Story as Vehicle

This book deals with story as a methodology for the development of language, particularly in situations where young children are learning English as a second or foreign language, very often in multicultural/multilingual settings. The book is mainly for primary teachers and for those who educate them, the methodology used with the children offering a basis for training. The main thrust is shown in Part 3 where the practicalities of the classroom are focused upon, whilst Parts 1 and 2 deal with issues of language, learning and teaching which affect practice. Part 4 contains implications for trainers and others in teachers' support services. The word 'story' is interpreted in the widest possible sense-the story of life and the lingualism that goes with it - especially interesting and exciting in multicultural situations. It is suggested that the motivated teacher, working from a story bank rich in all manner of tales from a variety of cultures, can produce the kind of learning environment which stimulates and carries children forward, the many different literary genres and the crosscultural experience offering more and more sets of particulars from which more and more universals of life can be gleaned. It is in this sense that a learning journey is implied and that story is seen as vehicle.