PROMOTING ENGLISH VOCABULARY OF YOUNG LEARNERS

THROUGH SONGS, GAMES, AND STORIES

Nadiah Ma’mun
Post Graduate Program of English Education
Universitas Negeri Semarang
Semarang, Indonesia
nadiah_makmun@students.unnes.ac.id

Abstract

Teaching English to young learners has become part of the language education curriculum in Indonesia, and several
other developing countries, such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. Teaching English to young
learners is intended to provide a foundation for mastery of the basic language for students so that they can be even
more skilled when they study in high school. For that, we need a learning strategy that can help them to be
motivated and happy to learn English. Therefore, the English teacher must be creative in using tools that can create a
pleasant learning atmosphere. The use of games, songs, and stories is expected to help elementary school students to
improve their mastery of basic vocabulary as a provision for communicating in English according to their education
level. This paper describes several ways to introduce English language teaching through songs, games, and stories
through some fun learning strategies. This paper is one kind of best practice. Thus, teachers are expected to be able
to take advantage of these learning media, especially for students who live in remote areas that cannot be reached by
digital technology.

Keywords - English Vocabulary, Games, Songs, Stories and Young Learners.

Introduction may be created as an interesting

English, as an international language,
becomes an important foreign language in
the education system in Indonesia. So that,
there are schools implementing English
lessons as main subject. English has been
declared as a local content curriculum in
1994. As one of the local content subjects,
English is programmed to start 4th grade.
However, in reality, English has been taught
since the 1st grade of primarily school.
Even, at play group, English has been
introduced as well through vocabulary
learning. It is due to English is still
considered as a difficult language to learn.
To reduce the difficulty of learning English,
it is necessary to apply an approach and
strategies that can be used for teaching
English for young learners as easily and
interestingly as possible. In order to attract
the attention of students, the English classes
environment. situation that makes students
motivated to learn. One of the ways to
create EYL class more interesting is through
songs, games and stories.
Young Learners
The definition of Young Learners is
children between the ages of about five
years old to 12 years old (Rixon,1999),
while according to Lynne Cameron, young
learners are those under 14 years old.
Moreover, the definition of young learners
is mainly based on the years spent in the
primary or elementary stages of formal
education before the transition to secondary
school. This is why the ages of the young
learners could be varied from one country to
the others. Some psycholinguists say that
one of the factors to be successful in
language learning is young age. There are

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some explanations for better learning at
young age. First, the brain is more adaptable
before puberty than after, and the
acquisition of languages is possible without
self-consciousness at an early age and also
because young children have more
opportunities than adults. The children are
learning all the time without having the
worries and responsibility of adults
(Brumfit, 1994).
Slattery (2001) highlighted some
characteristics young learners have. They
are learners who are curious, imaginative,
and playful. They develop as individuals
very quickly and enjoy routines and
repetitions. They learn by listening,
imitating, watching, and doing things. Due
to their short attention span, they need a
variety of activities. Also, they talk about
what they did and understand in their
mother tongue which helps them to learn.
The Characteristics of young learners;
1. Pre-school children have a VERY
short attention span
2. Pre-school children will forget
things quickly
3. Pre-school children may not be fully
confident in their own language
4. Some of your preschool children
may not be motivated to learn
5. They may be fearful
6. Pre-school children develop at very
different rates so you are sure to
have a mixed ability group
7. You need a lot of ideas to keep their
attention
8. You need real language learning
techniques and not just time fillers
to keep the children busy
9. Preschoolers can be easily
overwhelmed
(http://www.teachingenglishgames.com
/3-5.htm)
411
Young learners need to pay attention to
some elements of English language such as
pronunciation, spelling, structure, and
vocabulary. To master English skills,
students must know the vocabulary of the
language i.e. a list of words with their
meaning because it supports their skills’
improvement (Linse, 2005). In order to
speak and write English, children need to
learn one to two thousand words (Cameron,
2001). In this section, how vocabulary is
learned will be discussed briefly and some
methods and approaches of how to teach
them will be put forth.
