Storytelling Chain

Storytelling Chain 

Panna Morauszki, Gábor Szőcs, Gergő Német 

 Part 1: The Game 

Level & Learning Outcomes 
Mixed Level
This game improves listening, speaking, writing and storytelling abilities. 

Materials needed 
paper 
pen 
picture (optional, see Appendix)

Object of Game 
To get the most points for recreating the story correctly. 

Rules of Play 
1. Form a circle. 
2. The first sentence is given to the students: “Once upon a time, in a small village, nestled between rolling hills and whispering forests, there lived a young girl named Elara.” An additional picture will be shown to help creativity. 
3. Each student adds a sentence to the story (if there are not enough students, there can be more rounds). 
4. After the story is finished, the students sit down and write down the story from memory. For each sentence gotten right in meaning, they receive a point. 

Scorekeeping 
Each student writes their scores on their own paper. For each correct sentence, they receive a point. 

Part 2: Reflection 

In this game the participants needed to create a story together. We provided a starting point in the form of a sentence and a picture. The participants seemed motivated and came up with gorgeous ideas on how the story should go. They seemed to enjoy the game and the fact that the game allows them to use creative thinking. The flow of the game was smooth and it was easily understandable. All in all, the players seemed to participate in the game with joy. On the other hand, there were things that could have been done differently. The organisation of the game in the beginning and in the end, such as arrangement of the players and scorekeeping was not as smooth as the game itself. The reason for this was the lack of communication between group members from which all of us can learn an important lesson: when it comes to games, organisation is key and if there are more people involved in the organisation, the communication needs to be as clear as possible. This, however, did not hinder the process and joy of the game, in my opinion. When it comes to organisation, we should also consider whether the players know this game and know how to create a story. This problem could be eliminated with playing this game with more scaffolding, e.g. giving words to include or giving an end to the story. That way, the players learn how to make a story and later on they can do it completely on their own. Unfortunately, we did not have time to do this and maybe it would have been more beneficial to create the game with more helping points for the players. In conclusion, I would recommend this game for other teachers to play. I find this game to nurture creative thinking which can be highly beneficial in foreign language learning. It also helps develop story creating skills, as well as speaking, listening skills and last but not least the skill of working together as a group. PM

This game is a perfect choice for developing listening skills, for the mobilization of already learnt vocabulary, critical and logical thinking, as well as to actively engage students in the creative process of the game. Due to its energetic nature, students have the possibility to be an active part in the storytelling, and actively contributes to the development of short-term memory. Followed by a recalling part, it not only promotes active listening skills development, but also a focus on spelling and writing abilities.

As the students formed a circle in the classroom, which created a friendly atmosphere, they were really excited to start the story and actively participate in the process. After we started with the first sentence and provided illustration, the creative process began. The students’ vivid imagination and unforeseen creativity even made the game more exciting, and as different ideas circled in the air, students gathered each others ideas and went with the flow through constantly reflecting on each others train of thoughts, which, in my opinion, is a really nice evidence for active collaboration and a proof that creative games can better relations between students in the classroom.

However, some of the students became overexcited, and told lengthy sentences, which resulted in the fact that in the recalling part, it was more difficult both for me to write down the exact story on my laptop, and for the students as well who sometimes struggled to write down the exact sentences. Without being affected by this hardship caused by the length, and in some cases the vocabulary of the sentences, the students really enjoyed the game, and accomplished the task very well with 6 out of 10 correct sentences on average. With this part, our goal was to make conceptual links between the process of writing, listening and speaking skills. The last task was to evaluate their production and performance, as well as to reflect on the game and share their thoughts about the experience the had. We got an overall positive feedback about the game and even though we had some difficulties in the writing part, these can be prevented by instructing the students to add shorter but meaningful and relevant sentences to the story.

In conclusion, with minor modifications and more precise instructions to the students, I would definitely recommend this game for teachers who would like to elaborate on the promotion of creativity through active listening, while also giving space to students to speak and to practice spelling and writing in a joyful activity where both teachers and students can find their own ways to express themselves and deploy their talents. GN

Playing the storytelling game with my students was a delightful experience that not only entertained them but also enhanced their language skills in various aspects. The game's structure, which involved verbal storytelling followed by written recall, effectively targeted listening, speaking, and writing abilities.

At the onset, forming a circle created a sense of inclusivity and encouraged collaboration among the students. As we began with the opening sentence, "Once upon a time, in a small village, nestled between rolling hills and whispering forests, there lived a young girl named Elara," the anticipation in the air was palpable. The additional visual aid provided further inspiration, sparking the students' creativity and imagination.

Each student's turn to add a sentence to the story brought forth a diverse range of ideas and narrative twists. From magical creatures to daring adventures, the story unfolded in unexpected ways, showcasing the unique perspectives of each participant. This aspect of the game not only fostered creativity but also encouraged active listening as students built upon each other's contributions to weave a coherent narrative.

However, as the storytelling progressed, it became apparent that some students tended to elaborate excessively, resulting in lengthy sentences that made it challenging for others to remember the entire story accurately. This imbalance in sentence length disrupted the flow of the game and hindered some students from fully engaging in the storytelling process. In hindsight, setting a maximum limit of two sentences per student would have alleviated this issue, ensuring that each participant had an equal opportunity to contribute and that the story remained concise and cohesive.

Despite this minor setback, the transition to the written recall phase was seamless. The students eagerly sat down to pen down their recollections of the story, drawing upon their memory and comprehension skills to reconstruct the narrative. This exercise not only reinforced their listening and comprehension abilities but also honed their writing skills as they translated their thoughts into written form.

As the game concluded, the students tallied their scores, reflecting on their performance and the overall experience. The excitement and sense of accomplishment were evident as they compared their scores and discussed the highlights of the game. Their positive feedback reaffirmed the value of the activity in enhancing their language skills while providing an enjoyable and engaging learning experience.

In conclusion, despite the minor challenge posed by varying sentence lengths, the storytelling game proved to be an effective tool for improving listening, speaking, and writing abilities. With a few adjustments, such as setting a maximum limit on sentence length, I would wholeheartedly recommend this game to other teachers as a fun and educational activity for their students.  GS

Part 3: Appendix

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