MFEA-78 TG - Book - Page 7
Rationale
1. Overview and Target Population
My First English Adventure is a story-based program organized around topics which
are of interest and relevance to young learners.
The program teaches English through the integration of the four domains as set
out in the Revised English Curriculum: Social Interaction, Access to Information,
Presentation and Appreciation of Language, Literature and Culture.
My First English Adventure Units 7-8 is designed for English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) learners in the Foundation Level, Stage 1 (after completing the Pre-Foundation
Level).
2. Why Stories?
My First English Adventure is a story-based program for young learners of English. The
use of “children’s literature can be an effective and enjoyable way to teach language”
(Brown, 2004). With this in mind the program was designed to include eight units,
each of which features at least one story, and often two or three. These units are all
centered on a specific topic or topics. Each unit is divided into seven or eight lessons,
enabling familiarity with both the story(ies) and the language being learned.
The stories provide an authentic contextualized framework through which vocabulary,
language patterns and chunks as well as emergent reading concepts are illustrated
and activated. The storybooks provide “a springboard for a wide variety of activities
designed to develop children’s English language skills” (Ellis, 2010). Storyteller Dvora
Shurman says (Ackerman, 1994) that “listening to stories in a second language drives
the listeners to understand a plot, rather than individual words. The puzzle pieces
easily fall into place.” As such the language that pupils are exposed to and taught in
each unit is reinforced and practiced through the stories they are listening to and
learning in each unit.
Again, according to Shurman (Ackerman, 1994) “the best way to teach is not to
impose teaching, but to allow the listener to become so involved in hearing a story that
his ‘defenses’ are no longer active. He is not bored. The listener is driven, prodded by
his curiosity, imagining what may come.” The sense of enjoyment, excitement, curiosity
and motivation will enable the young pupil to acquire language without the stress that
might accompany it, making the acquisition process smoother and less frightening.
“Storybooks are also very motivating as they exercise children’s imagination and cater
to different interests and learning styles” (Ellis, 2010).
Storytelling is a shared experience and it enables the pupils in the class to share
emotions and to acquire social skills alongside the language that they are learning (Ellis,
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