To acquire English, Children have to
experience and hear the exposure of English
since they are in childhood. In general, it is
agreed upon that Children learn languages
better than adults because they have more
times for learning, and do not have any
worries or responsibilities. Also, they are
better at learning any language when they
are exposed to it naturally for a long-term.
Cameron (2001) stated that there are
four things teachers need to keep in mind
while teaching English to young learners
besides knowledge and skills. Teachers
must be conscious of how their students
learn and think. Also, they must be able to
find out what children are interested in and
utilize it for language teaching. In addition,
teachers should be equipped to teach their
young student literacy in English and
deliver the whole lesson orally. Last, but not
least, teacher should identify problems and
difficulties while teaching the language.
Teaching English to Young Learner
Through Songs, Games and Stories
There is a widely-held lay belief that
younger second language learners generally
do better than older learners. Children
exercise a good deal of both cognitive and
affective effort to internalize both native
and second languages. Moreover, one of the
most essential thing that teachers teaching
children’s English should make all means to
motivate their spirit and sustain their
interest in learning English. Therefore, most
of those teachers chose the method by using
songs in the teaching process because
games using is closely related to
characteristics of children for their age and
their features of psychology. However, just
as we know, language learning is not easy
work. In a word, songs can help and
encourage many learners to sustain their
interest, and they play an important role in
language teaching:
It has been found that one
appropriate strategy to encourage language
acquisition is using songs. Children have a
greater need to be motivated by the teacher
or the material, and they are easier to be
motivated. Many scholars agree that songs
in the language classroom have been
considered a better way to arouse the
interest of children; John Dewey claimed
songs were integral to schooling since they
provided an active learning experience.
Songs are also listed in the language skills
for the learning stage of primary school in
the New English Curriculum Standard.
For adults and children, difference
between the age group in learning styles,
abilities and motivation entail
corresponding differences in selection of
materials and methodology and in lesson
plan. Children have a greater immediate
need to be motivated by the teacher or the
material in order to learn effectively. The
teacher can raise children’s motivation and
enthusiasm by selecting interesting
activities. They are always curious about
interesting things. Songs are one excellent
means to maintain curiosity in the English
course. When the teachers ask the children
to sing songs, they are prepared to enjoy.
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All this mean that it is easy to maintain a
high degree of motivation and to make the
English class into an enjoyable and
stimulating experience for the children.
To teach children English it is
required specific skills and intuitions that
differ from those that a teacher uses for
adult teaching. Brown (1994) suggested
five categories help the teacher to give some
practical approaches to teaching children as
follows:
The first one is intellectual
development. Since children (up to the age
of about eleven) are still in an intellectual
stage of what Piaget called “concrete
operations,” we should remember their
limitations. Rules, explanations, and other
even slightly abstract talk about language
must be approached with extreme caution.
Play (game) is a way of manipulating the
outside world so that it serves a vital
function in the child’s developing intellect
and remains.
The second one is attention span.
One of the most salient differences between
adults and children is attention span.
Children have short attention spans. The
short attention spans come up only when the
teachers present stuff that is boring, useless,
or too difficult. Since language lessons can
be difficult for children, the teachers should
try to make them interesting, lively, and fun.
The third one is sensory input.
Children need to have all five senses
stimulated. The activities should strive to go
well beyond the visual and auditory modes
that we usually feel are sufficient for a
classroom. As it is mentioned above, games
use both visual and aural channels to
activate the language production.
The fourth one is affective factors.
Children are often innovative in language
forms but still have a great many
inhibitions. They are extremely sensitive,
especially to peers: What do others think of
me? What will so-and-so think when I
speak in English? Children are in many
ways much more fragile than adults. Their
egos are still being shaped, and therefore the
slightest nuances of communication can be
negatively interpreted. Teachers need to
help them to overcome such potential
barriers to learning.
And the last one is authentic,
meaningful language. Children focus on
what the new language can be used for right
here and now. They are less willing to put
up with language that does not hold
immediate rewards for them. The need for
meaningfulness in language learning has
been accepted for some years. If the
children are amused, angered, challenged,
intrigued or surprised, the content is clearly
meaningful to them., therefore the meaning
of the language they listen to, read, speak
and write will be more vividly experienced
and better remembered. Songs in language
can meet the needs for “meaningfulness”.
