Teaching a Good Literature Class through Story Telling - Necessity of Introducing Stories in the Classroom

 "A tale should be judicious, clear, succinct;

The language plain, and incidents well link'd;
Tell not as new what ev'ry body knows;
And, new or old, still hasten to a close."

William Cowper (1731 - 1800)

British poet.

"Conversation"

Introduction: The ancient art of storytelling continues to flourish in modern class room, partly in response to widespread media. This age-old practice of telling stories is a highly developed and much appreciated art form. It is also one of the best ways of imparting literature classes. It is wide of range and can be exercised from elementary to university classes. The Story telling in the classroom can widen the scope of foreign literature bearing as well as great milieu of oration. Read More Short Stories It is very necessary to introduce stories in the classroom as stories are interesting, captivating and absorbing even for the college or university students. We all know, that the children like to listen to stories and they wait with rapt attention to know the end of the happening and it is same arresting for young adults.  So a teacher can arrest their attention and concentration all through the lesson and make them listen to the words and sentences for few minutes in the class. The use of stories (folklore) has become the thread that links the past with the present in our society. These stories concern all parts of our life and often teach traditional values, beliefs, and behaviors. They are also a major form of entertainment in literature.

It has some direct benefits-    

Language Learning in the Classroom: The student can get the utmost interest if the enlighten teachers impart good stories to them. In this way the students will be more motivated to the target language and will try their own to acquire such. A classwise stories of English literature can be arranged likewise where epic stories must have to be included.  

Learning the other Cultures:  The students’ best acquaint with the foreign cultures comes through tales. There can be fruitful classes of languages through telling of stories. Stories can provide link with the world outside the classroom.  When a student listens to one of Aesop’s fables for example, the student is listening to language and at the same time, learning about the world beyond. Listening to stories in the classroom is a shared social experience which can help a student build up confidence and encourage social and emotional development.Read More Short Stories As young adults enjoy listening to stories over and over again, it leads to repetition and this repetition allows some language items to be acquired while other items are being reinforced. The repetition also allows young adults to anticipate what is about to happen or to be said next in the story which is very empowering. The repetition also allows participation, as young adults gradually become confident enough to start speaking along with the teacher. Here are such few examples:

Storytelling in various cultures: African Literature: Oral Traditions; Bible: The Development of the Old Testament; Chinese Literature: Prose; Icelandic Literature: The Saga; Rwanda: Culture

The evolution of storytelling:  Allegory; Ballad; Bard; Children's Literature: The Middle Ages; Epic; Fable; Fairy and Fairy Tale; Folklore; Folktales; Novel; Parable; Poetry; Romance
Stories about storytelling,  Giovanni Boccaccio; Geoffrey Chaucer; N. Scott Momaday
Nonverbal storytelling,  Ballet; Dance

Places to hear or  stories:  Library; Opera; Theater

Enduring stories:    Arabian Nights; Arthurian Legend; Paul Bunyan

Learning the art of speaking: It enhances the listening skill of the students.  Stories are not only enjoying, they are motivating also. If a student enjoys hearing one story it is very likely that he or she will want to hear another one. Stories help to develop a positive attitude towards the foreign or second language being learned. Again if a student enjoys hearing a story in the English class, the student will in turn find interest in attending English Literature class. When the stories are axiomatically told by teachers, the words as well as postures becomes a living agent. Read More Short Stories That qualities can easily be imparted into the students is art of living. The good teacher through their tales can teach the students the best ways of acting-real life acting. Through imitation of their teachers, they can bear how to speak words with stress, pause, passion, emotions, intuition as well as rhythm. Here the teachers are more like an actor with best skill to downpour magic of tales.Read More Short Stories 

Stories Develop the Power of Imagination in Young Adults: Young adults become personally involved with stories as they try to identify with the characters and try to interpret the narrative and the illustrations. Stories allow young adults to become more creative. They often want to talk about or draw characters from the stories they like.

Comparative Discussion:  When the teacher start telling stories, the classroom becomes a theatre hall and the audience part is played by students. But there are no such silent students to mar the game.  The students will be silent with spellbound and   the teachers’ shining involves back bone of the literature class. The students in their natural query of the tales will transport as well as open up a vast field of discussion. Stories can develop a students’ general knowledge and touch as subjects across the curriculum. Stories help to reinforce a students’ conceptual development in areas such as colour, size, shape, time, cause and effect etc. Last but not the least listening to stories develops both the listening and comprehending skills of children. Read More Short Stories 

Formulating his/her own Story: A real life class with tales can formulate a cathartic appeal to the students. He/she can easily adapt his imaginative skill into fragmenting tales and these will enable the students to   emprise their skill of storytelling.

End Notes: Making the class alive, the insipidity of little knowledge stuff can be enlivened by sweet tales. History of English literature comes alive when they are told with agility and anecdotes. So, be bold to tell stories. Simply, we love stories.

Highlights: The Importance of Storytelling in Literature Classes

Key Points:

1. Storytelling is a powerful way to engage students and teach them about literature.
2. Stories can help students to understand different cultures, values, and perspectives.
3. They can also help students to develop their own creativity and imagination.
4. Storytelling can be used to introduce students to different genres of literature, such as poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.
5. It can also be used to help students to analyze and interpret literature.
6. Storytelling is a versatile tool that can be used to teach students about literature in a variety of ways.

Summary:

Storytelling is a powerful way to engage students and teach them about literature. Stories can help students to understand different cultures, values, and perspectives. They can also help students to develop their own creativity and imagination. Storytelling can be used to introduce students to different genres of literature and to help them to analyze and interpret literature.

 Ardhendu De