How can I use 'story' to teach English?

02/09/23 • 29 min

Wherever you are in the world, and whatever your context, story will almost certainly be an important part of the teaching and learning context. However, what is meant by the word’ story’ may differ from place to place, ranging from the type of traditional tale found in coursebooks, to oral narratives created by students themselves, to digital creations found online. To develop our understanding of these different contexts we first speak to Jamie Keddie, an expert in the way we can use different forms of ‘story’ to teach English. His passion and knowledge of the subject will be sure to stimulate your own classroom practice. After this, we visit the Oasis Centre in Cardiff to learn more about their novel approach to using storytelling to develop their students’ English language skills.

Download the show notes, activity booklet and transcript in Arabic or English.

Download the show notes, activity booklet and transcript in Arabic or English.

Previous Episode

What is the difference between academic English and general English?

Just the phrase ‘academic English’ can sometimes make students – and teachers - feel nervous and afraid. In this episode, in the company of Tracey Costley from the University of Essex, we show that academic English doesn’t have to be quite as scary as it sounds, and that academic English can actually be accessible for everyone.

In the field report, we find out about a fantastic initiative between the University of Leicester and the University of Leeds for refugee-background students, who receive online support to develop their academic English skills so that they can access degree programmes at UK universities.

Download the show notes, activity booklet and transcript in English and Arabic

Next Episode

Why and how should we teach English in crisis and emergency situations?

Many parts of the world are currently experiencing significant levels of violence and conflict. The role of education and language learning in these areas is very important, and can provide short and long term benefits for people in these situations. This episode is released on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and in recognition of this our field report focuses on a British Council programme entitled “Teaching and Learning in Difficult Times”. This programme has, to date, provided training in trauma-sensitive pedagogy to more than 1,000 Ukrainian English language teachers. In our interview, we talk to Diana Abu Zayed, a teacher in Gaza in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who shares with us some of her practical experiences of teaching in a conflict area.

Download the show notes, transcript in Arabic and English, and activity booklet