{"id":9951,"date":"2020-08-20T08:47:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T16:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/babysparks.com\/?p=9951"},"modified":"2021-01-28T12:44:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T20:44:11","slug":"how-storytelling-supports-language-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/babysparks.com\/2020\/08\/20\/how-storytelling-supports-language-development\/","title":{"rendered":"How Storytelling Supports Language Development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9953 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/babysparks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20461a-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/babysparks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20461a-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/babysparks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20461a-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/babysparks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20461a.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Don\u2019t you love getting lost in a story? Imagining a different world and following a character\u2019s journey can be exhilarating at any age. Of course, <em>reading<\/em> a story and story<em>telling<\/em> aren\u2019t exactly the same. When you tell a story, you\u2019re actively engaging with a listener and using different tones and gestures to communicate a plot.<\/p>\n<p>Storytelling always involves a storyteller and a listener, and the whole dance revolves around language! This is a key reason why storytelling can be a useful tool to support your toddler\u2019s speech and language development. We need to use language to tell a story, and learning language <a href=\"https:\/\/babysparks.com\/2019\/02\/20\/narrative-skills-what-are-they-how-do-they-develop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>through stories<\/strong><\/a> is not only fun, but also effective!<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><em><strong>Highlights<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Research shows that storytelling with your toddler (whether it&#8217;s you or them doing the telling) is a powerful way to support language development.<\/li>\n<li>One study from East Tennessee State University found that while both reading\u00a0<em>and\u00a0<\/em>telling stories is beneficial, storytelling offers unique benefits. One important benefit is that the use of facial expressions, tones of voice, and gestures keeps children engaged, which is critical for learning.<\/li>\n<li>Storytelling is extra beneficial when it includes repetition and rhyme!<\/li>\n<li>This activity is not only a fun way for your child to learn and practice language skills, it&#8217;s also a great way to spend quality, connected time together.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Research on the Impact of Storytelling in Early Childhood<\/h2>\n<p>A number of research studies have focused on storytelling and its impact on learning. One <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/226108668_The_Effects_of_Storytelling_and_Story_Reading_on_the_Oral_Language_Complexity_and_Story_Comprehension_of_Young_Children\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>study<\/strong><\/a>, led by Rebecca T. Isbell, Ed.D. at East Tennessee State University, explored how storytelling influences language development and story comprehension in children ages 3-5 years old. Even though it looked at preschool-aged children, we see takeaways for toddlers, too!<\/p>\n<p>The children in the study were divided into two groups. Both groups were told the same 24 stories. Group A listened to the stories from a storyteller and Group B listened to the stories read aloud from a book. Afterward, researchers had the children retell the stories by following a picture book with no words. While both groups benefited from the lessons, the children in Group A (the group with the storyteller) showed a greater comprehension of language, shared stronger descriptions of characters and settings, and were better at identifying the moral of the story.<\/p>\n<p>Isbell explains that storytelling is so powerful because it\u2019s personal. A storyteller can maintain eye contact with the listener and change or adjust a story according to their audience. Even if a toddler doesn\u2019t understand a specific word, for example, the storyteller\u2019s use of gestures, vocal intonations, movements, and facial expressions can help them follow the plot. For instance, a toddler may not know the word \u201cgloomy,\u201d but when the word is expressed in a somber, sad tone within a context of a cloudy day, this helps them connect the narrative and tone to new words and phrases, which boosts the language learning process.<\/p>\n<h2>Using Storytelling to Build Language Skills<\/h2>\n<p>According to Isbell, young children benefit through active participation, so invite your toddler to be a part of storytelling, too. In addition to participation, storytelling that includes repetition and <a href=\"https:\/\/babysparks.com\/2020\/07\/31\/4-reasons-to-rhyme-with-your-child\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>rhyming<\/strong><\/a> also plays a strong role in language acquisition. She suggests including stories that have a repetitious phrase, rhyme, or sound effect that can engage your child and hold their attention.<\/p>\n<p>Need some inspiration for storytelling activities? Our BabySparks program includes storytelling activities that encourage participation and foster language development. BabySparks speech activities like <em>Picture Reading<\/em> and <em>Tell Me a Story <\/em>transform your toddler into a storyteller! Exercises like this build language and memory skills, and can help expand your toddler\u2019s vocabulary.<\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s in a toddlers\u2019 living room, a college classroom, or at a dinner party, the act of storytelling is used to teach, inspire, and connect. This is just the beginning of your child\u2019s language learning journey through stories!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Don\u2019t you love getting lost in a story? Imagining a different world and following a character\u2019s journey can be exhilarating at any age. Of course, reading a story and storytelling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[8,29,141,1687,7800,10155],"age":[2858,2859,2860,2861],"class_list":["post-9951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cognitive","category-speech","tag-language-skills","tag-language","tag-gestures","tag-toddler","tag-prosody","tag-storytelling","age-25-27-months","age-28-30-months","age-31-33-months","age-34-36-months"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.12.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["en","es"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.2 (Yoast SEO v25.2) - 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