Using Storytelling in the Primary EFL Classroom: A Pilot Project to Promote Motivation.

Abstract

Storytelling is one of the oldest and most effective tools humans use to pass on knowledge, preserve culture and inspire moral values. In its earliest forms, storytelling was mainly oral, and it was used to better understand the world we inhabit. However, as storytelling developed over time, we can now distinguish between four main varieties of it: oral, visual, written, and digital. Nowadays, storytelling is also used in classrooms as a motivational tool. This thesis aims to describe a storytelling pilot project and a series of related activities that have been presented to a class of 13 seven-year-old pupils of a primary school in the province of Venice (Italy) in order to positively influence their motivation. These students, who study English as a foreign language, come from different parts of the world (Italy, Peru, Albania, Ukraine, and Moldavia) and have different L1 backgrounds. Some of them have behavioural problems, while others have been diagnosed with autism. This project focuses on the possible effects of storytelling on children’s motivation, and it also intends to promote the inclusive participation of all students, including those with special needs.