Why storytelling is important for learners

In a nutshell, storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and imagery of a story while encouraging the listener’s imagination.

In other words, storytelling involves a two-way interaction between a storyteller and one or more listeners. In this case, the listeners’ responses influence the telling or narration of the story.

In fact, storytelling emerges from the interaction and cooperative, coordinated efforts of the teller and the audience.

However, storytelling does not create an imaginary barrier between the narrator and the listeners. This is part of what distinguishes storytelling from forms of theatre that use an imaginary “fourth wall.”

More often than not, different cultures and situations create different expectations for the exact roles of a storyteller and listener, who speak how often and when, therefore creating different forms of interaction.

The interactive nature of storytelling partially accounts for its immediacy and impact. At its best, storytelling can directly and tightly connect the teller or narrator and the audience.

Storytelling benefits not only the listeners but also the storyteller. The act of storytelling encourages active listening, builds analytical skills, and increases retention and comprehension. Literacy skills are greatly enhanced. You cannot tell a story without being engaged physically, mentally, and emotionally. Organisation, sequencing skills, and creative thinking are all required. This article shares the importance of storytelling for listeners and tellers.

             History of Storytelling

Storytelling is a tradition that has survived for centuries and evolved since ancient times. The oral tradition has a long history of passing on stories, giving us entertainment and a record of disappeared cultures.

However, linguistics and historians alike argue that the importance of storytelling spans human history, and more often than not, sharing a story aloud is similar to reading aloud.

            Benefits of Storytelling

Today, as in the past, when storytelling occurs, familiar language patterns are passed along, and new language patterns are learned and adopted into the common patterns of speech. When people tell stories, the narrator is given the chance to think and reflect as the story develops.

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Under such circumstances, narrators and audience often relate the story being told to their own lives and experiences. They can then consider connections between the story’s theme and their own lives.

It is this opportunity for reflection that reveals the importance of storytelling, offering the chance for both narrators and listeners to grow in emotional intelligence, empathy, and understanding of a larger world.

          Success for Weak Readers and Writers

Storytelling, like other forms of art, allows children who may not feel competent when reading or writing to excel through an art form that combines other language skills and expressive arts.

Indeed, telling a story allows students to use skills of memory, attention, details, and oration. Reading and writing are highly valued, but creating, listening, remembering, understanding and repeating are equally valuable, especially for differentiated learning.

               Communication Skills

The importance of storytelling is also reflected in myriad storytelling skills. When students tell a story, they are using a wide range of communication strategies and artistic skills.

In creating a story, they apply knowledge of language structure and conventions, conduct research, participate in reflective, creative, and critical thinking, and use spoken, written, and visual language.

The artistry of language, used in specific order to communicate a story and purpose, brings beauty and order to the learning process among students.

Under such a situation, storytellers use skills and processes to create a narrative linked to real or imagined events in a clear sequence. This synthesis of skills basically results in a product that entertains and informs.

               Creating a Classroom Community

Storytelling can also positively impact the classroom community, since stories are an effective means of communication, especially when engaging the audience is one’s priority.

There are immediate connections that occur between the storyteller and the audience when a story is told or retold. The narrator shares a story to which they have given much thought, and the audience becomes engaged in a shared experience that is quite different from hearing a story read aloud.

In the recent past, research findings have proven that “when one person tells a story and the other actively listens, their brains actually begin to synchronise”.

Stories can be used as powerful vehicles to communicate multiple perspectives and to share cultural values. Everyone has a story to tell, and sharing stories provides an effective vehicle for giving voice to both the teacher and the students.

The act of sharing stories builds community, strengthens appreciation for one another, and allows many perspectives to be heard. In essence, the story form appeals to the human connections that we have and encourages deeper consideration than a non-fiction format or data analysis could offer.

However, when students tell their stories, it is their moment to have their voice heard and responded to. In this case, stories provide a powerful platform to address issues such as bullying, racism, and biases in society.

By hearing the voices of others, students build cultural bridges and are allowed to share their personal stories. Indeed, this shared experience can be powerful and insightful. Multiple insights and points of view can be heard in a safe and respectful environment when students are able to tell their own stories and listen to others’ personal stories.

The importance of building a strong and trusting classroom community cannot be underestimated or wished away. Through storytelling, a solid and dynamic team is created, and the possibilities for successful teaching and curriculum delivery increase dramatically.

When people are engaged in any of the performing arts, such as storytelling, drama, music, or dance, there is potential to have a mutual influence on one another both emotionally and physically. That is why storytelling is described as the entrainment of oral communication.

In practical terms, the classroom community that develops from shared stories is one that will move together and work in synchronized coordination within the community.Storytelling is beneficial for the narrator, who is given the chance to use creative and analytical skills to share a story. Storytelling benefits the listener by allowing them to listen to a story unfold, to hear a new perspective, and to see the world through new lenses.

That is, both the narrator and the audience are given the chance to grow together in community as shared experiences and observations blend with new ideas and fresh perspectives in a well-told story, meaning the importance of storytelling for both the storyteller and the listener cannot be underestimated.

By Ben Oroko

The Writer is a communications Practitioner and Correspondent  Based in Kisii.

Benoroko2000@yahoo.com