Sample Outline for Research “Storytelling in Improving Speaking in ESL Students” Efi Dyah Indrawati Course: Academic Writing Date: July 5, 2008 Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. Hamka Jakarta Storytelling in Improving Speaking in ESL Students Thesis Statement The most effective way to improve speaking ability in ESL students is storytelling. Outline Factors that makes children cannot develop their speaking abilities four factors (3 from a study, 1 from own observation) Reasons of using storytelling in relation to the discouraging factors three reasons and advantages of using storytelling (including previous studies and my remarks) How to make the effective storytelling the characteristics of effective storytelling Conclusion: summary of main points final thought  Storytelling in Improving Speaking in ESL Students Speaking is one of the four English skills that need to be developed in mastering English. A study shows that there are many ways or activities can be implemented in classroom to improve students’ speaking ability, ranging from discussion, role play, simulations, information gap, brainstorming, storytelling, interviews, story completion, reporting, playing cards, picture narrating, and picture describing (Kayi 2000). Among the previously mentioned, the most effective way to improve speaking ability in ESL students is storytelling. To prove this thesis, we first need to analyze factors that make children unable to develop their speaking ability. Then, an analysis of the reasons using storytelling will relate it to the discouraging factors previously mentioned. In addition, the characteristics of excellent storytelling will show how effective storytelling to improve student’s speaking skill is. It should be first understood what factors that limit students, especially children, to improve their speaking ability. There are several factors taken from various researchers and also from my observation on my oral English classes from elementary to college students. The first factor is student’s worries or fright to make mistakes. Zhu (2003) in Jianing (2007) states that the chance of speaking English can be blocked by “fear of losing face” (Jianing 2007). This is true in Asian cultures like Chinese and Indonesian that winning face is of great importance. To them, making mistakes is shameful; if a student makes mistakes, he or she will be a laughing stock. Therefore, to avoid it, students tend to speak less. In the opinion of Jianing (2007), there is a “’vicious circle’: the less students speak, the less they improve their speaking skills, and the more they are afraid of speaking.” Another factor is uninteresting topics for learners. Jianing (2007) states that practical topics and situation given by teachers limit student’s creation and imagination. In fact, Indonesian teachers usually ask their students to introduce their families or schools, and talk about their hobbies or favorite food, places to visit, or sports. The problem with that kind of instruction is that we cannot expect other people to be interested in our personal hobbies and interests, and that usually students are trapped to speak details that people have already known in common. In a speaking classroom where all students are talking about similar things, the less-attentive audience will be sure to happen. Consequently, student will speak just to fulfill his or her task, no involvement with audience nor enjoyment in performing speech, as Jianing (2007) said, “The job is just a job”. Besides those two factors mentioned above, the negative feedback of listeners also influence strongly in students’ speaking performance (Jianing 2007). Although a student performs confidently at the beginning of speaking, he or she can speed up or cut their speaking to rush back to his/her own seat when the listeners do not pay attention to him/her. When the audience loses interest in the speakers, they tend to talk to each other or to show impatience to the speaker. In my speaking class for elementary students, I always force the class to listen carefully. This enforcement cannot be applied to my higher classes, for example in the State College of Accountancy (STAN) Jakarta; I will just instruct the speaker to use attention-getter before speaking and offer a different, interesting story. The last factor according to my class observation is students’ limited vocabulary. Vocabulary indeed has crucial contribution in school’s performance and also informal and formal speaking and writing (Smith 1995). Mostly my students admit that their poor range of vocabulary is the major problem in speaking. Usually, students got the idea in Indonesian, and they found it difficult to express it in English. Although it is just sound like an excuse, it is true that when a student cannot find the right and the appropriate words in English, they will be reluctant to speak and therefore their skills are less improving. The next consideration to put forward is the reasons of using storytelling in teaching speaking for ESL students. It is generally known that stories are always interesting and fascinating for people of all ages, especially young learners and children. That will be the primary reason of using storytelling in ESL speaking classes. The second consideration for recommending stories is the abundant amount of stories, which make them accessible everywhere: bookstores, libraries, and the Internet. In addition, many researchers have already reported the same idea about this reason (Zable 1999 in Jianing 2007, McWilliams 1998). Therefore, the unlimited amount of stories will benefit both teachers and students to find sources to read to tell, and it is piteous for not using stories for ESL classes. The third reason of using storytelling is student will feel no fear of being ashamed in making mistakes. This is due to the fact that correction is not really necessary during storytelling because it will interrupt the flow of story or communication. During the activity, teachers can take notes about the comments and feedback given after the storyteller finishes the task. And the fourth reason is that storytelling is a powerful medium to create a lively classroom atmosphere that can encourage student’s participation. As revealed by Raines and Isbel (1999), storytelling is an omnipotent medium that “aspire action, foster cultural appreciation, expand children’s knowledge, or provide sheer enjoyment.” In my speaking class for elementary students of SDN Pondok Kacang Timur, Pondok Aren Tangerang, I observed that students could be very much absorbed in the story that they became relax and lightened up, and therefore they forgot their nervousness in English speaking class. I noticed clearly that stories could encourage my students to comment and interact with the storyteller actively. Indeed, Colon-vila (1997) in Jianing (2007) emphasized that storytelling helps ESL students to be more self-confident to express themselves spontaneously and creatively. Aside from the four reasons above, I assert that storytelling can be easily done with or without media. Long before media entertained us, storytelling was a common amusement. It is an ancient art (Forest 2006), and thousands of stories have been created and passed down through generations for centuries. Moreover, most English teachers know that words of mouth are practically effective to improve speaking, so it is a pity not to use them in oral classes. The use of media in storytelling in fact gives more entertainment effect of the delivery, which eventually makes the students enjoy the class activity. The final rationale is then how to make the effective use of storytelling in improving children’s English speaking. The answer is by providing pre-eminent storytelling for our students. There are several characteristics of an excellent storytelling: easy-to-follow plot, use of repetition, interactive delivery, humorous and interesting content, and happy ending and clear conclusion (Raines & Isbell 1999). A simple sequence of story will definitely easy to understand by young listeners, especially when the storyteller repeats the words and phrases at several different times. Also, an action-packed presentation will stimulates comment and responses from children. Especially noteworthy is the use of amusement, such as hilarious, comical style and funny gags. And lastly, an exciting and clear ending will never confuse young learners and eminently build their better understanding of the story. In summary, some negative factors that deter children from speaking can be resoluted by using storytelling, since it is compelling and captivating, very plentiful, and very encouraging for involvement and participation. In addition, young children enjoy a predictable story with repetitions, humor, and active interaction in the presentation. One remark that I need to put here is that an effective storytelling involves the collaboration of three important parts: the story, the teller, and the listener. Therefore, to make an effective use of a story, teacher’s intervention is crucial, so that the oral class runs lively and interactively, and eventually it will improve student’s speaking ability. Bibliography Forest, Heather. 2006. Using Storytelling to Assess Listening and Speaking Skills. http://www.storyarts.org (accessed June 12, 2008) Jianing, Xu. 2007. Storytelling in the EFL Speaking Classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol.XIII No.11, November 2007. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Jianing-Storytelling.html. (accessed June 12, 2008) Kayi, Hayriye. 2006. Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol.XII No.11, November 2006. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Kayi-Teaching Speaking.html. (accessed April 4, 2008) McWilliams, Barry. 1998. Effective Storytelling: A Manual for Beginners. htpp://eldrbarry@eldrbarry.net (accessed June 12, 2008) Neufelt, Victoria, ed., and David B. Guralnik, ed. 1989. 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