AJ5415 Storytelling
for Young Learners
Kateřina Tomková, 2060@mail.muni.cz
Block 1
Saturday, March 5, 2022

Our schedule today
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•0800-1000   Intro to Storytelling
•1000-1030   Coffee break & 1st research task
•1030-1200   Interactive block
•1200-1230   Lunch break & 2nd research task
•1230-1330   Summary, conclusion
•1330-1350   Individual / group consultations
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Current wartime narrative



Resources
•All in the course‘s site in the IS:
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•- this presentation
•- Rowling speech with gaps
•- Tomková Segmental pronunciation of English
•- Tomková Suprasegmental pronunciation of English
•- Tomková The best videos for teaching English pronunciation
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Storytelling as a
basic human need
•Salman Rushdie Teaches Storytelling and Writing | Official Trailer | MasterClass – YouTube
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History of Storytelling



Storytelling
since times immemorial


The world‘s greatest storytellers
•Homer, Virgil, Aesop
•Bocaccio, Dante
•Chaucer
•Shakespeare
•Němcová
•Čapek
•Tolkien, Lewis, Pratchett
•Sheherazad
•Orson Welles
•William Golding, Ernest Hemingway, the Grimms, Andersen, Hrubín…
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The same or different?



Storytelling today
•In business: brands sharing their messages in ways that engage audiences and drive them to take a
desired action (like making a purchase, calling a sales person, downloading or subscribing to
content, etc.).
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•In politics: Political narrative as a term used in the humanities and political sciences the way
in which storytelling can shape fact and impact on understandings of reality.
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•In teaching: Storytelling is the oldest form of teaching. It bonded the early human communities,
giving children the answers to the biggest questions of creation, life, and the afterlife. Stories
define us, shape us, control us, and make us. Not every human culture in the world is literate, but
every single culture tells stories. =Failure stories are the best=
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•In law: ‘Liar Liar‘
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Storytelling for children
•Vital for developing their imagination
•Important for their spatial and time awareness
•Crucial for developing their passive language sensitivity and active speaking skills
•Integral for family/community bonding and solidarity among generations
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•Instrumental  in shaping their view of the world (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)

Storytelling for children
in foreign language teaching


Kinds of narratives
•Rhymes and songs=memorised formats
•(Budulinek, Father Abraham)
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•Fairy-tales
•Simple real-life stories (Meurig)
•Family/community legends (Roots)
•Urban legends (Mammoth‘s trap)
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Coffee break 10-10:30
•Individual research task:
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•     How to speak to children about war?

Interactive block 10:30-12
•Results of research discussed in groups and breakout rooms
•Back in the main session: secondary presentations of research results
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Discussion outcomes 1
•Michal: no opportunity; honesty; asked
•Jone: thoughtfulness; no downplaying
•Eva Č.:  assist. Judge; tact to Russ.
•Carmen: kids=canvas; prevent xenophobia
•Lucie F.: avoidance, insightful, Putin=%x%x
•Jason: feelings; talk+explain; influence
•Eva H.: be sensitive; Q+A; correct
•Marta: graphical representation (geography
•                                                       etc.)

Discussion outcomes 2
•Martin: ignorance=fear=suffering; taboo+
•Jonande: tolerance of different opinions

Lunch break 12:05-12:35
•From the Guardian 3 Jul 2015:
It’s a wrap: the working lunch – plus recipes from Britain's favourite quick lunch chains
Sandwich, sushi or macaroni cheese? Lunch can be the biggest decision of your working day. Plus how
to recreate the nation’s favourite takeaway lunches at home, from an M&S wrap to a Boots sandwich


Working lunch illos

Discussion outcomes 3
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•Lucie L.: exp. as au-pair - moderation
•Petra: weigh info+previous knowledge
•Jan: the 3-armed teacher; dilute but not
•                          trivialise
•Josh: listening; no forcing; civil behaviour
•Eva D.: attention diversion; harvesting
•       https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WZkflTtgAjGgtNTisT60UQoU1NDecxY_OSCrv7aDPRY/edit#
•       https://www.centrumlocika.cz/novinky/jak-mluvit-s-detmi-o-valce
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•Lucie H.: knowledge, thought, consideration

Discussion outcomes 4
•Jitka: shielding
•Marie: Montessori – full age-appr. truth
•Nina: ways to help
•Míla: caring, helping actively; diff. ages

Homework
•Make a 2-5+minute recording about how storytelling can be implemented in your daily
personal/professional life. Upload it in the File Vault (Poskytovna) by April 25.
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•Before the next block on April 30, listen to your peers‘ recordings and be ready to discuss them
in class. For inspiration, go to Spring 2021 File Vault.

I am now free for individual /group consultations
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•Peace with you!