STORYTELLING FOR LANGUAGE

ACQUISITION
with Clare Muireann Murphy
Ways to play with narrative that
encourage language development,
vocabulary acquisition, and a love of
learning
“Humans learn better through stories because story
structure is how human minds naturally seek,
process, and understand new information.”
Kendall Haven, Story Proof

“A story is a unit that can be easily found, easily

recalled and told, and be made useful for a variety
of purposes.”
Zaltman
“Humans think in story terms…Using stories
enhances memory and facilitates information
recall.”
K Haven

“The story is one of the basic tools invented by the

human mind, for the purpose of gaining
understanding. There have been great societies
that did not use the wheel, but there have been no
societies that did not tell stories.”
Ursula K LeGuin
 Storytelling Games

Games are the fastest way to learn.

They can be used for students of all
ages.
 The OBJECT Game
• Choose a partner.
• Think of an object from your home. Use all
of your sense to see that object from every
angle.
• Where is it in the house? What does it smell
like? Does it make a noise? How old is it? If it
could speak, what would it say?
 OBJECT GAME; details for how to teach it.
• In partners, get each person to recall an object somewhere
in their home. Encourage them to use all their senses.
Then add characteristics to the object. Tell partner as much
about this object as possible.
• Propose questions that encourage the imagination…How
old is it? Where did it come from? What can it see from its
position in the house? If it could speak what would it say?
• Reflect with the whole class after by allowing the partners
to speak about each other’s object.
This game develops memory, extrapolation, description,
imagination and vocabulary.
 Fairytales Reduction

Choose a partner.
Each of you thinks about fairytales that you
know. (e.g. Red Riding Hood, Three Little
Pigs, Jack and Beanstalk)
Each of you chooses the one you
like/remember best.
 Fairytale Reduction: details for teaching it.
Partner up. Choose a fairytale. Tell it to your partner (in
English) in 2.5 mins, 1.5 mins, and 30 seconds respectively.
Alternate between partners at the end of each telling.
Before you reduce the time, be sure to ask the students what
would be required to tell it in less time. Also emphasise
that they cannot speed up.
At the end of the game make it clear that finishing is not
actually the objective; rather the game helps one find the
essence of the story, which in turn allows us to remember it
more easily. It is also good fun to challenge the students in
this way.
Develops: Memory, vocabulary, understanding of narrative
structure.
 BUILD IT UP

Get a partner. Think of a very simple three-line story.

E.g. A boy went into the woods. He got very lost.

They found him three days later.
A girl went in search of her fortune. She had many
adventures. She came home many years later.
A wolf went hunting at dusk. He met a girl in a pretty
red hood. He came home with a full belly.
 BUILD IT UP! Details for teaching it.
Partner up. First person speaks a simple story of
three lines. Second person repeats the story back
but expands the story a little, adding a bit more
description or detail. First person takes the new
expanded story and expands it further. Keep
expanding the story until time runs out.
Develops creative improvisation techniques with
language, acquisition of adjectives, adverbs,
synonyms, antonyms, and vocabulary acquisition.
 Storyteller and Director!

In partners.
Choose a fairytale (it can be the same one you
have used before).
Director can say
1) ACTION! The storyteller must try and use verbs as
much as possible.
2) DESCRIPTION! The storyteller must describe
everything in the scene that the director has
interrupted.
3) DIRECT SPEECH! The storyteller must give the direct
speech of the characters that exist in that moment of
the story.
Storytellers can only return to the regular telling of the
story when the Director says “Story!”
STORYTELLER AND DIRECTOR; details for teaching it
2 Person game. One storyteller, one Director. Use a familiar fairytale, the
storyteller begins. The Director can say “Action”, “Description” or “Direct
Speech” at any time.
“Action” : storyteller must try to use verbs constantly. They must continue
this until the Director says “Story!”
“Description” : storyteller must describe everything that is around the
character at the moment (imagine a movie scene where the camera pans
around).
“Direct Speech” : the storyteller must speak from the characters’ mouths. If
the character at that moment is alone the storyteller speaks what they are
thinking.
Switch Director and Storyteller and start again. This game can be frustrating
for storytellers at the beginning but it quickly becomes fun and allows the
storyteller to find new ways of seeing their story.
Develops: Language acquisition, linguistic dexterity and greater
understanding of narrative.
 What if?
(developed from Giovanni Rodari’s The Grammar of Fantasy)

Chose a fairy tale. Discuss the possible ‘what ifs’ that

could radically alter the tale. ‘What ifs’ usually affect
the character, setting or problem within the story.
e.g. In Little Red Riding Hood, “What if the wolf was a
vegetarian?” “What if Rapunzel had really short hair?”
“What if Snow White was set in modern day London?”
Retell the fairytale with the new ‘what if’.
 What If? Details for teaching it
This game requires some discussion beforehand to get the
students exploring different “what ifs”.
Have a few ideas ready to inspire them with. As they catch on
to the idea that anything is possible, this empowers them
to make the story their own.
Depending on the level of English, it may be useful to give the
students some time to storyboard their ideas, or write
down a brief sketch. Do not get them to write the story out
in full before they tell it. Telling it fully first then writing it
down is more helpful to their language development.
Writing it first will make them more self-conscious about
their English.
The five line story…
 THE FIVE LINE STORY

Once upon a time…

Every day…
One day…
This led to…
Nowadays….
 Five line story; details for teaching it
This is a storytelling improvisation game developed by Love
Ersare in Sweden. The focus is on letting the stories flow
out regardless of how silly they are. As the story picks up
speed the students will relax and play more. Try not to play
it with groups on a multiple of 5, because the students will
not get a chance to try a new line.
Emphasise that the students must follow on from whatever is
put into the first sentence. If the first student says “Once
upon a time there was a frog with a bad cold,” the
following line must be about the frog.
 Combination story making….

Setting Character Object Problem

Create four lists with your students. Then allow them

to create a story using two settings, three characters,
one object and one problem. You can choose the
number of things they can use but do not allow an
unlimited or unusually high number of any one thing
as it will be difficult for them to finish the story.
“Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a
more powerful, clearer, more meaningful
experience. They are the currency of human
contact.”
Robert McKee

“Because there is a natural storytelling urge and

ability in all human beings, even just a little
nurturing of this impulse can bring about
astonishing and delightful results.”
Nancy Mellon
“…the shortest distance between truth and a
human being is a story.” Anthony de Mello

“To be a person is to have a story to tell.”

Isak Dinesen
“We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing.”
George Bernard Shaw
“The true object of all human life is play.”
G. K. Chesterton
“If you don’t know the trees you may be lost in the
forest, if you don’t know the stories you may be
lost in life.”
Siberian Elder
“If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to
give them away where they are needed.
Sometimes a person needs a story more than food
to stay alive.”
Barry Lopez, in Crow and Weasel
Object Game
Fairy Tale Reduction
Build it Up!
Storyteller and Director
What if?
Five line story
Combination Story Making…