How does analysing characters, setting and plot

elements in Chinese and Mexican folktales promote

cultural awareness, self-esteem and ESL/Literacy

development in the classroom environment?

Sandy MadeiraJudy SaddEDUC 553October, 2011

Outline for Presentation• Personal Reason for

choice of Topic• Professional reasons for

choice of topic• Definitions• What is a Folktale?

– Types of Folktales– Literary Elements of a

folktale• Folktales & Language

Learning

• China• Iraq• Self-esteem• Self-esteem Research• Cultural Awareness• Case study discussions

– Yeh-Shen– The Golden Sandal

• Summary• Classroom Uses

Personal Choices for Research Topic

• Judy– My preference for teaching any lesson is to

incorporate a good book or story – therefore using folktales to incorporate cultural awareness us a natural selection for me.

Personal Choices for Research Topic

• Sandy:– Some of my fondest memories are of my mother

reading fairy tales to me. • We had a well-used copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales that

she would read from.

– Fairy tales are still some of my favorite stories.• When I read a fairy tale I feel it in my heart. I always

have a copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales in my classroom and my home.

Professional Reasons for Choice of Topic

• Folktales are a way of connecting with all students in the classroom.

• Every culture has folktales which have been passed down, so it is something all students can participate in.

• Students of all ages enjoy folktales.• Academic activities revolving around a folktale

can be adapted for all ages and ability levels.

Research Reason for Choosing Folktales

• “…about 99 percent of teaching is making students feel interested in the material.”

-Noam Chomsky, Language and Problems of Knowing Quoted in Langer de Ramirez

Although it is ages old, it is up to date with current ELT methodology and theory. (Pedersen, 1993)

Definitions

• Folklore – “the traditional stories, customs, and habits of a particular community or nation” (Sinclair, 2005, p. 268).

• Folktales: a traditional story or legend handed down from generation to generation usually by oral retelling.

Types of Folktales (Olson, 2010).

• Cautionary tales• Trickster tales• Proverbs • Riddles• Morality tales

• Fairy tales• Romantic tales• Magical tales• Humorous tales• Religious tales (Olson,

2010).

What is a folktale?

• Traditional story attempts to explain or understand the world.

• Orally passed down through the generations.• Feature morals or lessons– Mirror the values and culture of the society where

they originated. • No identified author. • Originally written for adults– now enjoyed by nearly everyone.

Literary Elements of a Folktale

• Setting – – Usually takes place long ago – no specific time period.– No distinct place – dependent on the culture. and are.

• Characters– Usually a hero or heroine who exhibits goodness or wisdom.– Usually an antagonist or villain who exhibits evil qualities or

attempts to trick the protagonist.– Talking animals and mythical creatures.

• Plot –– Usually revolves around a moral or lesson.– Events lead up a final triumph for the hero & heroine and a

comeuppance for the villain or trickster.

Folktales & Language Learning• Students are most successful when:

– • reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking develop in an integrated manner (Au, 1998, quoted in Watts– Taffe and Truscott, 2000);

– • language and thought are socially constructed (Vygotsky, 1987 quoted in Watts– Taffee and Truscott, 2000);

– language learning proceeds best when children use language for meaningful purposes (Au, 1998, quoted in Watts– Taffee and Truscott, 2000);

– • what constitutes meaningful language use is influenced by an individual’s prior experience, culture, motivation, and goals (Delpit, 1995 quoted in Watts– Taffee and Truscott, 2000);

– • language learning proceeds best when children are encouraged to take risks, experiment, and make mistakes (Wells, 1986 quoted in Watts– Taffe and Truscott, 2000)

– • modeling and scaffolding are critical to successful language learning (Roehler & Cantlon, 1997; Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976 quoted in Watts – Taffe and Truscott, 2000).

Folktales in the ClassroomDiscussions by Pedersen, (1993)

• Listeners Experience a connection with the past and their culture.

• Provide insight into human behavior – make connections with their own experiences.

