According to Hamilton and Weiss (2005), storytelling is the oldest form of

education. People around the world have always told tales as a way of passing
down their cultural beliefs, traditions and history to future generations. Mcdrury and
Alterio (2002: 31) define storytelling as a uniquely human experience that enable us
to convey, through the language of words, aspects of ourselves and others, and the
world real or imagined, that we inhabit ".However, Storytelling literally means
reading out stories to them or just telling a story from the memory to them.
Storytelling is a skill that can be effectively directed to improve other skills, such as
writing, grammar, listening and speaking. Donald Davis, a noted storyteller, teaches
storytelling as a bridge between a childs first language which are gestures and
speech and second language which is writing. Children are great fans of stories
and love to listen to them. Storytelling technique incorporates with learning theories
such as behavioural theory, humanist theory, social learning theory and cognitive
theory. Despite

this

significant

role

in

our

human

lives, it

seems

that

storytelling rarely finds its way into classrooms. Story telling is an art that has
mental, social and educational benefits on children.

Firstly, both telling a story and listening to a well-told tale encourages pupils
to use their imaginations. Imagination is the key to creativity. Developing the
imagination can empower pupils to consider new and inventive ideas. Storytelling
allows the child to create images in his or her imagination. Visualization skills are
expanded as children form pictures in their minds. Order is brought to students
worlds through use of thinking skills. As we all know, stories have always played a
significant role in children's growth and they able to understand the world.
Storytelling is an excellent teaching technique because it evokes pupils' interest,
help pupils create vivid mental images and stories activate the thinking process. It is
a particularly good way to teach children realistic thinking, as stories can show
children how people realistically solve their problems. Stories are particularly
effective in influencing the way our children think and behave, because they like to
hear or read them over and over again. Repetition is a part of behavioural theory.
For an example, the word very has been repeated in the phrase a very very thirsty
crow. This repetition, combined with your children's imaginations and the
inestimable power of your presence, makes stories one of the best ways to influence
their thinking. Thinking skills comes under cognitive theory. When they answer the
questions regarding the story that has been read, they tend to think creatively and
critically. For instance, children will think deeply to answer the question, what did

the King crow do to drink the water? from the story The Thirsty King Crow.
Therefore, storytelling technique plays an important role in helping to stimulate
children's imagination.

When a teacher uses storytelling technique in classroom, children will tend to

practice it as well. Children begin to build self confidence in their speaking skills as a
result storytelling units. When telling and listening to a story, the learners will easily
be plunged into the plots and the scene and forget about them, which will, to a great
degree, relieve their nervousness. In fact storytelling has been shown to help young
children built oral language complexity (Isbell, Sobol, Lindauer, & Lowrance, 2004)
and may be particularly supportive for English language learners. When pupils learn
to tell stories, they learn to speak for a specific purpose, to carefully attend to an
audience, to highlight non-verbal information, to develop effective presentation skills,
and to love public speaking. Pupils fluency also can be enhanced when they read a
story repeatedly. According to Rasinski & Hoffman (2003), reading a story over and
over helps to understand, to interpret the story that has been read. Colon-vila (1997)
also commented that storytelling helps learners become more confident and
motivated to express themselves spontaneously and creatively.

Moreover, storytelling could be better for vocabulary learning. Blachowicz,

Fisher, Ogle, & Watts-Taffe, 2006, stated that when a pupil come across new words
while reading a story, he is able understand, say and act out words so that others
will understand them. Stories help in developing children's language ability. It is just
as Wright wrote, "Stories which rely so much on words, offer a major and constant
source of language experience for children" (Wright, 1995). New vocabulary can be
introduced and easily comprehended within a story context. Listeners encounter
both familiar and new language patterns through story. They learn new words or
new contexts for already familiar words. Those who regularly hear stories
subconsciously acquire familiarity with narrative patterns and begin to predict
upcoming events. Both beginning and experienced readers call on their
understanding of patterns as they tackle unfamiliar texts. So, vocabulary acquisition
can be stimulated from storytelling techniques.

The other reason to recommend storytelling in the classroom is that stories

are motivating and immensely interesting as they can best attract and capture the
attention of the audience. According to Cooter, (1991); Bla, (1998), the excitement
and drama of storytelling provide a context that holds students' attention."
Storytelling costs nothing, it is enjoyable and pleasure, and can be used anywhere
and at any time (Zabel, 1991).Storytelling techniques by teacher in classroom
nurture and encourage a sense of humour in children. It provided the learners with a
better learning environment. Interesting storytelling also offers time for relaxation
especially if the child is in the earlier stages of learning to read. With hearing a story,
the child can sit back and enjoy and there is no pressure to get things right.
Therefore, storytelling technique will be interesting if the teacher uses it in
classroom.

Then, Storytelling technique is very effective in motivating the learners

towards participation and interaction.