“Children learn through play” is a
sentence that has guided early childhood
educators for decades. The nature of
children is that they like to play and have
fun than studying. Isenberg also stated that
play is a need of every child and it is an
important childhood activity that helps
children master all developmental needs
(1993). Play is the work of childhood and is
important for learning and development.
One of the forms of play that children are
familiar is music, in the form of songs. The
singing songs and chants are the
embodiment of symbolic play and imitation.
These activities help the children to move
from sensor motor experience to a symbolic
transformation of it (Isenberg, 1993).
Music helps children develop
cognitive skills, as well as enhances
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language skills, by singing a song, children
learn language appreciation, vocabulary and
rhyme (Shipley,1998). Another thing is that
songs and rhymes are learned by heart, and
this may form part of a child’s linguistic.
Thus, through this paper, the writer wants to
explain how teachers can use songs to
enhance skills to young learners, such as
listening, speaking, and writing skills.
When the songs are introduced, the first
language skill that the children learn is
listening.
Teaching Vocabulary Using Songs
Composition containing lyrics that
performs, is usually accompanied by
musical instrument, although they may be
religious verses or free prose. English
children song is an expression of feeling or
thinking expressed systematically is sound
form and the lyrics written in English
words. Boan (2002) explains that English
children song considered suitable must meet
the following criteria:
a. The melodies should be simple and
beautiful to be excellent pedagogical
devices for motivating students.
b. The style of music should be to
students’ taste, taking account of the
social and cultural.
c. The lyrics of the song should be
easily understood and the song can
serve specific teaching purpose.
Meanwhile, when teachers plan to
use songs in their language classroom they
should put the following questions into their
considerations:
1. Is the topic or language potentially
offensive ?
2. Is the song theme too mature or too
immature for my students ?
 3. Will my students enjoy the song, or
it is merely something I like ?
4. Is the language too obscure, or too
simple ?
5. Is the song short enough?Do I have
time in class to play the song 3 or 4
times?
6. Will the students get bored with the
song before they even finish the
sctivity?
7. Is the song tempo roo fast for my
students to comprehend the lyrics ?
8. Are the words sung clearly enough?
(Payne, Sylvan, 2006: 42)
Through the songs the children can
enhance their listening skills. The second
skill that the children can learn through
songs is speaking skills. Singing a song,
however simple, is a pleasing achievement.
After the children listen to the song, they
would attempt to sing it. Moreover, since
the words in the refrain are repeated several
times, they are easily memorized. As Rixon
(2000) says that one of the most popular
songs must be repeated many times to result
in spontaneous ‘joining in’ by the young
audience.
Griffee (1992) also states that the
children practice saying the words in the
same way they sing the songs, the children
can repeat the words in rhythmic word
groups to remember the words as a result
the children can produce or utter the words.
Some activities can be used to enhance the
children speaking skills, for example, mini-
musicals. A mini-musical is a performance
that has some sort of theme, and contains
some singing and some spoken dialogue.
Songs can be grouped and be performed for
the class. The teacher selects theme for the
musical, three to five songs. The songs need
to be singable, but the teacher can use only
part of the songs, for example, one or two
verses of the whole song. The teacher can
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also consider the children’s songs and folk
songs. The teachers then write all the
spoken dialogues to introduce and connect
the storyline, and ask the children to
perform in front of the class.
Another activity is rhyme after
rhyme. This activity practices rhyme and
gives the children a chance to make up
rhymes of their own. The teachers help the
children by writing down several
vocabulary items to match with the rhyme.
The teachers give the children every other
line and ask them to fill in the missing lines.
The teachers then ask the children to read
their new lyrics. Finally, the children listen
to the original lyrics to compare.
Ba Ba Black Sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir 3 bags full
One for my master and
After the children listen and speak
the words, it is the time for the children to
write. There are many ways to exploit
songs for writing practice. According to
Griffee (1992), songs that tell a story do not
quite often suggest a narrative that can be
written down, and many pieces of music
without words convey dramatic narrative to
the imagination.