• Personalizes and enriches the language.• Numerous affective benefits for social and

emotional development. • Direct expression of a literary and cultural

heritage (Pederson, 1993).

Folktales in the classroomDiscussions by Pedersen, (1993)

• Fosters understanding and acceptance of the foreign language and culture.– Make connections between cultures

• Their usage complements current language teaching methodology and theory.

• It forms a bond between students and teacher and between the students as a group.

Folktales in the classroom

Discussion by Pedersen, (1993)

• Although it is ages old, it is up to date with current ELT methodology and theory.

• Stories, speech and songs are basic to the communicative approach, favoring fluency over accuracy, and real language over edited English.

• A cultural content-based ESL or EFL program would be incomplete without folklore.

China

ChinaCommunist

Party of China4 stars – the 4 classes of people in China

-Workers-Peasants

-Petty bourgensies-Patriotic Capitalists

The color red is usually associated with communism

The color gold symbolizes the yellow race of the Chinese nation

Chinese Symbolism

• An emphasis on Chinese symbol and meaning permeates the daily life of the Chinese person.

• Although there are many Chinese symbols they all concern the few basic things: to live a long and healthy life, to attain high rank and achieve great wealth, to have children - usually sons.

Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism

• the parasol: protection from suffering, high rank, royalty• 2 golden fish: good fortune, fertility• conch shell: awakening brings from ignorance• lotus blossom: white – mental and spiritual purity red – compassion and

love, • banner of victory – victory over passion, fear of death, pride and lust ..

victory of knowledge over ignorance and evil• vase – long life and prosperity• dharma wheel – 8 spokes, eightfold path, endless cycle of birth, death

and rebirth. Path toward spiritual enlightenment • eternal knot – wisdom , long life, eternal love, interconnection, infinite

knowledge of Buddha

8 Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism

4 noble truths of Buddhism• Dukkha – the first noble truth explains that

suffering exists. • Tanha - there is a cause for suffering which is the

attachment to desires or cravings. • Nirvana - informs you that there is an end to

suffering if you let go of your desires and free yourself from attachment.

• The eight fold path – shows you the way to end suffering. Follow these guidelines for living everyday life. These values are : right understanding, right thought, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

Iraq

(Iraq. CIAFactbook.com, 2011)

Iraq• 97% Muslim – official religion

– >3% Christian – Culture is heavily influenced by Islam– Heavily identify with Arab culture– 60 – 65% Shia– 32 – 37% Sunni– No separation of church & state

• Literacy – 74% country-wide– Males 84%– Females 64%

• School Life Expectancy– 11 years for males– 8 years for females(Iraq, CIAFACTBOOK.com, 2011)

Iraq• Cultural customs heavily influenced by the

teachings of Islam– Women take a secondary role.– Segregated in the mosques for prayer– Traditional dinners • Men often eat separate from the women• Women hold no positions of power in Islam

Iraq• Marriage customs – Traditional – Arranged by the parents• Not appropriate for the man to pursue the woman

without the permission of their families• Couple will not meet until just before the wedding,

although they may know the identify of each other.• Often she is not given a choice

– Henna party – bride’s hands, feet are hennaed• Groom’s palm and little finger will also be hennaed• Bride’s mother will henna the groom• Groom’s mother will henna the bride

Factors

• Self-esteem - Self esteem is the acceptance, respect, confidence and satisfaction that you have in yourself as a person. It is based on an internal image of ourselves that we have , consciously and subconsciously (Valencia, 206 – 2-10).

• Cultural Awareness - Understanding of the differences between themselves and people from other countries or other backgrounds, especially differences in attitudes and values.http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/cultural%20awareness

Self esteem

• “In order for students to fully engage their innate capacity to acquire language within an input-rich environment, they should ideally be relaxed, motivated, and self-confident.”(Clyne, p. 2)

• “Bolstering students’ self-esteem by showing a willingness to work non-judgmentally to help them develop better communicative capacities in English could help increase their motivation and achievement.” (Clyne p. 3)

Self-esteem

• “The early school years are associated with the most influential stage for the development of self-esteem.”(Rubio, 2007, p. 7).

