Nirban Roy, English Teacher, PP Memorial Academy, Howrah, West Bengal, Howrah, West Bengal, and a fiction writer, describes how children respond deeply to stories because they feel real and relatable. When teachers use storytelling, lessons become clearer and more enjoyable. This method helps students stay focused and interested. It also creates a meaningful bond between teacher and learner.
Storytelling is the most impactful method of teaching as well as creating a bond with the students. We have to make use of this method to create a better rapport with them. This also has a great importance in education and to make studies effective. I am also a fiction writer, and this helps me to teach better and interact with them better also. Kolkata is a city where people have the habit of reading books, buying, sitting, and discussing them most of the time. My stories have been published in many of the prestigious Bengali publishing houses like ABP Group and Patrabharati.
I strongly believe in storytelling as an integral part of education and a powerful teaching tool. We are in an age of social media where students can get everything at their fingertips by means of visuals, short videos, and updates at regular intervals. This has resulted in reduced attention span. The research studies show that Dopamine receptors, which are the brain’s pleasure system triggered to get instant contentment. In such a scenario, teaching using a chalkboard will not create or leave any impact on the students. It is an emotional connection that is very much needed for such a bonding, and it is possible through storytelling. As students of education, when we do our B.Ed., we are taught about dopamine and its effect on the minds of students. It is a chemical that stimulates the brain’s pleasure feelings. We also know that the media, with its short videos, reels, and other details, gives an instant stimulation to the brains of the students. What we do in classrooms by teaching may be a tad boring when compared to games like PUBG, and we can focus on the importance of storytelling here.
We, teachers, can implement storytelling in our classes to attract the students’ attention; failing which, they will move away from what we teach. I feel I need to use my teaching as a tool to create curiosity in the students, trigger imagination, and then discuss the subject. To achieve this, we need to make them emotionally involved. We have a poem titled Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945, which explains the horrors of the Hiroshima bombing. If I read the poem simply, many of the students will lose interest in the first few minutes. They do not have any idea of the horror. They do not know where Hiroshima is or why we need to study the history of Japan or the bomb that affected the nation. So, by such a dull method of teaching, the students will lose their interest and will be distracted by something else. I usually start the class about Japan by asking them, “Do you watch Anime?” Many of them agree. When I continue to talk about Pokémon, Shin Chan, Maruto, and Studio Ghibli, they get excited. They start understanding that the teacher is talking about something that they are aware of and can relate to. When I ask them further if they know about Origami or sushi, and the other Japanese names they are familiar with, more of them come forward and raise their hands. After this, I start talking about Japanese concepts like Wabi Sabi, ikigai, and finding beauty in imperfection. Now, they are getting more interested in Japan. Then I turn to the emotional aspect and tell them the story of Hachiko, the dog who kept waiting for its master, who never came back. It is a story of loss, loyalty, and love, which makes them get involved emotionally in Japan. It is after all these, I start reading the poem, explaining the terrible things that happened due to the bombing in Hiroshima. This is not a dry class about a nuclear war in Japan during World War II, but about an experience to which they can relate better and know the ordeals faced by the Japanese people.
Next is to go beyond their imaginations. I have to stretch the story experience beyond the textbook. When I start reading O’ Henry’s “After 20 Years” and “The Gift of the Magi”, which are full of twists, the students are deeply absorbed in the twists. Indian students may find the language a bit tough, but the teacher can make it easy for them by using very simple language. They are amazed, which I plan to extend by building curiosity in them. I also introduce “Last Leaf” and “Jimmy Valentine”, where they find a lot of twists. They will start appreciating the style of storytelling and develop literary understanding. The teacher can also use visual aids to create more impact after reading the story to them. We can also show the clips from Lutera with Sonakshi and Ranbir Singh cast in it. I can tell them how the movie is based on the two stories, as per the Indian setting. They start relating to the story better.
