anh) from Vietnam is assigned to
write the story of why his family came to America. He would have to talk to his
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. to find out when and why the family came to
America. He would have to engage with their family members and eventually construct a
narrative of what happened. At the same time, he would have to research the facts behind the
historic event, beyond what just happened to his family, but what happened to his whole
country. This narrative could then become a permanent record in his family that would be
passed down to his children, his nieces, his nephews, his grand-nephews, etc.
Authentic, active learning experience
Another reason why telling ones story is such an important learning experience is
because it is a genuine, original learning experience. It is not a made-up assignment this is
unrelated to the student. It is THE MOST meaningful and relevant topic they will ever write
about themselves and their family. It is an assignment that has meaning and purpose, with a
specific end result. Everyone wants to know about themselves, where they came from, why
they do what they do, why they celebrate certain events, why they have certain prejudices,
etc. while learning about family stories, lore, secrets, etc. And, when students take
ownership of their learning when they invest their identities in learning outcomes active
learning takes place (Cummins, 2005).
Develops skills
Writing personal narratives develops a number of life-long, real-life skills, including
but not limited to, interviewing skills, research skills, writing skills, and, of course, language
skills. Before students can even begin writing their personal narratives, they have to activate
prior knowledge, i.e. they have to brainstorm what they already know about their family
history. According to Cummins, activating prior knowledge is one of the first steps in the
learning process (Cummins, as cited in Wink, 2012).
After an initial brainstorming, students have to interview family members; they have
to engage with them on a deep and personal level. They have to formulate salient questions to
probe into the familys history. Furthermore, they have to ask follow-up questions, a skill that
has to be taught and encouraged. Knowing what questions to ask and what questions to
follow up with will help them to succeed to having a plethora of information from which to
draw upon. It is also a skill than can be applied to other assignments.
Besides interviewing family members, students may have to, depending on the
situation and familys experience, conduct some research to find out the true, factual history
accompanying their familys experience. Again, lets look at Ahn from Vietnam. He would
have to research about the Vietnam War, find out when and why it occurred, who was
involved, the events that happened during the war, etc. That will shape his understanding of
why his family immigrated to the United States, why they remembered certain events, etc.
Ahn will have to look for information in the library, in print materials such as books and
magazines, but also online sources such as databases and other online resources and websites.

He will also have to paraphrase what he is reading and learning true, authentic research
skills being learned by mainstream students.
Once students have completed interviews of family members and completed the
research on their family history, they have to go through the whole writing process:
prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading and publishing. While they are writing they
would be working on their word choice, sentence fluency, organization. Throughout the
process they will have to talk to the teacher and peers by discussing ideas and reviewing
content for cohesiveness, word choice, voice and conventions, further developing their
language skills. By the end they have to come up with one cohesive narrative (writing piece).
Throughout the entire process, students have to talk to family members, their teachers
and their peers. All this talking leads to higher learning. Social processes affect higher
learning. Higher levels of cognition are expressed through language, which is developed in
social processes (Vygotsky as cited in Wink, 2012).
Affirms personal and cultural identity
When students write their own story, their own personal narrative, they find out about
where their family come from, not only geographically, but culturally and socially. Students
who know that their teachers appreciate their cultural and linguistic abilities in their native
language, are more academically engaged in acquiring English as an additional language
(Cummins, 2005). Moreover, their sense of trust of their teacher and their peers deepen for
they have had their identity affirmed. They know that their teacher and their peers understand
and respects their points of views, feelings, personality and culture (Cummins as cited in
Wink, 2012).
Builds Community
While students are writing their narratives, engaging in the writing process,
exchanging ideas with each other, and sharing their final products they are learning about
each other. Learning about each other not in a superficial getting to know you first weeks
of school activities, but in a deep, personal, revealing way. When students share their
narratives, they are opening up their hearts and souls to their peers, making themselves
vulnerable in the deepest way. As a result, they cannot help but have a deeper understanding
and appreciation of each other, recognizing similarities and differences between themselves
and their peers. There is no stronger way to build a community of learners and friends.
Conclusion
Everyone has a story to tell. Who doesnt want to tell their tale, their personal journey
through this turbulent, blissful, ever-changing journey on this big blue ball we call planet
earth? Every person on the face of earth has a unique, powerful story to reveal to the world.
All it takes a time, patience, persistence, and coaxing to get to the heart of their story. ESL
students are an overlooked population. Their stories may not be considered important or
relevant, but EVERY human being deserves a voice, deserves to be heard, deserves to have
their life shared and recorded. Though they may be shy, reluctant storytellers, it is important
that ESL students get the opportunity reveal who they are, not only to their teacher and their
classmates, but most importantly to THEMSELVES. Each time a narrative is retold, a new
understanding of oneself and ones experience is viewed in a different way, which ultimately
leads to a deeper understanding of oneself (Kear, 2012) and to a deeper connection with
ones community.

References
Annenberg Foundation (2013). Commentary: Sonia Nieto. Teaching Multicultural
Literature: A Workshop for the Middle Grades. Workshop 1: Engagement and Dialogue.
Retrieved July 12, 2013 from
http://www.learner.org/workshops/tml/workshop1/commentary3.html
Capecci, J. and Cage T. (2013) Goodreads, Inc. Retrieved July 12, 2013 from
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6905370.John_Capecci_and_Timothy_Cage
Cummins, J. et al (2005, September). Affirming Identity in Multilingual Classrooms.
Educational Leadership. Retrieved July 14, 2013 from
http://edfs200ell.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/54560862/Cummins,%20Embracing%20ELs.pdf
Darling-Hammond, L. (2013). Feelings Count: Emotions and Learning. The Learning
Classroom. Retrieved July 14, 2013 from
http://www.learner.org/courses/learningclassroom/support/05_emotions_learning.pdf
Kear, J. (2012). Using Narrative in ESL Writing Instruction. Storify. Retrieved July 11, 2013
from http://storify.com/JohnKear/the-power-of-narrative-in-esl-writing
Wink, J. (2012). Scaffolding: What, Why, How. Retrieved July 11, 2013 from
http://www.joanwink.com/scheditems/TESOL2013-Scaffold-Handout.pdf
Wink, J. (2013). Bilingual Basics. Retrieved July 11, 2013 from www.
Joanwink.com/research/bilingulalbasics.pdf