• “In school, students are constantly evaluating their competence in classroom tasks and performances. Accordingly, self-efficacy, which is the perception people have about their competence, is fostered mainly in schools.” (Rubio, 2007, p. 8).

Self-esteem• Dr Stanley Coopersmith (1967: 4-5), defined self-

esteem as: …a personal judgement of worthiness that is expressed in attitudes that the individual holdstowards himself, …and indicates the extent to which the individual believes in himself to becapable, significant and worthy.

• Research has shown that a student who feels good about himself is more likely to succeed. Holly (1987) compiled a summary of many studies and pointed out that most indicated that self-esteem is the result rather than the cause of academic achievement.

Self-Esteem research in ESL classrooms

• - Heyde (1977) examined the relationship between self-esteem and oral production in ESL performers at the University of Michigan. In her pilot study involving fifteen subjects, she found a high correlation between global self-esteem and teacher ratings of oral production (global self-esteem is defined as the individual's evaluation of his own worth) (Krashen, 1981, p. 14).

- Oller, Hudson, and Liu (1977) conclude that "the more positive a subject's self-concept, the higher the subject's achievement in ESL (Krashen, 1981, p. 14).

Carlson’s 8 respects in which children’s understanding of the world is increased through

traditional literature

• Cultural traditions of early humanity• Interrelatedness of different types of stories• Cultural diffusion• Appreciation for culture and art• Factual information• Different languages and dialects• Stimulation for creative drama, writing, artistic

expression• Realize people all over the world have inherent

goodness, mercy, courage and industry (Smith, 2006, p 70).

The Cinderella's

• Case studies based on – Yeh-Shen A Chinese Cinderella (Ling, 192)

– “The Little Red Fish and the golden Clog”• The Golden Sandal)

• To understand a story you must understand the culture.

• Word of caution – choosing a story

Yeh-Shen• Setting

• Characters

• Plot

• Youtube CBS Story Break• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ou0Wy4ucjs

• Landscapes – respect for nature

• Traditional Dress• Tiny Slippers• Relationships• Golden fish

• Suffering• Good versus evil

The Little Red Fish and The Golden Clog

The Golden Sandal• Setting

• Characters

• Plot

• Architecture– Landscape – nature– Henna party

• The Red fish• Traditional dress

– Step-mother– Groom’s mother searches

for Cinderella• Suffering• Revenge & retribution

Summary

“Through the characters on the page, children are able to live out their worst fears and their fondest wishes. Valuable life lessons are conveyed through the stories which children readily absorb in a non-threatening and even enjoyable context” -Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment quoted in Langer de Ramirez, n.d. p. 5)

Folktales in the

Classroom

-“The use of literature designed for children in the target culture allows learners of the target language to share cultural experiences and attitudes in a very direct way…” Curtain and Pesola

Languages and Children, Making the Match

“…the great power of the story is that it engages us affectively as well as requiring our cognitive attention; we learn the content of the story while we are emotionally engaged by its characters or

events.” - Kieran Egan, Teaching as

Storytelling

Incorporates Cognitive tasks,language skills, and learning strategies.

Can be used and enjoyed for all age and learning levels for a variety of purposes. (

Language,

the arts and culture intersect to form a

powerful , yet entertaining instructional tool for the classroom.

Folktales in the Classroom

• Folktale Story Structure– Reading

• Literary elements• Grammar• Listening• Speaking• Writing• Research

• Cultural elements– History– Geography

• Humanities– Arts– Drama

References• Baldwin, Jackie and Dudding, Kate. (2007) Storytelling in Schools. Retrieved from

www.storytellinginschools.org.• • Baynham, Mike (1986). Bilingual folk stories in the ESL classroom. ELT Journal, 40(2), 113 - 120.

