The Effect of Short Stories on Teaching Vocabulary to Very Young Learners (Aged 3-4-Year): A Suggested Common Syllabus

Abstract

In recent decades, teaching and learning English has gained importance not only for adults but also even for very young children. Therefore, games, songs, art-craft activities and short stories have proved to be practical instruments for very young learners; especially, short stories are great tools to teach vocabulary as words are best acquired in a meaningful context. This study, hence, focuses on exploring whether very young learners can learn English effectively through a short story-based syllabus or not. This study was carried out in a preschool in Ankara, Turkey and the participants of the study were 28 preschoolers aged 3-4. The children were chosen randomly and they were classified into two groups as the experimental and the control groups. The units designed on and around short stories were used just in the experimental group; in those units, songs, cartoons, realia were also used to enhance the learning process; but the main focus was kept on short stories and story-based activities. The same vocabulary items were also used in the control group and it was aimed to teach those vocabulary items in both groups in 7 weeks in this study. Pre and post tests were designed and used, and permanence observations were carried out after the study to determine the recall rate of the participants. At the end of the study, the results showed that children in the experimental group could remember more vocabulary items than the others since they learned them in a meaningful and enjoyable short story-based context.

Keywords

• Very Young Learners; English Language Teaching; Literature in Foreign Language Teaching; Short Story; Vocabulary Teaching.

References

1. Arıkan, A., Ulaş-Tarah, H. (2010). Contextualizing young learners’ English lessons with cartoons:
2. Focus on Grammar and Vocabulary. Elsevier ScienceDirect Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 5212-5215.
3. Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. (First edition). United Kingdom:
4. Cambridge University Press. Collie, J. and Slater, S. (1987). Literature in the language classroom. Glasgow: Cambridge University Press.
5. Collie, J., and Slater, S. 1991. Literature in the language classroom. (Fifth edition). Glasgow:
6. Cambridge University Press. Çakır, İ. (2004). Designing activities for young learners in EFL classrooms. Gazi Üniversitesi Gazi Eğitim Dergisi, 24 (3), 101-112.
7. Damar, M. (2009). Okul Öncesi Eğitimde Dil Etkinlikleri. Milli Eğitim Dergisi, 38 (182), 96-105.
8. Ellis, G. and Brewster, J. (1991). The Storytelling handbook for primary teachers. Westminster: Penguin.

9. Gardner, H. (2003, April). Multiple intelligences after twenty years. Paper presented at the American
10. Educational Research Association, Chicago, Illinois. Halliwell, S. (1992). Teaching English in the primary classroom. New York: Longman.
11. Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English language teaching. London: Longman.
12. Harrasi, K. T. S. (2012). Using stories in English Omani curriculum. English Language Teaching, 5 (11), 51–59.
13. Jalongo, M. R. (2007). Early childhood language arts (Fourth edition). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
14. Klancar, N. I. (2006). Developing speaking skills in the young learners classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, 7 (11).
15. Krashen, S. D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Great Britian: Pergamon Press Inc.
16. Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. New York: Pergamon
17. Press Inc. Retrieved on April 5, 2013 from: http://www.sdkrashen.com/Principles_and_Practice/Principles_and_Practice.pdf
18. Lau, G. (2002). The use of literary texts in primary level language teaching in Hong Kong. Hong
19. Kong Teachers’ Centre Journal, 1. Linse, C. T. and Nunan, D. (2005). Practical English language teaching: Young learners. New York:
20. McGraw-Hill/Contemporary. Loukia, N. (2006). Teaching young learners through stories: The development of handy parallel syllabus. The Reading Matrix, 6 (1), 25-40.
21. Malderez, A. (2003). Key concepts in ELT: Observation. English Language Teaching (ELT) Journal, 57 (2), 179-181.
22. Mart, Ç. T. (2012). Encouraging young learners to learn English through stories. English Language Teaching, 5 (5), 101-106.
23. Mooney, C. G. (2000). Theories of childhood: an Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget
24. & Vygotsky. (Fifth edition). St. Paul, Minn: Redleaf Publishing. Morrison, S. (1997). Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education. (Third edition). Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall.
25. Nock, M. K., Kurtz, S. M. S. (2005). Direct behavioral observation in school setting: Bringing science to practice. Elsevier ScienceDirect Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 12 (3), 359-370.
26. Pardede, P. (2011). Using short stories to teach language skills. Journal of English Teaching, 1 (1), 14–
27. Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
28. Reed, M. L., Edelbrock, C. (1983). Reliability and validity of the direct observation checklist form of the child behavior checklist. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11 (4), 521-530.
29. Reilly, V. and Ward, S. M. (2003). Very young learners. (Eighth edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
30. Riley, J. (Edt). (2003). Learning in the Early Years a Guide for Teachers of Children 3-7. London:
31. Paul Chapman Publishing. Sarıçoban, A., Küçükoğlu, H. (2011, May). Using Literature in EFL classes: Short stories. Paper presented at the 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied
32. Linguistics, Sarajevo. Sert, N. (2004). Okul öncesinde yabancı dil öğreniminde kalite. Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi. Ankara: Anı Yayıncılık, 5(17), 14- 30.
33. Singleton, D. M. (2007). The critical period hypothesis: some problems. Interlinguistica, 17, 48-56.
34. Slattery, M. & Willis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
35. Wajnryb, R. (2003). Stories: Narrative activities in the language classroom. UK: Cambridge University Press.
36. Ward, S. (1980). Songs and activities for children. Harlow: Longman.
37. Wright, A. (2004). Storytelling with children. (Eighth impression). Oxford: University Press.
38. Yolageldili, G., Arıkan, A. (2011). Effectiveness of using games in teaching grammar to young learners. Elementary Education Online, 10 (1), 219–229. APPENDICES