ESL587 Marian Bradshaw July 16, 2013

Why Do Stories Matter?

The ability to see our lives as stories and share those stories with others is at the core of what it means to be human. We use stories to order and make sense of our lives, to define who we are, even to construct our realities: this happened, then this happened, then this. I was, I am, I will be. We recount our dreams, narrate our days and organize our memories into stories we tell others and ourselves. As natural-born storytellers, we respond to others stories because they are deeply, intimately familiar.

John Capecci and Timothy Cage (2013) Why narratives?

Having English as a Second Language (ESL) students write their own story, a narrative of their life, or a portion of their life, is a valuable instructional tool in the ESL classroom. It is one of the most authentic forms of instruction that will help improve a variety of skills from language skills, to writing skills, to interviewing skills, to research skills. Additionally, engaging in this type of activity reveals to the students that THEIR story matters. That THEIR story is important. It affirms to them that their identity, their existence as individuals is important (Cummins, 2005). As Professor Sonia Nieto states, We always have to start with what children know. You don't stay there, but you use it as the basis for understanding the world and then moving beyond that experience and embracing other experiences. [Students] need to know that their experiences do matter. Their lives and realities, their culture, and the language that they speak are important and that these can be a good foundation for education (Nieto, 2013). But, most importantly, narratives will help students construct their own personal and cultural identity while building community in the classroom. Powerful form of instruction To begin with, having students write the story, or parts of the story, of their lives is a message to ESL students, who are often marginalized, that they matter, that what they have to say, in their own words, is important. No one else in the classroom, or in the world, has the same story as they have. They are unique. They are special. While writing and researching (formally and informally) about their lives, a variety of skills will be learned, or enhanced, during the process. Skills such as interviewing, researching, writing and language skills will either be introduced, developed, or refined, depending on the level of the ESL student. Besides skills, why is narrative writing such a powerful form of instruction? It is emotional. It touches the heart of the student, their peers, their teacher, and their family. While students are interviewing their family members about their family history, it may stir up memories of the past. Some of those memories may be painful. Others may be joyful, while others may be nostalgic. Regardless of the emotions touched, emotions will arise. Emotions are how we learn best; students learn more when they feel happy, secure, and excited about their subject matter (Darling-Hammond, 2013). When people are asked about what they remember about school, they dont remember dates, mathematical formulas, scientific theory, but activities that stirred emotions in them, like writing about themselves and their family. Emotional intelligence, which expands on Howard Gardners multiple intelligence, deals with understanding oneself and others and narrative writing is one of the best ways to understand oneself and others (Darling-Hammond, 2013).

Narrative writing is also an opportunity for students to record, most likely for the first

time, their family history in writing (Kear, 2012). Most often family history is unspoken because it is too painful, too taboo, or considered unimportant. But, once forced to complete a class assignment, a family has to confront themselves. Family members will have to recall and reconstruct events in their lives, to put the pieces together in order to get the full picture. This record would then become a part of the family history that can be passed down to future generations. For example, if an ESL student (lets call him Anh) from Vietnam is assigned to write the story of why his family came to America. He would have to talk to his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. to find out when and why the family came to America. He would have to engage with their family members and eventually construct a narrative of what happened. At the same time, he would have to research the facts behind the historic event, beyond what just happened to his family, but what happened to his whole country. This narrative could then become a permanent record in his family that would be passed down to his children, his nieces, his nephews, his grand-nephews, etc. Authentic, active learning experience Another reason why telling ones story is such an important learning experience is because it is a genuine, original learning experience. It is not a made-up assignment this is unrelated to the student. It is THE MOST meaningful and relevant topic they will ever write about themselves and their family. It is an assignment that has meaning and purpose, with a specific end result. Everyone wants to know about themselves, where they came from, why they do what they do, why they celebrate certain events, why they have certain prejudices, etc. while learning about family stories, lore, secrets, etc. And, when students take ownership of their learning when they invest their identities in learning outcomes active learning takes place (Cummins, 2005).

Develops skills

Writing personal narratives develops a number of life-long, real-life skills, including but not limited to, interviewing skills, research skills, writing skills, and, of course, language skills. Before students can even begin writing their personal narratives, they have to activate prior knowledge, i.e. they have to brainstorm what they already know about their family history. According to Cummins, activating prior knowledge is one of the first steps in the learning process (Cummins, as cited in Wink, 2012).

