Oral storytelling is a practice that is found across cultures and has existed for an exceptionally long time (National Geographic, 2020). Oral storytelling entails sharing a story through using voice and gestures, rather than through written words on a page. Types of oral stories include myths, legends, and fables (National Geographic, 2020). Oral storytelling is an entertaining and accessible practice that, with training and preparation, can be easily implemented in classroom settings. Furthermore, oral storytelling has clear benefits for children’s learning and socioemotional development, as well as for creating culturally responsive classrooms through integrating children’s home cultural practices.
Oral storytelling provides children with the opportunity to exercise and strengthen a range of skills that are vital for their learning (Agosto, 2013). For example, oral storytelling gives children the chance to exercise creativity. Children are encouraged to use their imagination and come up with their own ideas about what might happen next in the story. Moreover, in being exposed to different forms of storytelling other than traditional classroom book reading, children come to realize that there is really no right or wrong way to tell a story. Oral storytelling also has been found to be beneficial for children’s early literacy skills and language development. Specifically, children who were exposed to oral storytelling in the classroom were found to have improved reading comprehension and writing skills (Agosto, 2013; Melzi et al., 2018). Other important skills that are enforced through oral storytelling include critical thinking skills, active participation, engagement in learning, and narrative thinking (Agosto, 2013).
Beyond the benefits for children’s learning, oral storytelling also supports children’s social and emotional development (Hibbin, 2016). Through oral storytelling, children represent and understand themselves by identifying with characters or parts of the story. Children also come to better understand others through oral stories as they empathize with the characters. Oral stories also have been found to be beneficial for children’s self-regulation as is demonstrated through their focus and engagement during these stories (Isbell et al., 2004). Children have even been found to be less distracted when listening to an oral story than when listening to a story that is being read from text (Isbell et al., 2004). Other social and emotional skills that oral storytelling strengthens involve self-confidence and working collaboratively with others.
Finally, the cultural inclusivity of oral storytelling plays another key role in what makes this practice so important. Utilizing oral stories can be particularly effective in classrooms serving culturally and linguistically diverse children for whom oral storytelling is a common home and cultural practice (Gardner‐Neblett et al., 2012; Sánchez, 2009). Therefore, oral storytelling can build on the strengths that these communities already have, which facilitate learning for those children. Additionally, because oral stories are fundamental in conveying cultural beliefs and lived experiences in African heritage and Latine/x communities, children and their parents alike can feel that their experiences are being valued and integrated into the child’s schooling. The wide array of topics that oral stories cover also allows children to be exposed to not only their culture but the culture of those around them (National Geographic, 2020).
All of these benefits that oral storytelling has to offer highlight its undeniable importance. The educational, socioemotional, and cultural benefits are especially vital for young children’s development. As such, oral storytelling is a valuable tool to incorporate in everyday classroom practice.
Stefanie Osorio is a senior in the Applied Psychology program at New York University.
References
Agosto, D. E. (2013). If I had three wishes: The educational and social/emotional benefits of oral storytelling. Storytelling, Self, Society, 9(1), 53-76. https://doi.org/10.13110/storselfsoci.9.1.0053
Gardner-Neblett, N., Pungello, E. P., & Iruka, I. U. (2012). Oral narrative skills: Implications for the reading development of African American children. Child Development Perspectives, 6(3), 218-224. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00225.x
Hibbin, R. (2016). The psychosocial benefits of oral storytelling in school: Developing identity and empathy through narrative. Pastoral Care in Education, 34(4), 218-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2016.1225315
Isbell, R., Sobol, J., Lindauer, L., & Lowrance, A. (2004). The effects of storytelling and story reading on the oral language complexity and story comprehension of young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 157-163. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ECEJ.0000048967.94189.a3
Melzi, G., Schick, A., & Scarola, L. (2018). Building bridges between home and school for Latinx families of preschool children. Occasional Paper Series, 2018(39), 1-10. https://educate.bankstreet.edu/occasional-paper-series/vol2018/iss39/10
National Geographic. (2020). Storytelling and cultural traditions. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/storytelling-and-cultural-traditions/12th-grade
Sánchez, C. (2009). Learning about students’ culture and language through family stories elicited by dichos. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(2), 161-169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-009-0331-2