The Art of Storytelling
Storytelling is an ancient art form, derived from times when writing did not yet exist when tales, legends and myths were passed down by the word of mouth.
It is in essence a form of human expression; an interactive exchange between the storyteller and listeners, using words and actions to invoke images in the listeners’ imagination.
At the recent storytelling week, Scholar Base child enrichment centre exposed children aged 7-15 to the benefits of storytelling.
Turning The Tables Around
Think of storytelling and you’ll picture an adult telling young children some make-believe stories about some faraway places.
This puts the children on the receiving end of the activity. Most children would enjoy listening to stories. As interesting as this may be, would they be able to take on a more active role and tell the story instead?
With this in mind, Scholar Base turned the tables around and put the children in charge of their own imaginative world of adventure, allowing them to enjoy the following major benefits of storytelling.
A – Storytelling As A Form Of Expression
- Storytelling allows children to share their stories and tell it through their eyes with their own personalities and in a fun way. Instead of passively listening to stories being told, they now have free rein to spin the stories according to their desires.
- It also opens up the children’s minds to new worlds of colorful and limitless possibilities, setting free the gold mine residing within them.
- Storytelling becomes a tool that helps children access their inner world of imagination which mold them with problem solving and critical thinking skills.
B – Storytelling Instills Confidence
While it may seem terrifying for shy and introverted Malaysian children to stand in front of a crowd and tell a story, with the correct guidance and encouragement they are able to push through the initial nervousness.
- It allows them to develop confidence in themselves knowing that they are able to achieve great things when they put their minds to it.
- The applause they receive is both rewarding and affirming, attesting to their ability to innovate. This helps them enjoy reading and writing even more and lays the ground work for good public speaking.
C -Storytelling Improves Language Skills
- Storytelling engages the children’s mind and helps them develop structures as well as flows between sentences, strengthening their language skills.
- Children learn from adapting their stories and develop a better foundation for communication with well enunciated words and good articulation.
- Those who participate in narrative stories “create a path to more sophisticated use of language, reading and writing in their everyday lives”, setting them up for better command of the language.
A Tale of Scholar Base
Every child at Scholar Base child enrichment centre gets to participate in a school wide storytelling event during the summer. The children were accustomed to presenting on stage and were not nervous. Instead they had fun sharing their creative stories and had a great time.