After an initial brainstorming, students have to interview family members; they have

to engage with them on a deep and personal level. They have to formulate salient questions to probe into the familys history. Furthermore, they have to ask follow-up questions, a skill that has to be taught and encouraged. Knowing what questions to ask and what questions to follow up with will help them to succeed to having a plethora of information from which to draw upon. It is also a skill than can be applied to other assignments.

Besides interviewing family members, students may have to, depending on the

situation and familys experience, conduct some research to find out the true, factual history accompanying their familys experience. Again, lets look at Ahn from Vietnam. He would have to research about the Vietnam War, find out when and why it occurred, who was involved, the events that happened during the war, etc. That will shape his understanding of why his family immigrated to the United States, why they remembered certain events, etc. Ahn will have to look for information in the library, in print materials such as books and magazines, but also online sources such as databases and other online resources and websites.

He will also have to paraphrase what he is reading and learning true, authentic research skills being learned by mainstream students.

Once students have completed interviews of family members and completed the research on their family history, they have to go through the whole writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading and publishing. While they are writing they would be working on their word choice, sentence fluency, organization. Throughout the process they will have to talk to the teacher and peers by discussing ideas and reviewing content for cohesiveness, word choice, voice and conventions, further developing their language skills. By the end they have to come up with one cohesive narrative (writing piece).

Throughout the entire process, students have to talk to family members, their teachers

and their peers. All this talking leads to higher learning. Social processes affect higher learning. Higher levels of cognition are expressed through language, which is developed in social processes (Vygotsky as cited in Wink, 2012). Affirms personal and cultural identity When students write their own story, their own personal narrative, they find out about where their family come from, not only geographically, but culturally and socially. Students who know that their teachers appreciate their cultural and linguistic abilities in their native language, are more academically engaged in acquiring English as an additional language (Cummins, 2005). Moreover, their sense of trust of their teacher and their peers deepen for they have had their identity affirmed. They know that their teacher and their peers understand and respects their points of views, feelings, personality and culture (Cummins as cited in Wink, 2012). Builds Community While students are writing their narratives, engaging in the writing process, exchanging ideas with each other, and sharing their final products they are learning about each other. Learning about each other not in a superficial getting to know you first weeks of school activities, but in a deep, personal, revealing way. When students share their narratives, they are opening up their hearts and souls to their peers, making themselves vulnerable in the deepest way. As a result, they cannot help but have a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other, recognizing similarities and differences between themselves and their peers. There is no stronger way to build a community of learners and friends. Conclusion

Everyone has a story to tell. Who doesnt want to tell their tale, their personal journey through this turbulent, blissful, ever-changing journey on this big blue ball we call planet earth? Every person on the face of earth has a unique, powerful story to reveal to the world. All it takes a time, patience, persistence, and coaxing to get to the heart of their story. ESL students are an overlooked population. Their stories may not be considered important or relevant, but EVERY human being deserves a voice, deserves to be heard, deserves to have their life shared and recorded. Though they may be shy, reluctant storytellers, it is important that ESL students get the opportunity reveal who they are, not only to their teacher and their classmates, but most importantly to THEMSELVES. Each time a narrative is retold, a new understanding of oneself and ones experience is viewed in a different way, which ultimately leads to a deeper understanding of oneself (Kear, 2012) and to a deeper connection with ones community.

References Annenberg Foundation (2013). Commentary: Sonia Nieto. Teaching Multicultural Literature: A Workshop for the Middle Grades. Workshop 1: Engagement and Dialogue. Retrieved July 12, 2013 from http://www.learner.org/workshops/tml/workshop1/commentary3.html Capecci, J. and Cage T. (2013) Goodreads, Inc. Retrieved July 12, 2013 from http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6905370.John_Capecci_and_Timothy_Cage Cummins, J. et al (2005, September). Affirming Identity in Multilingual Classrooms. Educational Leadership. Retrieved July 14, 2013 from http://edfs200ell.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/54560862/Cummins,%20Embracing%20ELs.pdf Darling-Hammond, L. (2013). Feelings Count: Emotions and Learning. The Learning Classroom. Retrieved July 14, 2013 from http://www.learner.org/courses/learningclassroom/support/05_emotions_learning.pdf Kear, J. (2012). Using Narrative in ESL Writing Instruction. Storify. Retrieved July 11, 2013 from http://storify.com/JohnKear/the-power-of-narrative-in-esl-writing Wink, J. (2012). Scaffolding: What, Why, How. Retrieved July 11, 2013 from http://www.joanwink.com/scheditems/TESOL2013-Scaffold-Handout.pdf Wink, J. (2013). Bilingual Basics. Retrieved July 11, 2013 from www. Joanwink.com/research/bilingulalbasics.pdf