There are several activities that
suggest various way of getting the children
to write, inspired by songs and music. The
first activity that can be used to enhance the
children writing skills is dictation. Dictation
is a good way to introduce a song,
especially for singing. After listening to the
song many times, children will have not
only the words but also the melody. The
children are given a short and slow songs,
and then the teachers ask the children to
write down the lyrics. The teachers play the
tape until most of the children can complete
the lyrics of the songs. When using
dictation, any data you give to your children
helps them and makes their job easier – the
trick is to give enough information while
still challenging them. This activity
describes several levels of help:
1. The teachers give the children very little
help, only the title of the song and some of
the words. The teachers list the words on
the board in alphabetical order.
2. The teachers write a blank outline of the
song on the board. This tells them the
number of words pre line. Draw a line for
every word. For example, the song Ba Ba
Black Sheepwould look like this:
________ ________
________ ________ ?
________ ________ ________ ________
________ ________ ________ ________
3. This is the same as number 2, but include
some of the words.
Ba Ba ________
________ ________ wool ?
________ bags full
One ________ ________ ________
And ________ ________
4. Another alternative activity is the
teachers give the first two lines. In the
following line omit the last word. Continue
to omit the words (Griffee,1992).
Ba Ba Black Sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir 3 ……………
One for my master and …..……….
And one for the little boy ……………..
The next activity that can be used is
the cloze passage. The cloze passage is any
written material with every nth word
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blanked out. It is the most familiar and
popular song activity currently used and the
most familiar one (Griffee,1992). The
teachers would prepare the handout, for
example, if the teacher decided to blank out
every fifth word of the song. An alternative
to blanking out every nth word is to blank
out a teaching point, e.g. blank out the
prepositions. This focuses the cloze in the
direction the teachers want. In the
classroom, the teachers ask children to
listen to the song and hand out the cloze
song lyrics. The teachers ask the children to
listen until they are able to fill in all the
blanks or give up.
Teaching Vocabulary Using Games
Hadfield (1998:4) states that a game
is an activity with rules, a goal, and an
element of fun, which is divided into two
kinds; competitive games, in which players
or teams race to be the first to reach the
goal, and cooperative games, in which
players or teams work together towards a
common goal.
According to Wright, Betteridge,
and Bucky (1994), game is an activity
which can be entertaining, engaging, and
challenging. It is an activity by which the
learners play and usually interact with
others. Crandall (1998) stated that language
games are not just time fillers or ice-
breakers. They can motivate, and encourage
students to discover learning and solve
problems. They give the opportunity to
learners to learn and use language in a
meaningful way, as well as they help
teachers to understand the student’s needs
(as cited in Khonmohammad, Gorjian,
&Eskandari, 2014, p. 327). Moreover,
Wright (1990) also accounts games as one
of the most powerful language tools
creating an atmosphere of success for young
learners. By playing games, students can
discover what to learn, be motivated and
learn better.
Therefore, games do not only help
children learn vocabulary or grammar but
also develop social, communicative skills.
Their sense of fair play encourages and
increases cooperation. Games can help the
teacher create useful and meaningful
contexts for learning new vocabulary
(Cameron, 2001). Using games in teaching
and learning vocabulary is particularly
effective because in a fun situation, learning
is less stressful for children. Games provide
one way of helping the learners to
experience language rather than merely the
study of it. By using games, it will help and
encourage many learners or their students to
sustain their interest and work. Teaching
English to young learners is not an easy job
since it requires a lot of work and
preparation. Throughout the teachers’
experience as teachers of English for young
learners, they faced a lot of problems
looking for the best way to teach English to
children; how to draw their attention and
keep it for the whole class period; how to
motivate children and encourage them to
learn. Games provided language teachers
with many advantages when they were used
in the classroom. One of these advantages
was that learners were motivated to learn
the language when they were engaged in
games.
The process of learning by using
guessing game may raise problems. The
observation conducted in two meetings, and
the teacher applied all the procedures in
guessing a game. For the result, the students
still confused although the teacher had to
explained, it is because some of students not
focus and talked with each other, and the
students did not have confident to apply the
words that had they known in real situation.
So in learning process most of students
chose to quite.
