Stories are great for teaching language to children. Why? 

Children learn their mother language very early without any formal lessons and research has shown that they can learn other languages just as easily. That’s why schools in countries such as China, India and most European countries teach English as a second language to children from a very early age.
 
“One of the best reasons for starting early is that children are learning language anyway. The best way to learn a language is through hands-on activities, such as games, songs and stories – the types of lessons young children are often more receptive to”. The British Council
  • Children love to be told stories. And love to hear the same ones repeated over and over – fantastic for reviewing and absorption
  • Younger children don’t always know why they are learning another language – stories motivate them to learn.
  • Stories can be the focal point of a whole lesson and they help to give meaning and context to new words and phrases
  • Children absorb the structure of language subconsciously – through stories they’ll pick up new words and hear the familiar ones they already know
  • Sue Clark, a teacher with the British Council says stories are great for teaching ‘native-speaker’ vocabulary – the everyday English which is not found in many school textbooks
  • Aside from language learning, children learn other things from stories – morals, relationships, how to behave, culture, religious differences
  • Stories, used alongside signs, actions, colourful illustrations and engaging animation make for really fun lessons – you will be repeatedly reviewing and practising language as well as making it real through play. And see our Resources section for ideas for after-story activities.
 Words of wisdom
Nancy Rhodes, Director of Foreign Language Education at The Centre for Applied Linguistics, USA: “There are all sorts of wonderful advantages to teaching a language early. It introduces a child to another culture, another way of saying things and the idea that we’re all living in a global society.”

Group of children reading

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