Using Folktales for Language Teaching

Folktales in general are part of folk literature, which is more widely referred to as folklore. Simply put, a folktale is a traditional story that has been passed on by words of mouth before writing systems were developed. Folktales typically include distinctive linguistic and structural features, s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe English Teacher Vol. 44; no. 2; p. 74
Main Author Lwin, Soe Marlar
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Seri Kembangan Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA) 01.08.2015
Subjects
Audiences
Childrens Literature
Childrens picture books
Competition
Creativity
Cultural Awareness
English (Second Language)
English Instruction
English Language Learners
Folk Culture
Folklore
Grammar
Language
Language Skills
Linguistics
Novels
Oral Language
Pedagogy
Second Languages
Skills
Story Grammar
Structural Analysis (Linguistics)
Structural Analysis (Science)
Tales
Teaching
Writing Instruction
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Summary:Folktales in general are part of folk literature, which is more widely referred to as folklore. Simply put, a folktale is a traditional story that has been passed on by words of mouth before writing systems were developed. Folktales typically include distinctive linguistic and structural features, such as novel words, onomatopoetic sounds and repeated or paralleled phonological or grammatical patterns that create interesting rhythms. Various studies have been conducted on folktales from cultural-historical, philological-literary, sociological and psychological aspects, reflecting the wide-ranging and multidisciplinary interest in them. However, in the field of language teaching, the richness and potential of folktales seems to have been under-utilized in today's language classes. In this paper, I will draw on a linguistic and structural analysis of folktales, and argue that there are certain major benefits in using folktales for teaching English as a foreign or second language (EFL/ESL). In particular, I will discuss the ways in which folktales can be useful for facilitating EFL/ESL learners in their understanding of the importance of language form to achieve specific communicative purposes, and also for enhancing their cross-cultural awareness.
ISSN:0128-7729