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Learning process was done on two
meetings, the classroom atmosphere in
learning English vocabulary by using
guessing a game looked active in learning
English vocabulary by using guessing a
game technique, but some of them looked
less responsive in learning vocabulary. If
vocabulary learning became more active
with activities like games, students would
not face any difficulties. However,
reflections from my own experience,
observations of other teachers' classes and
interviews reveal that sometimes games
create problems for both students and
teachers. Games cannot be successful if the
teacher does not explain the tasks and roles
of students clearly in playing games and
provide a quick and total comprehension of
what students have to do to avoid
confusion.
The teachers need to use the games
that student like and do not use too many or
too few kinds of games. Too many kinds of
game will make them focus on games, not
English. Too few games will make the game
too predictable so that the games are not
challenging. Teaching vocabulary the
teacher should be able to create some
various fun activities. Some teachers
confess that using games makes students
noisy, distracted and lazy. To accomplish
such condition, teachers must create variety
type and attractive methods for the class.
What should a teacher do if their students
get bored? Using a variety type of games
can be an alternative solution to handle this
problem. Games, as a matter of fact, can
help and encourage many students to sustain
their interest and work.
According to Harmer (2014) “at the
same time children's span of attention or
concentration is less than adults. Children
need frequent changes of activity: They
need activities which are exciting and which
stimulate their curiosity: They need to be
involved in something active.(They will
usually not sit and listen). There is a
common perception that all learning should
be serious and solemn in nature and that if
one is having fun and there is hilarity and
laughter, then it is not really learning. This
is a misconception.
❖ Points to consider when using
Games:
➢ Learning value
o Games are used in an
English lesson because they
have a learning value. The
learning value is flexible and
can be chosen or built by the
teacher, taking into
consideration the target
students. The most common
learning values are closely
related to reviewing or
reinforcing vocabulary,
listening to and using
thematic vocabulary.
➢ Careful preparation
Ndiga Sylla (2010:5) claims
that “it is so problematic
when teachers are hired and
sent to schools without basic
training” Every game must
be well prepared in order for
the student to understand
each rule and each step to
follow until the end of the
game.
➢ Level
As shown before, each game
must be adapted to the
English level of the class and
the age of the students.
➢ Clear Instructions
Most of students, thirty one
point thirty three per cent
(31.33%) complain about the
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unclear instruction of the
teacher. Provide a quick and
total comprehension of what
students have to do avoid
confusion. The teacher must
be prepared to offer an
example if necessary.
➢ Timing
Most teachers insisted on the
insufficient time allotted to
English subject. We should also
take into account that vocabulary
must be set at the beginning of
the activity and it shouldn't be
very long (especially for
beginner learners, which tend to
get bored quickly).
➢ Size of class
This is very important when
we need teams/groups;
➢ Physical space
Physical space must be taken
into consideration when the
activity implies moving
around or performing;
➢ Materials or Equipment
78 % of the EFL teachers
agree that the lack of
materials explains the poor
performance of student in
vocabulary, which was
supported by 32% of the
EFL students involved in the
study. If a game requires any
materials, the teacher must
be prepared with everything
he/she needs in order for the
game not to be interrupted.

Teaching Vocabulary Using Games
There are two steps that must be
kept in mind when implementing games to
teach vocabulary to young learner by their
teacher, grouping the students and giving
explanation and instruction about the game.
This section will briefly mention those
steps.
1. Grouping the Students
a. Scott &Ytreberg (2004) stressed
the importance of making young
learners sit together in a group
because they like to have other peers
around them. Sitting the students
together encourage cooperation, but
this does not mean that they have to
be in groups all the time while they
are working. Phillips (1993) noted
that having a group of more than five
students will result in counter-
productivity where chaos might
emerge. Teachers could ask their
students to count one until two in a
sequence manner and students with
the same number will gather in the
same group on the floor. Next,
young learners could be asked to
choose a name for their group to be
written on the white board to record
their scores. If there is an uneven
number of student e.g. five students,
one group could have 3 students and
the other two. Grouping techniques
of this kind will help in create a
cooperative and competitive
atmosphere among the members of
the groups.
