Enfoque
Introduction
Pre-service teachers usually express disaffection for reading (Aguilar Ródenas, 2020). However, they should have a solid training in literature didactics to help their students appreciate literature (Mendoza, 2004). Therefore, it is essential that pre-service teachers are aware of the importance of experienced readers to mediate learners’ learning, organize activities, select books, and systematize knowledge (Munita & Manresa, 2012; Munita, 2014). This will be very difficult if their own linguistic and literary training is not enough.
Objective
It is thus the aim of the present study to examine future teachers’ perceptions on being trained to improve their communicative and storytelling skills in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom.
Methodology
Twenty-three university students of the Learning English Using Stories subject in the Primary Education degree participated in the intervention. Throughout an academic semester, students attended different lectures where they were taught different strategies to select good storybooks to work on EFL in the primary classroom as well as strategies and techniques to become a good storyteller. Then, students were asked to select a storybook of their taste considering what they had been taught in class. The activity was divided into two stages. In stage 1, students had to tell the story in small groups (4-5 students) so that their peers could give them feedback to improve their final storytelling in front of the whole class. Considering the feedback provided by their classmates, students had to deliver the story in front of the whole class in stage 2. The rest of their classmates, using a guide provided by the teacher, had to assess their classmates’ performances. This second stage was complemented with a thin-layer gamification project (Marczewski, 2013) in which the student with the highest punctuation won extra points in their final mark.
At the end of the intervention, all students answered a questionnaire enquiring about the usefulness of the lectures as a tool to improve their storytelling skills as well as about their insights about the intervention. Furthermore, they were asked to write a reflection on whether the feedback provided by their classmates had been useful and whether they had the feeling they had learned how to deliver stories.
Results
Results showed that all the students valued the experience positively and stated that being taught about different strategies to improve their storytelling skills and having had to put them into practice at the end of the intervention helped them to be aware of the importance of using stories as a tool to teach a foreign language and, at the same time, gain confidence when delivering stories. Most of the students also emphasized the usefulness of their peers’ feedback to improve their final storytelling. The competition was also seen as a motivating part of the activity.
Discussion and conclusions
The present results show that being taught about literature didactics can contribute to the learning and consolidation of storytelling techniques and thus, improve future teachers’ communicative competence as well as enriching their literary background.
Aitor Garcés-Manzanera
Comentó el 29/09/2023 a las 11:55:25
Dear Neus and Maria Del Mar!
Your research is fascinating and provides valuable insight into the under-researched area of peer assessment in early education. I highly encourage you to continue to delve into this important topic. In my research, I have explored this in relation to higher education titles and writing in a second language, and I have found that there is a lot of research to be done. This is particularly the case for predictable variables that may affect the nature and effectiveness of the assessment process.
Best,
Aitor
Neus Frigolé Pujol
Comentó el 29/09/2023 a las 12:41:27
Dear Aitor,
Thanks a lot for your comment. I completely agree that there is still a lot to be done. We'll definitely continue exploring the effects of peer assessment.
Best,
Neus.
Anna Szczesniak
Comentó el 28/09/2023 a las 18:02:06
Congratulations on conducting a valuable study that sheds light on the importance of training future teachers in improving their communicative and storytelling skills in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. Your research demonstrates the significance of such training in enhancing their ability to effectively use stories as a teaching tool and build confidence in storytelling.
To delve deeper into your study, I have a question: Did you notice any variations in the perceptions and outcomes among the participants based on their prior linguistic and literary training or experiences? In other words, did students with a stronger background in literature or storytelling benefit differently from the intervention compared to those with limited exposure to these areas? Understanding how participants' prior knowledge and skills might have influenced their responses could provide valuable insights into tailoring such training programs.
Neus Frigolé Pujol
Comentó el 29/09/2023 a las 05:53:41
Dear Anna,
Thank you for your kind words. To be honest we didn't study the students background or previous knowledge on storytelling skills. We did ask them to write a reflection at the beginning of the course, but we have not analysed it for our study. I think it would be really interesting and it could allow us to see if their perception changes depending on their background. Thank your the suggestion.
Best,
Neus.
Isabel Jiménez Gutiérrez
Comentó el 27/09/2023 a las 16:28:21
Buenas tardes a las dos.
Solo quería agradecerles su interesante presentación. Creo que describe perfectamente la importancia de incluir actividades de lectura en la formación de los estudiantes en lengua extranjera, independientemente del idioma que se elija y del nivel educativo en el que se trabaje.
Un saludo cordial,
Isabel Jiménez Gutiérrez
Maria-del-Mar Suárez
Comentó el 27/09/2023 a las 18:47:41
Hacerlo en inglés le añade un plus de dificultad, pero sí, totalmente de acuerdo con su comentario.
Gracias.