Using Storytelling: From EFL Teachers’ Perceptions to Young Learners’ Reading Performance

Abstract

The query on how to teach young learners to succeed in their English learning has been somehow under-explored. Just a few studies investigated the usefulness of the storytelling (ST) technique on English as a foreign language (EFL) young learners’ (YLs) in the Vietnamese context. Consequently, this study attempts to examine (1) EFL teachers’ perceptions of the contributions of ST, (2) YLs’ attitudes towards the effects of ST on their reading performance, and (3) the impacts of ST on YLs’ reading performance (RP). The study followed a mixed-methods design, using a questionnaire, interviews and reading tests to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. First, a survey was administered to 38 EFL teachers who have taught YLs for more than five years. The experimental study recruited 43 YLs who were divided into two groups, 21 YLs in two control groups and 22 others in two experimental ones. Six YLs in the experimental groups were invited to partake in the interviews, and 43 YLs took the reading pre-test and post-test. The results showed that the teacher participants positively perceived the potentials of ST. The YLs interviewees showed their positive attitudes towards the effects of ST on their RP. The test results indicated the significant impacts of the technique on the YLs’ RP. Pedagogical implications and suggestions were presented at the end of the paper.