2. Giving Explanation and Instruction
about the Game
a. It is important to explain the
game to young learners in order
to achieve the desired outcome
and fulfill the goal behind its
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implementation. Teachers have
an integral part in the classroom
when implementing games
because they have to give clear
explanations and instructions
about them so that students
understand how to play and
practice the list of vocabularies
intended to be learned.
b. If the teacher did not explain the
rules and instructions of the
game, choosing games as a
method to explain vocabulary to
young learners will be a waste of
class time. There will be no
outcomes if the students did not
know what to do and they will
get bored very fast.
Although games proved to be a
successful method when teaching
vocabulary to young learners, they give rise
to some challenges for the teacher and the
students. The first challenge is the noise and
unorganized classroom. Children sometimes
move a lot and talk too much when they are
excited which makes it hard to control them.
In order to manage the class, Brown (2001)
stated that the teacher must understand the
students’ characteristics in order to create a
good environment for learning.
Teachers of young learners need to
choose a variety of creative games to
sustain young learners’ attention instead of
being occupied with something else.
Harmer (2001) stated that children are not
expected to sit down or do the same activity
for a long time because they lose interest
after several minutes. Moreover, as stated
before, young learners have a short attention
span, so activities should be as engaging as
possible because they lose interest after ten
minutes. Creativity is an important aspect
when choosing or designing games to teach
vocabulary to young learners.
 Another challenge teachers may face
is that students sometimes want to speak in
their mother tongue during the class and
game to communicate with each other and
their teachers. Teachers have to respond in
English, even if the student is asking the
teacher something in their native language.
From my own point of view, teachers
should use young learners’ native language
from now and then to encourage the
students to speak and participate in the
lesson.
Teachers might have a little time
after doing the game to drill the
vocabularies they gave their students. The
students might not have the time to repeat
and practice saying the words. The result
may be students making wrong guesses
about the pictures showed by their teachers.
There should be a balance between the type
of game, number of vocabularies, time,
effort, and the use of the students’ native
language. Experienced teachers will have no
problem balancing all these challenges
while using games in teaching vocabulary to
their young learners.
Teaching Vocabularies Using Stories
Most of the children have a big interest
to stories, and storytelling was regarded as a
learning tradition. It was very important role in
children’s language learning. With meaningful
contexts, natural repetition, lovely characters
and interesting plots, stories can be used to
develop children’s language skills. Wright
(2004) states that stories which rely so much on
words, offer major and consonant source of
language experience for children. Moreover,
stories can motivate children, stimulate
children’s imagination and arouse children’s
interests, etc. Listening to the stories allows
children to learn new vocabularies from various
familiar contexts given which will lead them to
spoke English.
Storytelling is the original form of
teaching. There are still societies in which it is
419
the only form of teaching. Though attempts
have been made to imitate or update it, like the
electronic storytelling of television, live oral
storytelling will never go out of fashion. A
simple narrative will always be the cornerstone
of the art of teaching. Colloquial or literary,
unaffected or flowery the full range of language
is present in stories. develop in a unique way.
The listeners benefit from observing non
polished speech created on the spot. While
listening to stories, children develop a sense of
structure that will later help them to understand
the more complex stories of literature. In fact,
stories are the oldest form of literature. The use
of literature in foreign language teaching has
greatly increased over the past few years. The
materials and activities that derive from literacy
texts are a great aid to learning in that they
appeal to the learners’ imagination, increase
motivation and, above all, create a rich and
meaningful context. Among the techniques
available to the teacher, storytelling is one of
the most frequently used, especially with
beginners. Storytelling is an established part of
the curriculum in both English-speaking
countries and many others, and stories are seen
as a first-rate resource in the teaching of the
child’s own language (Zaro and Salaberry,
1995:2).
Storytelling is considered one of the
most efficient and motivating approaches to
teaching English to young learners. Rokhayani
(2010) holds that with meaningful contexts,
natural repetition, engaging characters and
interesting plots, stories can be used to develop
children’s language skills, such as listening,
using their imagination and predicting. In
addition, young learners are always eager to
listen to stories, naturally want to understand
what is happening in the story and enjoy
looking at story books, which increases their
motivation to grasp the meaning of new English
words, when they start English lessons
(Rokhayani 2010).
