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Learning English with Stories!
The concept of globalization, which makes it almost mandatory for everyone to learn English, entered the agenda of the world public opinion in the early 1990s. In addition, this globalization process, which is based on learning a foreign language, has accelerated with the spread of the internet and digitalization in the early 2000s. At that time, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the USA remaining as the world’s only superpower, the concept of one world entered the literature. Therefore, there will naturally be only one type of citizen in a single world who has a single language. In this regard, the language of this type of citizen who believes in liberal democracy and defends freedoms will naturally be English. You agree that when globalization is mentioned in the world, learning English comes to mind. This is where the subject of learning English with stories comes into play.
Really, let’s admit the fact sincerely that it is not possible to find a good job or get a good education without knowing and speaking English well. Or we should be aware of the importance of knowing English and foreign languages in order to increase our living standards. After emphasizing the importance of this subject as usual, it is time to touch upon the importance of stories and news while learning English 🙂 The reason why we emphasize stories and news separately is that children care more about stories while middle and older age groups attach more importance to news.
Children like Stories:)
In other words, it would be much more efficient to achieve this by relying on the power of stories rather than teaching boring and grammar rules to a primary or high school student. Telling stories will mean processing grammatical rules into the primary school student’s subconscious without being aware of it. Especially if this story is about a subject that interests those students or that they like, right? 🙂 Generally we know that children like stories and their parents do like news.
According to researches, people learn faster between the ages of 2 and 6. If we also use the power of stories at this age, it is possible to accelerate the learning process. It sounds good to think that children who learn fast also learn with things they love.
Power of Stories in English
In line with these facts, we should say that recent researches also conducted by international research organizations proves that people learn every subject more easily through stories. Additionally, the method of learning through stories, which develops imagination and facilitates learning, is gradually being added to the modern education systems of countries. In this context, we have all heard that jobs paying thousands of dollars to employees with high storytelling power are becoming more common globally.
Furthermore, in some schools, letters, reading and writing are taught together with stories, starting from kindergarten. At this point, it should be noted that the studies and applications carried out so far prove the power of this method. If we consider that children’s imagination has no limits and their desire to learn about the subject they are curious about, the power of stories will become more meaningful.
If we have cleared up your hesitations about believing in the power of stories, it is time to use this power effectively in learning a foreign language 🙂 First of all, we have to admit that we cannot make much progress with boring vocabulary memorization or grammar workbooks. Because it is obvious that when people do not have fun and show interest, their learning process slows down considerably. At this point, virtual English teachers and zoom English lessons which have become easier to access in the digital world, come to help. We no longer need to travel miles to learn something. In this context, there are many new generation English teachers and instructors who use the power of words in the English learning phase.
Effortless Stories Style
In this regard, the most important example we will give you is A.J. Hoge who has been using stories on grammar and English speaking practices for almost 20 years. A.J., who developed the English learning system using stories covering different subjects with the Effortless English system he founded is an important representative of this movement.
He offers its users different sections of each subject in English with comments and stories in its system. He, also teaches English to those who listen to his attractive stories about the different words and grammatical structures he sprinkles into his stories.
Learn English with News!
After stating that children and young people are more willing to learn a foreign language through stories, now it is the turn of parents 🙂 Let us state from the beginning that we cannot reject that there may be some parents who are willing to learn through stories just like their children. However, according to research, parents need news that interests them more than stories when it comes to learning English. In other words, learning English through news will help people who are trying to learn English at middle and older ages.
Think please about that which one would be easier for a football-enthusiastic adult who is trying to improve his foreign language to study boring grammar books for hours or to read an article containing interesting news about Messi’s football career? Along with this, it is clear that a person who reads a news about Ronaldo’s inspiring career story will feel a different pleasure of learning while learning English words or grammar rules subconsciously, without even realizing it. Recently, the number of resources teaching English with news in the digital world has been rapidly increasing.
Proving the success of this system and increasing adult interest in the subject will further increase the popularity of this new digital system.
English with News Advantages
In this context, if we list the advantages of learning English through news:
- It allows us to follow current news and helps us to be aware of the world and country’s agenda at all times.
- Since the news will change according to the current agenda, the English words used in the news will also change according to the current situation. In other words, the system of learning English with news will help us keep our vocabulary up to date, just like the system of learning English with stories.
- Because news generally differs according to categories, English students with different interests will definitely find and read a news that suits their interests.
- Due to fact that the news is not written in a difficult English system, those who read the news will follow it quickly and fluently and will not get bored.
Advantages of English with Stories
As we mentioned before, the human brain activates imagination when it hears stories. Thanks to his imagination, he learns much more easily. In this context, both linguists and educators have recently begun to use the power of stories more in learning foreign languages. On the other hand, let’s consider that the world is becoming increasingly global and digital. At this point, if we adapt the imagination and digital skills of the famous Gen Z to learn English, the point which we will reach will be the phenomenon of learning English through stories.
Globally, learning English through stories has gained immense popularity among children and young people and has become a new trend.
At this stage, if we list some of the advantages of learning English with stories;
- You do not need to physically attend a course. There are many free resources online that teach English through stories.
- You don’t have to memorize boring grammar rules. While listening to stories, you subconsciously learn grammatical structures without realizing it. Since stories usually take place in the past tense, you will learn Past Tense, Past Continuous and Past Perfect Tense very well and understand their logic.
- You don’t need to study English for hours. You can quit whenever you get bored and continue later. As long as you allocate consistent time, even if it’s half an hour, every day. – Stories support your imagination as well as teaching English. So, as long as you continue to learn English consistently through stories, your imagination will strengthen and expand.
Final Advice to Learners
To sum up, finally; all the people who speak English will be advantageous in today’s world where global competition and the movement of workforce between countries is increasing. In line with this fact, speaking a foreign language will put you ahead in terms of studying abroad or working abroad.
Research conducted in this context shows that; Learning English with news for parents and learning English with stories for young people has very positive effects. Come on now, start learning English through stories or news and improve yourself with your imagination 😊
