1.1 Story

1.1.1 Definition of “story”

Referring to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary (2009: 1991), story is a). a description of events and people that the writer or speaker has invented in order to entertain people; b). an account, often spoken, of what happened to sb. or of how sth. happened; c). an account of past events or of how sth. was developed; d). a report in a newspaper, magazine or news broadcast; e). the series of events in a book, film/ movie, play, etc.; f). something that sb. says which is not true. Labov's (1967) has a classical definition of “story”, which is a story is a system in which some experience is passed on through verbal description. This experience is reconstructed by uttering sentences in a certain order, from a beginning to a middle to an end, in the attitudinal perspective of the narrator. Polanyi (1985: 123) stresses that the story is told to make a point and to give some kind of message. (Kainan, 1995). The stories in this paper can be those adapted from textbook, such as PEP English books, and also can be ones that exist already, like picture books, video stories. besides, stories can be someone’s life experience, events that created by people’s imagination, reports of someone’s life, especially some celebrities, and past events of a country, etc.

1.1.2 Resources of “story”

In English classes in public schools, students can read, recite, dub and act stories from their PEP books in Part C “Story Time” of each unit. In addition, they can also read and retell stories offered by their English teachers. Stories have lots of forms. According to the content, stories can be pided into epic stories, fairy tales, fables, science fiction, religious stories, dramas and so on. Stories read by students can be from class, including those in English books and those provided by English teachers, and also can be out of class----students get stories by themselves, maybe from bookstore, library or the internet. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and instilling moral values.

1.1.3 Functions of “story”

According to Ye (2011: 58), the benefits that English stories can bring to students in their English learning vary in the following aspects: firstly, stories can help students cultivate good sense of language, which is an essential and fundamental element in learning the language well. Secondly, stories may benefit students in their learning of English words and sentence structures. And furthermore they can use them in daily communication. When listening to a story or telling a story, students will encounter plenty of new words and sentences. They can know their meanings through the contexture and may use them unwittingly in communication. Thirdly, stories assist students in developing their imagination. Some stories have open-endings. If given some guidance and advice, students can show their excellent and potential imagination and creativity, the effect of which is far more than what stories themselves can give them. Learning is most effective when it takes place in social environments that provide authentic social cues about how knowledge is to be applied. Stories function as a tool to pass on knowledge in a social context.

1.2 Story telling

1.2.1 Definition of “story telling”

Story telling is the conveying of events in words, images, and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment (Shepard, 1996; Mokhtar, N., Halim, M. &Kamarulzaman, S., 2011). Wikipedia describes that stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and instilling moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and narrative point of view. The term “storytelling” is used in a narrow sense to refer specifically to oral storytelling and also in a looser sense to refer to techniques used in other media to unfold or disclose the narrative of a story. Storytelling, as defined here, is a means of sharing and interpreting experience or events or imagination verbally. It can also be an approach for English teachers to teach students to learn English as well.