International Journal of Education, Culture and Society

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Folktales as a Valuable Rich Cultural and Linguistic Resource to Teach a Foreign Language to Young Learners

Received: 10 July 2016    Accepted: 18 July 2016    Published: 06 August 2016
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Abstract

Quite a few language teachers and educators have supported the literature-based approach in teaching both a second and foreign language. In many cases the use of stories including folktales has been observed to be most common of all types of literature in language classrooms. This article highlights the multifaceted rationale for using folktales to teach foreign languages, especially to young learners. It presents features of folktales which have the potentials to facilitate child foreign language acquisition. The article also provides implications for how folktales can be used effectively in language classrooms for young learners.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijecs.20160101.15
Published in International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 1, Issue 1, August 2016)
Page(s) 23-28
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Folktale, Children, Teaching, Foreign Language, Stories

References
[1] B. Bettelheim, The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy tales. New York: Knopf, 1976.
[2] B. C. Palmer and M. A. Brooks, “Reading until the cows come home: Figurative language and reading comprehension,” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47, pp. 370-379, 2004.
[3] B. C. Palmer, L. Sun and J. T. Leclere, “Students learn about Chinese culture through the folktale Yeh-Shen. Emphasizing figurative language interpretation,” Promising Practices, Winter volume, pp. 49-54, 2012.
[4] B. C. Palmer, V. S. Shackelford, S. C. Miller and J. T. Leclere, “Bridging two worlds: Reading comprehension, figurative language instruction, and the English-language learner,” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50, pp. 258-268, 2006.
[5] C. T. Linse, Practical English language teaching: Young learners. New York: McGraw-Hills Company, 2005.
[6] J. Gold and A. Gibson, Reading aloud to build comprehension. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/343, 2001.
[7] L. Cameron, Teaching languages to young learners. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
[8] L. L. Ramírez, “The story of Proyecto Papan-folktales and their potential for foreign language education,” Foreign Language Annals, 32, pp. 363-371, 1999.
[9] L. M. Crawford-Lange and D. Lange, “Doing the unthinkable in the second language classroom: A process for the integration of language and culture,” in Teaching for proficiency, the organizing principle, T. Higgs, Ed. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company, 1984, pp. 139-177.
[10] M. J. Worthy and J. W. Bloodgood, “Enhancing reading instruction through Cinderella tales,” The Reading Teacher, 46, pp. 290-301, 1993.
[11] P. Mckay, Assessing young language learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
[12] R. A. Kaminski, “Cinderella to rhodolphus,” in The dragon lode, pp. 31-36, 2002.
[13] R. Gholson and C-A. Stumpf, “Folklore, literature, ethnography, and second-language acquisition: Teaching culture in the ESL classroom,” TESL Canada Journal, 22, pp. 75-91, 2005.
[14] R. Isbell, J. Sobol, L. Lindauer and A. Lowrance, “The effects of storytelling and story reading on the oral language complexity and story comprehension of young children,” Early Childhood Education journal, 32, pp. 157-163, 2004.
[15] T. H. N. Pham et al., Using folk stories to teach English to young language learners. Hue, Vietnam: Hue University Press, 2015.
[16] W. A. Scott and L. H. Ytreberg, Teaching English to children. New York: Longman, 2010.
Author Information
  • English Department, Hue University of Foreign Languages, Hue City, Vietnam

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    Pham Thi Hong Nhung. (2016). Folktales as a Valuable Rich Cultural and Linguistic Resource to Teach a Foreign Language to Young Learners. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 1(1), 23-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20160101.15

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    Pham Thi Hong Nhung. Folktales as a Valuable Rich Cultural and Linguistic Resource to Teach a Foreign Language to Young Learners. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2016, 1(1), 23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20160101.15

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    AMA Style

    Pham Thi Hong Nhung. Folktales as a Valuable Rich Cultural and Linguistic Resource to Teach a Foreign Language to Young Learners. Int J Educ Cult Soc. 2016;1(1):23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20160101.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20160101.15,
      author = {Pham Thi Hong Nhung},
      title = {Folktales as a Valuable Rich Cultural and Linguistic Resource to Teach a Foreign Language to Young Learners},
      journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society},
      volume = {1},
      number = {1},
      pages = {23-28},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20160101.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20160101.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20160101.15},
      abstract = {Quite a few language teachers and educators have supported the literature-based approach in teaching both a second and foreign language. In many cases the use of stories including folktales has been observed to be most common of all types of literature in language classrooms. This article highlights the multifaceted rationale for using folktales to teach foreign languages, especially to young learners. It presents features of folktales which have the potentials to facilitate child foreign language acquisition. The article also provides implications for how folktales can be used effectively in language classrooms for young learners.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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