In teaching in different parts of the world, we often found students who had taken English classes for years, and who still couldn't speak or understand an English conversation. The goal of all ESL classes must be to teach the students how to speak and understand English. Storybooks that stress creative writing are a wonderful help in achieving this goal. Stories that stimulate the children's interest make them forget they are working in a different language, and they will learn to model their speech from the examples in the stories.
Sentences
Of course William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens had very interesting ways of expressing things, but for the ESL student, there are some basic forms that can be applied almost universally. For example, each sentence must have a verb and a subject to be complete. The subject, or the noun tells who does the action, and the verb is the action word. From there, the student can put in the location of the action, and then the time of the action at the end of the sentence.
Paragraphs
In the story, the teacher can point out that the first sentence usually tells what the paragraph is about. It is the topic sentence. Next, the idea is developed, and the adventure is continued. Finally, the last sentence in the paragraph pulls the previous thoughts together. At the same time, it prepares the reader for what is to follow in the next paragraph. This linking holds the story together, and teachers may find that the students have to have some degree of maturity to grasp this point. Small children will write a story like a comic book, with a series of verbal pictures that are all separate from each other.
Vocabulary
The students will most likely find words that are not included in their ESL Curriculum. By seeing these new words in use, they can soon learn their meaning through the context of the story. If there are more than just a few new words, the teacher can help the students. We always found it surprising how fast the students learned new words when they were included in a story that was interesting to them.
By using storybooks, a teacher can teach the basic concepts of speaking English, by using the content of the story. This is an interesting and creative way to supplement the ESL curriculum.
See also>>