Retrieved from http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/40/2/113.abstract • • Buddhism (n.d.). Chinese Philosophy. Retrieved September 24, 2011, from

http://www.chinaorbit.com/china-culture/chinese- philosophy/buddhism-buddist-buddha-china.htm

• • China’s Flag (n.d.). Retrieved on October 2, 2011, from Enchanted Learning :

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/asia/china/flag.shtml• • Chinese Symbols and Art Motifs (n.d.) Retrieved September 24, 2011 from http://www.chinesepaintings.

com• Clutter, Ann W. and Nieto, Ruben, D. (n.d.) Understanding the Hispanic Culture. Ohio State University

Fact Sheet. HYG-5237-00 Retrieved September 24, 2011 from http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5237.html

• Clyne, Sandra. (n.d.). Psychological Factors in Second Language Acquisition: Why Your International Students are Sudando La Gota Gorda (Sweating Buckets). Retrieved October 2, 2011 from http://www.bhcc.mass.edu/PDFs/TFOT_PsychFcators2ndLang.pdf

References Cont.

Cultural Awareness (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2011 fromhttp://dicitonary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/cultural%20awareness

• Folktale. (n.d.) Retrieved on September 24, 2011 from Library.thnkquest.org.

• Hickox, Rebecca (1998). The Golden Sandal. Holiday House: New York

• History of China (n.d.). Retrieved on October 2, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_China#1949_to_Present.

• • Iraq (2011) CIA Fact Book. Retrieved October 2, 2011 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/geos/iz.html

• Krashen, Stephen D. (1981). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

• Langer de , Dr. Lori (n.d.) Folktales, Fables and Fun. ESL & World Language Dept., Herricks Public Schools. The Language and Culture of Stories. Retrieved October 1, 2011 from www.miscositas.com/Folktales.ppt

• • Louie, Ai-Ling retold by (1982). Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story form China. Puffin Books: New York• • Olson, Amy. “Breaking Through Cultural Barriers: Using Latin American Folktales in Literacy and Library

Programming. (2010) Bilingual Literacy-Based Programming with Amy Olson. Morpho Literacy. Retrieved from http://morpholiteracy.com/2010/05/26/breaking-through- cultural-barriers- using-latin-american-folktales-in-literacy-and-library-programming/

References Cont..

• • Pedersen, E. Martin (1993). Folklore in ESL/EFL Curriculum Materials. Atlanta GA: Annual Meeting of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other

Languages. (ED 372 629)

• Pedersen, E. Martin (1995). Storytelling and the Art of Teaching. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs forum 33(1). Retrieved from http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol33/no1/P2.htm

• Rubio, Fernando. (2007). Self-Esteem and Foreign Language Learning. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholar Publishing. Pp. xi + 205 DOI: 10.1017/S0272263109090081

• Sinclair, John. Ed. In Chf. (2005) Colins Cobuild Student’s Dictionary. Haeper Collins: Glasglow.

• Smith, Jane; Wiese, Patricia (2006). Authenticating children’s literature: raising cultural awareness with an inquiry-based project in a teacher education course. Teacher Education Quarterly: pp. 69 – 87. ISSN: 0737-5328.

• • Suwannee County Schools (n.d.). Strategies for Involving LEP Students in the Mainstream Classroom. P. 19 – 36. Retrieved October 2,

2011 from: http://www.google.com/search?q=strategies+for+involving+LEP+students+in+teh+mainstream+classroom&ie=utf- 8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

• • Taxel, Joel (2007). Reading multicultural children's literature: Response, resistance, and reflection. Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive

Scholarship and Pedagogy. 17:2,pp. 106-116.

• “the Little Red Fish and the Golden Clog (2003) From F & F #45 May 2003. Retrieved from http://www.petecastle.co.uk/fandf/stories/7story.htm

• Watts-Taffe, Susan and Truscott, Diane M. (2000) Using What We Know about Language and Literacy Development for ESL Students in the Mainstream Classroom. Language Arts:

• Valencia, Carla (2006 – 2010). What is Self-Esteem. Self Esteem Awareness Practical Information about Self Esteem to feel good and happier . Retrieved from October 4, 2011 http://www.selfesteemawareness.com/What-is-selfesteem.htm

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