Funny and entertaining atmosphere

storytelling that creates in the classroom also gets the pupils to involve and even
participate actively in the lesson. A teacher of English needs to be imaginative,
creative; and telling stories in English Language Teaching can surely assist to make
the process of teaching and learning more motivating, interesting and interactive.
Storytelling techniques also increases childrens willingness to communicate
thoughts and feelings especially if the storyteller opens up discussion around the
book that they are reading. Coming together in a group allows a new world to open
up to children and provides the chance for them to share their ideas with their
friends. This in turn provokes cooperation between students, sharing, and
communication. Interaction and cooperation comes under social learning theory.
When the children work in group, they tend to interact and socialise with each other
to share ideas. Teachers will also get good response from the pupils for the
questions they are asking regarding the story that has been told. For instance, the
pupils will discuss with each other to answer the question like why the crow did
cant reach the water in the pitcher? from the story The Thirsty King Crow.
Therefore,

storytelling

technique

in

participation and interaction among pupils.

classroom

setting

encourages

active

Storytelling technique can play an important role in enriching students'

understanding across subject areas. Opening a lesson with a story may put the
students at ease and allow them to understand something concrete before going on
to the related abstract concept. Story is the best vehicle for passing on factual
information. Storytelling can change the difficult ideas into easy ones and make the
abstract language, teachable one. Historical figures and events linger in children's
minds when communicated by way of a narration. For example, The facts about how
plants and animals develop, how numbers work, or how government policy
influences history or any topic, for that matter can be incorporated into story form
and made more memorable if the listener takes the story to heart. Storytelling
technique that is being used by teachers increases knowledge and understanding of
other places, races and beliefs. Pupils get to know about various places, practices in
life, relationships. The ways of other cultures, both ancient and living, acquire
honour in story. Stories also allow children to know about their own cultural roots.
Differences between cultures and various lifestyles are introduced to children
through stories. Interesting storytelling techniques used by teachers help students
better understand and later recall information. Learning process that is being held by
storytelling techniques help the pupils to remember what have been learned through
all subjects.

Next, storytelling technique in the classroom helps pupils to develop their

moral values. Fables and parables that are being told by teachers mould pupils your
values. For example, when a teacher tells story of Jack and The Beanstalk in
classroom, moral values of bravery are being introduced to the young readers. They
learn that they must be brave to stand for what is right so that they will not stray from
what is wrong.When pupils explore the values found in the stories; pupils will learn
what is valued in a culture. Moral values are coming under humanist theory. As an
example, from the story The Thirsty King Crow, children learn that they should
have the determination to do something, so that they can always find the path or
method to do it. Pupils also come to understand how they have been shaped by
their own culture. Finally, it may help the learners to learn from others' experiences
and other's wisdom in behaving in such situation. Pupils are able to realize the
extent to which stories influence our behaviour and even shape our culture. They
are also able to think of how stories about national, cultural, or family and history
have shaped your attitudes about themselves and others. Therefore, storytelling

techniques in teaching and learning introduces pupils to cultural values and literary
tradition before they can read, write, and talk about stories by themselves.

Storytelling can be used as an effective means to increase early literacy and

promote reading comprehension skills (Haven & Ducey, 2007). Through active
engagement, storytelling as a pedagogical strategy can strengthen reading
comprehension by helping pupils develop of a sense of story (Aiex, 1988; Craig,
Hull, Haggart, & Crowder, 2001; Phillips, 1999). Having a sense of story is critical for
pupils to make sense of text and derive meaning from a story. In storytelling, the
interaction is personal, engaging, and immediate (Aiex, 1988). This enhances an
understanding of the story by providing a social context for literacy. Pupils learn the
social aspects of language through observation and participation in storytelling
(Craig et al, 2001). Pupils have the ability to watch the storyteller use intonation and
facial expressions to engage the audience (Aiex, 1988). When pupils retell stories,
they have the opportunity to further develop their skills of comprehension by relating
stories with expressions. By participating in storytelling experiences, these pupils
are able to demonstrate increased success in reading comprehension. Some
researchers have focused on the practical application of storytelling as a
pedagogical strategy to build reading comprehension. So, storytelling technique
plays an important role in increasing literacy and promoting reading comprehension
skills.

Storytelling positively impacts to improve student writing. Finding the

language to write can be a daunting task for a child (Nicolini, 1994). A mature writer
will work through difficult points in writing, but many younger children give up and
merely stop writing when they cannot think of anything to say. One benefit of using
storytelling prior to writing is that pupils are given an opportunity to develop
language about their story and get feedback from others before writers block can
set in (Houston, Goolrick, & Tate, 1991). In a response to why storytelling should be
included in the classroom, NCTE (1992) states that, pupils who search their
memories for details about an event as they are telling it orally will later find those
details easier to capture in writing. (p. 2). Orally sharing story ideas can help all
pupils develop language for writing, including special education children, second
language learners and gifted children (Sasser & Zorena, 1991; McKamey, 1991;
Houston et al., 1991). They are expected to practice other forms also, such as

persuasive writing, and essay writing (expressing a point of view). Pupils are able to
transfer their skills in narrative writing to these other more analytical forms. As a
result, learners who regularly tell stories become aware of how an audience affects
a telling, and they carry that awareness into their writing.

In conclusion, storytelling techniques in teaching and learning play an

important role in stimulating pupils imagination, self-confidence and vocabulary
acquisition. We can also conclude that storytelling techniques that is being used by
teachers is the main reason for an interesting lesson. Storytelling is not only helps
the pupils to understand the lesson easily but also develop their moral values. In
addition to improve the academic performance of pupils in the areas of reading and
writing, storytelling also has the ability to enhance the arts in education and motivate
children to connect with their learning. In pursuit of lifelong literacy, we must
remember as Eisner (1985) stated that, The enduring outcomes of education are
found in the joy of the ride, not merely arriving at the destination.We hope that
Eisners vision will be embraced as teachers find ways to implement storytelling in
the classroom and researchers. To conclude, storytelling is an effective strategy that
incorporates the aesthetic ways of knowing into instruction.