Educational Value of Fairy Tales in EFL Classroom: Case Study in Oman

1. Educational Value of Fairy Tales in EFL Classroom: Case Study in Oman Victoria Tuzlukova, Christine Eltayeb Sultan Qaboos University Oman

2. Introduction • Current significance of English as a language of world communication and demand of its meaningful teaching • Importance of classroom materials in achieving excellence in foreign language pedagogy and practice • Educational values of fairy tales in English language classroom

3. Introduction • Supplement to core textbooks • Learning support • Source of more linguistic and socio-cultural models to overcome difficulties related to students’ background knowledge and meaning construction (Smith, 1988) • Source of local and target culture interactions • Students’ progress aid

4. Literatures in foreign language classroom • Source of linguistic, content, cultural and formal knowledge (Day, 1994; Al-Brashdi, 2002; Al-Ajmi, 2006; Al-Mahrooqi, 2007) • Tool for aiding students with their progress and creating meaningful learning environment (Smith, 1988) • Tool for bridging the language with the context in which it is used (Byram, 1988)

5. Literatures in foreign language classroom • Instrument for personalizing the educational process (Kay and Jones, 2000) and giving students additional opportunities to deal with a foreign language • Instrument for exposing students to new vocabulary, style, structures and experiences, and relating them to their own cultural and social context

6. Literatures in foreign language classroom • Tool for effectively engaging students in new contexts and practices • Sufficient support for the students who have a limited language learning experience and have little opportunity to practice their English language skills outside the classroom

7. Literatures in foreign language classroom: Limitations in EFL classroom in Oman • Not widely used as a supplement to core text-books • Limited use as a learning support for many social, cultural, linguistic and even logistic reasons: • Traditional language teaching and learning practices • Students’ interests and motivations • Teachers’ own language learning experiences and perceived images, aims and objectives of the courses they teach • Local culture and traditions

8. The Sultanate of Oman • Population: about 3 million • Nationality: Omani • Ethnic groups: Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African • Languages: Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects, Swahili

9. Sultan Qaboos University • Opened its doors in 1986 • Comprises 9 colleges and a number of centres • Number of students enrolled is about 15,000

10. College of Arts and Social Sciences • Medium of Education: Arabic • Academic Staff: multicultural and multilingual • Both Arabic and English are used outside the classroom

11. Materials’ Selection and Adjustment: Search Principles • Content “suitability” • Personal, academic and professional interest on the part of the student (Day, 1994) • Contributing to language learners’ experience and effective involvement in real life practices • Relating to the course objectives and structure

12. Materials’ Selection and Adjustment: Search Principles • Sensitivity to integrated skills teaching paradigm and individual learning styles • Matching with educational environment • Social and cultural sensitivity (Tuzlukova, V., Eltayeb C., 2007) • Promotion of local culture and cultural heritage and getting acquainted with other world cultures

13. Fairy Tales: Universal Truths and Local Contexts The Emperor’s New Suit By Hans Christian Anderson 1805-1875 Many years ago lived an emperor, who thought all the time about new clothes and spent all his money in order to obtain them; his only ambition was to be always well dressed. He did not care for his soldiers, and the theatre did not amuse him; the only thing, in fact, he thought anything of was to drive out and show a new suit of clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the day; and as one would say of a king “He is in his cabinet,” so one could say of him, “The emperor is in his dressing-room.” HCA.Gilead.org.il

14. Fairy Tales Project Aims • To motivate the students, most of whom are struggling with English • To arouse students’ interest and enthusiasm by the themes of the stories, which can be appreciated by all readers whatever their age and level of English • To appeal to the students' intellect

15. Fairy Tales Project Procedure • Lesson 1 • Arrange the students into groups of four, five or six according to the class size. • Introduce the students to the story by telling them they are going to read and listen to a story about an emperor who always liked to wear new clothes. • Show students real objects that illustrate some of the items in the story: patterned cloth, plain cloth, scissors, needles, thread, picture of weaver. Write these words on board along with sew, weave, swindler.

16. Fairy Tales Project Procedure • Indicate the theme by writing the words hypocrite, hypocrisy, hypocritical on the board. Ask the students if they know what any of these words mean. • Allow the students 10 minutes to skim the story and ask any questions. • Play the tape with the story and allow the students to listen and read.