Next comes clarity, as in the case of some confusing texts. Stories like Midnight Express by Alfred Noyes are horror stories and end ambiguously. The students get confused, want to know what happened in the end, about the characters, etc, and I explain to them that it is called dark fantasy. Dark fantasy is different from a horror story as dark fantasy ends, leaving the rest to the readers’ imagination. Then, to make things easy for the students to understand, I tell them Stephen King’s The Boogeyman, which explains dark fantasy better. The purpose behind this is that I do not create robots to memorize the questions and answers, and I give room for their imagination to improve.
I try to narrate to them a few anecdotes from my personal experience, which will leave a lasting impression on them. I can tell them as a student what problems I faced, fun with friends, and many such things. These things attract them very much, and they start getting connected to me. I had a student in my class who was very fragile and was often bullied by the others. He was physically, emotionally, and mentally not mature enough. Even though he knew he was weak, he did not stop competing in everything. He would try again and again to get a grip on the subject. He began to change after listening to my stories of courage and self-worth. Slowly, he changed to such an extent that he was the topper in the board exams in both 10th and 12th, and he is a successful engineer today. True stories made a lasting impression on him.
Teaching with stories
To wind up, to make students get emotionally involved is the main motive. When I read the topic, I give them a reason to get emotionally connected with the story. Then comes expanding their story world by telling more stories of the same author or of the same genre. This will make them understand better. Talking only about theories will make them bored in class, and they have a vast source of content that they can access quickly. We have to keep the attention they develop to do anything productive. Adding a few personal experiences to the class inspires them. It is our duty to make them fall in love with books. The teacher has to engage with them by telling stories and to find the students moved and involved. We have to encourage them to read books rather than get exposed to the media. We have to set examples for them by reading more. The parents also have a role in this; if they are going to be with their mobiles all the time, the students also will follow them. So parents have to cultivate the taste for reading in the students by starting with funny stories and easy-to-understand stories. We can increase the standard slowly so that they enjoy the books and improve their English language also. Parents should set examples for them by reading books to improve creativity and knowledge.
The language teachers have to keep reading all the time to keep the students involved and engaged, and tell them stories and relate lessons to actual life. Storytelling is a mindset, how to bond with the students, how to teach them, and how to make them grow. By telling stories, we can touch their hearts, create a better bond, and they listen to us better. When we teach with stories, other things will fall in place.
Bringing characters alive
These two are important while telling stories, as any teaching without facial expression will bore the students. The higher-class students have a good command of the language. Teachers have to present the stories in a simple language so that everybody can understand. The teachers have to stand up, show facial expressions, and use gestures to make the story characters come alive. Different accents can be used. The teachers should not be shy or self-conscious. The teacher should aim for the quality of education by giving quality teaching. When the teacher makes such efforts, the students will remember them for a long time. Everything comes with practice.
Guiding teen learners
When the students are in higher classes, they lose interest in many things and get hooked on social media. Parents need to monitor this, though it is difficult. So, teachers have to start engaging with students who are labelled as mischievous and naughty. They have to take control of the class by being strict initially and then becoming friendly. The teachers should explain why they are teaching this, the benefits, and I do not make them feel it is a part of the classroom experience by asking them to share personal experiences, such as stories from grandparents on ghosts, etc. Many of them would come forward to tell a story, even if they are introverted.
Digital tools can be used, and many schools do have them. Movies such as Harry Potter can be shown to them. I have shown clips of Jimmy Valentine and The Last Leaf by O’ Henry. I tell them to relate the stories to movies, and when they watch the movies, they are moved and can relate better. This is reflected in their answer papers also. They write with emotions, not just relying on reference books or notes by teachers. Digital tools do help them.
This is a summary of the talk given by the author on schoolreformer.com
Contact details
Nirban Roy
English Teacher, PP Memorial Academy, Howrah, West Bengal
Email: roynirban10@gmail.com
Mob: 9836423513