Using Storybooks as a Catalyst for Negotiating Meaning and Enhancing Speaking Among Very Young Learners of L2: Evidence from a Case Study

Abstract

It is a well known fact that oral production of very young learners of L2 in an instructed setting is very limited, and that most of the L2 teaching tends to favor comprehension over production. Unlike naturalistic learners, instructed ones lack an authentic need to communicate, which would motivate them to use L2 and stimulate their speaking skills. On the other hand, as proponents of the Output Hypothesis claim (e.g. Swain 1985, 2000), we cannot let very young instructed learners, who often start learning L2 early (ca. 3 years of age), remain silent endlessly as it is only from oral production that we can see how much language they have actually acquired. There are, of course, additional benefits of oral production, such as mastering L2 pronunciation and better retention of words. The article argues that very young learners’ oral skills can be enhanced if authenticity of meaning is provided. This can be generated by reading meaningful stories to children and letting them identify with storybook characters. With this idea in mind, the author conducted a case study in which two very young learners (aged 2;5 and 4;10) were taught L2 English by means of authentic children’s storybooks which constituted a catalyst for further language activities and the enhancement of speaking. The results of the study show that authentic storybook reading leads to successful vocabulary acquisition, as well as spontaneous oral performance, albeit limited to single words and formulaic chunks. Thus it is argued that story-based syllabuses should be introduced in teaching L2 to very young learners as they provide meaningful and memorable input for acquisition.

Appendix

Storybooks used (in the order of introduction):

Horacek, P. 2009. Choo Choo train. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Campbell, R. 1982 (2007). Dear zoo. London: Macmillan Children’s Books.

Campbell, R. 2003. I’m hungry. London: Macmillan Children’s Books.

Rosen. M. and K. Waldron. 2010. Tiny little fly. London: Walker Books

Haughton, C. 2011. A bit lost. London: Walker Books.

Saunders, K. 2010. Little fish. London: Caterpillar Books.

Lillegard, D. 1991. In a box. London: Faber and Faber.

Carle, E. 2008. A very hungry caterpillar. London: Penguin Books.

Martin, B. 2010. Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? New York: Henry Holt

Cabrera, J. 2010. Ten in the bed. London: Gullane Children’s Books.