Abstract

 
 
 This study reports on a whole-school project carried out with preschool and primary children, taking a whole-language approach to literacy development, through a storytelling methodology which uses authentic picturebooks and peer modelling. This article presents the results of an exploratory mixed methods study conducted over a three-year period with the older (10-12-year-old) participants in the project (N=27). Within an action research framework, data was collected from field notes of classroom observations, video recorded sessions, questionnaires and interviews with students and teachers. The study aims to assess the motivational effect of the storytelling project on learners, identify the learning outcomes generated and identify strategies that were particularly effective in generating such outcomes. Through a process-oriented approach, the findings verify the motivational effect of the storytelling project. These findings also help bridge the gap between theory and practice in motivational research and contribute to the growing body of literature on the use of authentic picturebooks in the L2 classroom and the potential benefits of peer modelling.
 
 
Highlights
Within a whole language approach to literacy development (Galda, Liang, & Cullinan, 2016; Martinez & McGee, 2000), reading is not regarded as a separate skill to be developed once the basics of the language have been acquired; instead, it is conceived as a critical part of the language learning process itself
This paper reports on a whole-‐school project that connected literacy development with foreign language learning by aligning L3 learning with strategies already found to be effective in promoting learning and development in L1 and L2
This article contributes to previous work considering reading within a whole-‐language approach to literacy development (Galda et al, 2016; Martinez & McGee, 2000), paying attention to the motivational aspect of the experience within the context of foreign language learning (Ellis, 2000)
Summary
Within a whole language approach to literacy development (Galda, Liang, & Cullinan, 2016; Martinez & McGee, 2000), reading is not regarded as a separate skill to be developed once the basics of the language have been acquired; instead, it is conceived as a critical part of the language learning process itself. Authentic children’s literature can provide a rich starting point for interactive storytelling sessions by engaging children’s interest on the one hand and encouraging emerging literacy skills on the other (Brand, 2006; Campbell, 2001; Martinez & McGee, 2000). This paper reports on a whole-‐school project that connected literacy development with foreign language learning by aligning L3 learning with strategies already found to be effective in promoting learning and development in L1 and L2. In line with curricular guidelines, students begin to learn English as a foreign language, referred to here as L3 (Departament d’Ensenyament, 2015a)
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