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Throughout history, every culture has told stories. Stories were not told for mere entertainment; they were told to teach moral lessons. For centuries, stories have shaped humanity, brought us together, taught us right from wrong, and they have expanded our imagination and shaped the way we think. The stories that are created in modern society are mostly told to children. During the early childhood development stage, children are very impressionable, and such stories are rapidly received by the young. Stories are an enormous part of child development as they help the child to understand him/herself, as well as others. They teach them about the ways of life and encourage them to follow their dreams, instilling hope and confidence within each child. Stories enchant children with their mysticism and magic. They often depict things not of this world, which intrigues young minds. For a young child who is learning English as a second language, this intrigue and interest is very important. These children will most likely have little interest in learning English, and therefore have no motivation to do so. It is then it is up to the teacher to find a way to motivate them, and this is where stories are come into play. If a story is being told to children, and there is an element of intrigue, but only partial comprehension, they will often do the best that they can to translate and understand the story in order to know what it is about. This will then encourage them to try read the story (and perhaps others) themselves, enhancing their reading abilities. The stories will also teach them about the English language and how it varies in different countries. The differences between American English and British English are a good example of this. Knowledge of this can then help them in the future if ever they are faced with these contextual differences. There is also an awareness and knowledge of different cultures that is introduced through story telling that can teach learners a lot about the world around them. Stories also help in the classroom environment as they can encourage the children to be more comfortable with asking the teacher and their peers questions. Stories can also spark debates and discussions, thus creating more student talk time in the classroom while also improving their speech through practice. The stories being told will help them with many different aspects of English, most notably reading, writing, speech and pronunciation. The stories will also widen the imagination of the children, allowing them to learn the language more efficiently and giving them a vast and imaginative vocabulary, which will help in all aspects of the English language. These stories could also encourage the child to try to write their own stories in English, which will then improve their writing abilities. The English language is a difficult language to learn if it is not one’s native language. However, the language is becoming more widely used around the world and it is now becoming necessary for people to learn and speak English. Learning English as young children can be easier than learning as adults because their minds are still developing, but the frequent lack of motivation that accompanies youthful language acquisition is the reason that compelling tales and storytelling are so important in teaching English to children.