17. Fairy Tales Project Procedure • After listening once the students do the True/False questions in their groups. • Check the answers to the True /False questions. Discuss reasons for answers. Discuss any ambiguities or anything they disagree on. • Allow students to listen and read again to reassure them of the answers. • Homework: Comprehension Questions B and Vocabulary C

18. Fairy Tales Project Procedure • Lesson 2 • Check homework • Students do D (Vocabulary in sentences) and F (Did you understand the story?) in class.

19. Fairy Tales Project Procedure If you have time, put the sentences from the story in order, e.g. • The emperor realizes how stupid they have all been. • A child says he cannot see anything. • The emperor sends his ministers to check on the work. They report favorably to the emperor. • Everybody says how nice the clothes are. •  The emperor gets ready for a procession and puts on the new clothes. • The swindlers pretend to weave gold and silk into cloth.

20. Fairy Tales Project Procedure • Students do E (More than one meaning) and G (Find out about the author, Hans Christian Andersen) for homework. • Students are advised to use the following websites:  • http://en.wikipedia.org • http://google.com

21. Fairy Tales Project Procedure • Lesson 3 • Check homework • Students complete the summary chart.

22. The Emperor's New SuitSummary Chart • TITLE • AUTHOR • DATE • STORY TYPE • STORY ABOUT • SETTING • TIME • CHARACTERS • EVENTS • MORAL • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10

23. Fairy Tales Project Procedure • Students can do the first eight tasks on the chart individually and then check with the teacher. • In groups students arrange the sentences on pieces of paper in the correct order according to the order the events happened in the story. • Students can then complete the events section of the chart. • They write what they think is the moral of the story. • This can be discussed first as their answers might be different.

24. Fairy Tales Project Procedure • Using their completed chart the students write a summary of the story. • Students can add any other details to the events that they think are needed. The summary should include all the items on the chart.

25. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? • A set of questions in English to find out students’ views on reading stories in English • Some students answered in English and some in Arabic • Some students were interviewed in English with Arabic if needed • Likert Scale not used. Students encouraged to describe their feelings/opinions/thoughts

26. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? Q: Do you like reading stories in English? • Yes, it makes me able to structure sentences • Yes, it helps me to broaden my knowledge • No, there is difficulty in some words which hinders me in reading • Yes, there is acquisition of information related to the curriculum which might benefit us in exams • I like reading difficult things because it challenges me • It is motivating to read because I love to read

27. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? Q: Do you like reading stories from other cultures in English? • Yes. English nowadays is the global language • Yes. It helps me understand and know about other cultures • No I don’t because my English is bad Q: Do you like reading stories from your culture in English? • Yes I do because I use from that many vocabularies

28. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? • No, because I know all the Omani stories and I want to see another stories • Yes, because I want to try to know some words in English Q: Does it help to read a story from your culture in English before you read stories from other cultures in English? • Yes, because it opens the mind • Another culture first because I learn new words and more difficult words

29. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? • Understand my culture and learn about new and difficult words • First my culture because the vocabulary is easy • Another culture first because there are more stories about other cultures in English Q: What do you think are the benefits of reading stories in English in general? • To development your culture • It gets me used to reading • To understand how people get along with one another

30. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? • To translate some words from English to Arabic to improve knowledge of English • I learn new words and can practise spelling and writing the new words. Pictures are also important. They help me to understand • For speaking and I can study another culture • It gives me new words and I learn a moral • To change your personality in English

31. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? Q: What do you think are the benefits of reading stories from your culture in English? • To keep the stories alive and let them spread to other people from different cultures. They help me to read and write English Q: What do you think are the benefits of reading stories from other cultures in English? • To get to know the differences and similarities between cultures

32. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? Q: Do you like to listen to the story first before you read it? • Yes, I like it because it is good to try to read like the person who read before • No, because I want to understand the stories myself and after that listen to it • Yes, because the listening helps me for understand the story • Listening will encourage me to read the story • Yes, to be strong in listening and speaking

33. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think? • No, I prefer to listen and read or read then listen, because you have more time to understand when you read • Read first to check what I know, then listen • Listen first because many words are difficult to pronounce • Listen first because we can understand the story before reading • Read first so you quickly understand • Listen and read to understand the words

34. Fairy Tales Project: What do our students think?

35. Conclusion If we want to achieve excellence in English language teaching, we should utilize the educational value of fairy tales which can be a learning support for our students as well as a source of linguistic, cultural and social models and also a source of local and target culture interaction.

36. QUESTIONS???