Christmas Eve Story By Anja Prentić, Ph.D. student, Belgrade University, Elementary school ''Knez Sima Marković'' Reflections on SEETA Storytelling for Young Learners Closed Course
Key words: storytelling, online course, SEETA, young learners
Introduction This article is inspired by an engaging experience I had as a participant in one of SEETA's closed courses. This opportunity provided by ELTA has given me a chance to enrol in a colourful intercultural exchange of teaching ideas and experiences, as well as my personal advancement in the area of storytelling. This SEETA online course titled Storytelling for Young Learners was hosted by Zhivka Ilieva, a teacher trainer, an expert on teaching Young Learners and the President of BETA Bulgaria. In the period of a couple of weeks, the participants were able to learn and share their thoughts on the given activities, taking part in forums. The aim of this article is to inspire other teachers to enrol in any similar projects by presenting the course and my reflections on it. I have also included my final project, the Christmas Eve story, as my personal contribution to storytelling practice. The paper discusses the activities and stages of course, accompanied by my personal thoughts and ideas. Storytelling for Young Learners Stage 1 Introduction to the course The host presented the participants with the course outline and the required tasks as the first stage of the course. Introducing storytelling in language teaching, she underlined some of the elements which are significant for teaching young learners, such as a relation to caretaker talk, motivation, child's attitude, nonverbal communication, adaptability, aiding language acquisition, etc. She also listed a number of relevant resources, enabling further research.
Stage 2 Adapting stories for young learners In this stage, the participants were asked to answer four questions related to the topic. They were also presented with some useful tips for adapting stories including choice of grammar, vocabulary, sentence structures and indirect/direct speech as well as tips for avoiding oversimplification. A fruitful conversation in the forum resulted in getting the participants to share the challenges they encounter in their professional practice. Stage 3 More techniques for adapting texts The host once again shared some most useful resources on the topic and started another enjoyable conversation. Stage 4 My favourite stories This is the stage that I personally found extremely useful and motivating. The host shared her two favourite stories, explaining how she adapted and used them in class. One of the stories, The Cat and the Mouse, inspired me to start writing my own story immediately, based on it. Stage 5 Your favourite stories By choosing their favourite stories, explaining the reasons of their choice and the ways of adapting them, the participants not only shared their opinions, but they managed to create a rich collection of resources and teaching ideas. This stage was particularly significant as a step toward completing the final task of creating stories. Stage 6 Choosing and creating stories Sharing her expertise, the host addressed the main principles of choosing and creating stories concerning topics and language choices. Stage 7 Creating your own story The aim of this stage was presenting and discussing the participants' stories as the final task and the crown of their efforts during the course. The presented stories were adapted to the needs of the students they were aimed for and they displayed the undoubted creativity and engagement of their authors.
Stage 8 What will I take from this course to my classroom The final forum discussion included the participants' reflections on the course and its contribution to their personal teaching development. They praised the efforts of the host, expressing hope for more projects such as this one. My story Instead of a conclusion, I would like to present the Christmas Eve story, as a product of my personal engagement inspired by this course. The text is accompanied by a few pictures that are included in a PowerPoint presentation I've created as a means of visualization. I hope that the experiences shared in this article will motivate other teachers to enhance their storytelling practice and encourage them to create their own stories.
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, a boy did not have any cookies for Santa. So he sat in his sleigh and went to his grandma's house. On his way he sang: Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh.... He came to his grandma's house and said "Please, grandma, give me some cookies for Santa." “No," says grandma, “I’ll not give you cookies for Santa, till you go to the Christmas tree, and bring me a Christmas ball.” So he sat in his sleigh and went to the Christmas tree. On his way he sang: Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh....
He came to the Christmas tree and said "Please, Christmas tree, give me a Christmas ball, so I may give grandma the Christmas ball, so grandma may give me some cookies for Santa." “No," says the Christmas tree, “I’ll not give you the Christmas ball, till you go to the Snowman and bring me a Christmas star.” So he sat in his sleigh and went to the Snowman. On his way he sang: Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh....
He came to the Snowman and said "Please, Snowman, give me a Christmas star, so I may give the Christmas tree the Christmas star, so the Christmas tree may give me a Christmas ball, so I may give grandma the Christmas ball, so grandma may give me some cookies for Santa." “No," says the Snowman, “I’ll not give you the Christmas star, till you go to the Reindeer and bring me a candy cane.” So he sat in his sleigh and went to the Reindeer. On his way he sang: Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh.... He came to the Reindeer and said "Please, Reindeer, give me a candy cane, so I may give the Snowman the candy cane, so the Snowman may give me a Christmas star, so I may give the Christmas tree the Christmas star, so the Christmas tree may give me a Christmas ball, so I may give grandma the Christmas ball, so grandma may give me some cookies for Santa." “No," says the Reindeer, “I’ll not give you the candy cane, till you go to the Snow Queen and bring me a snowflake.” So he sat in his sleigh and went to the Snow Queen. On his way he sang:
Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh.... He came to the Snow Queen and said "Please, Snow Queen, give me a snowflake, so I may give the Reindeer the snowflake, so the Reindeer may give me a candy cane, so I may give the Snowman the candy cane so the Snowman may give me a Christmas star, so I may give the Christmas tree the Christmas star, so the Christmas tree may give me a Christmas ball, so I may give grandma the Christmas ball, so grandma may give me some cookies for Santa." "Yes" said the Snow Queen "I will give you a snowflake, and I wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year"
Then the Snow Queen gave the boy a snowflake for the Reindeer, the Reindeer gave the boy the candy cane for the Snowman, the Snowman gave the boy the Christmas star for the Christmas tree, the Christmas tree gave the boy the Christmas ball for grandma, grandma gave the boy the cookies for Santa and Santa gave the boy many, many presents.
by Anja Prentić
**** Anja Prentić has graduated from the University of Belgrade as a teacher of English, and after completing her master's degree, she has started her journey towards her doctoral thesis. Having worked in a Secondary School in Barajevo for two years has widened her experience as a language teacher and a researcher and has shaped her teaching philosophy. Currently, she is working in the Elementary school ''Knez Sima Markovic'' in Barajevo and is broadening her perspectives on teaching young learners. Fields of her interest include inclusive education, drama in language teaching, young learners, and humanistic approach in education. Contact information: Anja Prentić, anja89@krstarica.com