Ellis and Brewster (1991) give several
reasons why teachers should use storytelling in
the English classroom:
 a. Storybooks can enrich the students’
learning experience. Stories are
motivating and fun and can help develop
positive attitudes towards the foreign
language.
b. Stories exercise the imagination and are a
useful tool in linking fantasy and the
imagination with the child’s real world.
c. Listening to stories in class is a shared
social experience.
d. Children enjoy listening to stories over
and over again. This repetition allows
language items to be acquired and
reinforced.
e. Listening to stories develops the child’s
listening and concentrating skills.
f. Stories create opportunities for
developing continuity in children’s
learning (among others, school subjects
across the curriculum) (Adapted from
Ellis and Brewster 1991:1-2).
Wright (2004) holds that stories can
motivate children, stimulate children’s
imagination and arouse children’s interests, etc.
Wright provides the following reasons for
advocating the use of storytelling in the
classroom:
• Stories provide meaningful contexts.
When we use storytelling, we are not only using
language in the text but also the whole context
which brings out the meaning. In stories,
children learn the language in a meaningful
way.
• Stories can provide natural repetition.
When the students read the stories, they tend to
pay attention to the key words, and new
language can be naturally repeated in stories.
• Children have another instinct in language
learning – picking up chunks.
• Children’s listening skill can be developed.
The use of storytelling also enhances students’
listening skill. While children listen to stories,
they try to guess the meaning of the new words
and to grasp the main idea. Thus, storytelling
develops children’s listening skill – seeking
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details. Some teachers require children to listen
carefully when they begin to say the new
sentences or words. The result may be that
while listening, the children just concentrate on
the pronunciation of the words or sentences, but
not their meaning or the meaning of a context
(Wright 2004:2).
Here are some more specific
recommended storytelling techniques adapted
from Brewster, Ellis and Girard (2004):
a. If students are unfamiliar with storytelling,
begin with short sessions which do not demand
too much from them and over time extend their
concentration span;
b. Read slowly and clearly. Give the students
time to relate what they hear to what they see in
the pictures, to think, ask questions, make
comments. However, do vary the pace when the
story speeds up;
c. Make comments about the illustrations and
point to them to focus the students’ attention;
d. Encourage students to take part in the
storytelling by repeating key vocabulary items
and phrases. Teachers can invite students to do
this by pausing and looking at them with a
questioning expression and by putting the hand
to the ear to indicate that they are waiting for
them to join in, then repeat what they have said
to confirm that they have predicted correctly,
and if appropriate, expand by putting the word
into a full phrase or sentence;
e. Use gestures, mime, and facial gestures to
help convey the meaning;
f. Vary the pace, volume and your voice;
g. Pause where appropriate to add dramatic
effect or to give children time to relate what
they hear to what they see, and to assimilate
details in the illustration;
h. Disguise your voice for the different
characters as much as you can to signal when
different characters are speaking and help
convey meaning;
i. Ask questions to involve the children;
j. Do not be afraid to repeat, expand and
formulate. This increases the opportunities for
exposure to the language and gives the children
a second chance to work out the meaning and
have it confirmed (Brewster et al. 2004: 21).
Conclusion
Teaching vocabulary plays an
important role in language acquisition
because the mastery of vocabulary will help
students master all the language skills-
speaking, listening, writing, and reading. In
the teaching of English vocabulary to young
learners, teachers are expected to have the
skills of language in simple English. Young
learners are agreed to be children from five
or six years old who are in the first year of
elementary schooling to twelve years old of
age. The learners want to take part and in
order to do so must understand what others
are saying or have written, and they must
speak or write in order to express their own
point of view or give information. Despite
there being considerable trepidation among
many teachers, there is clear pedagogic
evidence endorsing the use of song, games,
and story in the language classroom. Well-
chosen song, game, and story are invaluable
as they give students a break and at the
same time allow students to practice
language skills.
Songs, games, and stories are
considered as efficient and motivating
approaches for young learners. Rokhayani
(2010) argues that repetition, interesting
characters, and interesting plots can develop
children's listening, imagination, and
predicting abilities. Stories can provide
natural repetition. When students read
stories, they tend to pay attention to
keywords. This makes young students eager
to understand the plot of the story contained
in the story and increases their motivation to
read.
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