ストーリーランド：今までの話、バイリタラシの実験
政 次 カレン（子ども学科）
The Story So Far: Storyland, an Experiment in Biliteracy.
Karen Masatsugu
This paper will describe the activities at Storyland, a library of children’s books in English, books for teachers of English to children, and books for parents, established by the Department of Child Development and Education at Kwassui Women’s University in 2009. It will attempt to show the benefits the library is providing for both users of the library and Japanese students of Early Childhood Education and English who plan and carry out read-aloud events.
Key words: bilingualism, biliteracy, reading-aloud, teaching English to young learners.
Introduction
Storyland was established by the Department of Child Development and Education at Kwassui Women’s University in 2009 with the following goals: to provide access to quality, age- and level-appropriate English books and materials for parents and children to read together; to provide regular programs and periodic events to encourage shared reading and parental involvement in their children’s English literacy; to provide support for bicultural families trying to raise their children bilingually; to provide resources and training for teachers in the local community; and to provide teaching experience for students majoring in Child Development and Education and English at the university.
Using observation, survey and interview data, this paper will show which of these goals have been achieved, and the perceived benefits for both the users of the library and the university students involved in the activities. Experience preparing for activities at the library has not only given the students authentic teaching experience, but also improved their English language skills and increased their cross-cultural knowledge.
Background
There were several reasons for the establishment of Storyland. Since 2005, students and staff of the Department of Child Development and Education have held Coffee Mornings for foreigners raising children in the local area (Masatsugu 2008). One of the original aims of Coffee Morning was to establish a cooperative English playgroup or learning circle (Gillis-Furutaka 2007) in order to support and foster the children’s bilingual language development, and their literacy skills in particular. Although parents were initially enthusiastic about the idea, it proved difficult to put into practice. Two playgroups were organized by staff and students, but these were difficult to continue because of time constraints and the varied ages and ability levels of the children.
The researcher had also hoped to start a Bunko (文庫, literally translated, a “storage of literature”) or International Library, along the lines of Wordland in Gunma (Sawazaki 2007). The main aim of Bunko is to help children “retain and develop their target language skills and their interest in the culture so that they
become bilingual and bicultural adults” (Goto & Kamibeppu 2012). While a small number of English picture books were bought and are available in the Child Support and Resource Center where Coffee Mornings are held, as the space is limited and the center is often used by other staff, a separate facility was necessary to house the books.
At the same time, we were receiving many inquiries from Japanese families who wished to attend Coffee Morning. These were mostly returnee families who had spent some time in English-speaking countries and who wanted to maintain both their own and their children’s English ability. However, because of limited space and the special needs of the foreigners who attend Coffee Morning we were unable to accommodate those requests. We felt it was important for Coffee Morning to remain a place for people of similar situations to be able to openly express their feelings and problems in a safe environment. However, it was obvious that these returnee families needed a place like Coffee Morning, a place where they could spend time with other parents who would understand their experiences, as well as to maintain their children’s interest and ability in English (Goto & Kamibeppu, 2012).
A further need was identified as staff were approached by local elementary school teachers with requests for workshops and information on resources for teaching English at elementary school level. As a result of these diverse needs in 2008 we decided to establish Storyland. A grant was applied for and received from the university, and two rooms were provided in School House #12, one of the historic western buildings on the Kwassui Women’s University Higashi Yamate campus, which used to house missionaries.
Biliteracy and reading aloud at home and school
The benefits of reading aloud to children from an early age in their native language are widely known (Trelease 2001), but reading aloud is just as important if not more so for a parent trying to raise a child bilingually in Japan (Smith 1994, Beck 2013). Similarly, the use of picture books and stories in early childhood EFL situations is widely recommended in order to provide authentic, comprehensible and meaningful input (Cameron, 2001: 159; Wright 1995; Slattery & Willis, 2001). The importance of exposure to the spoken foreign language and the teacher’s vital role in providing this in the Young Learner class in an EFL context is widely accepted (Cameron, 2001; Moon, 2000; Curtain and Pesola, 1994). Cameron discusses the need for exposure to English discourse and emphasizes “the teacher’s responsibility for ensuring that children understand and can make sense of the foreign language they hear….carefully monitoring how they talk to their pupils in terms of what and how their pupils can find meaning in that talk” (Cameron, 2001: 53), while Moon points out the restricting teacher talk to examples of the language provides “a very limited range of input” (Moon, 2000; 62).
1. School House #12, former missionaries’ housing. 2. Inside Storyland, May event 2009.
Storytelling in the Young Learner classroom has the potential to provide authentic meaningful language input (Cameron, 2001; Kolswalla, 1999; Wright, 1995), providing “children a world of supported meaning that they can relate to” (Slattery & Willis, 2001: 96). Curtain and Pesola list the criteria necessary for storytelling to provide “input for children at even very early stages of language acquisition” and note that “In the best story choices, (these) repeated elements will provide language that children can later use for their own expressive purposes” (Curtain and Pesola, 1994: 116).
In Teaching Children to Read in the Second Language (Smith, 1994) which addresses English and Japanese speaking families in Japan, Smith stresses the importance of a Whole Language approach to teaching reading in English to children who can already read hiragana, suggesting that it is better to take advantage of the child’s existing higher reading skills than to focus on surface structures. In particular in a bicultural family
“signs of failure may threaten self-identity” (ibid, p.13), and Craig urges parents to make “reading aloud the basis for all you do” (ibid, p.14). Smith claims that the Whole Language approach addresses all three areas of special concern to parents of bicultural children learning to read in English in Japan: the different sound symbol correspondence, the threat of reading anxiety, and making the most of limited time. Finally Smith emphasizes the need for parents in similar situations to support each other, by sharing their experiences.
While Smith started teaching his daughter to read in English at age 6, Kamada (1995) notes the importance of teaching reading in English from a very early age, especially when English will be the minority language for a bicultural child attending Japanese school. Experimenting with different methods with her son from six months of age, Kamada found that reading is best learned “by being able to make sense of stories in books”
Kamada, 1995: 20).
In her study on teaching writing in English to bicultural children in Japan, Rankin (2010) recognizes the importance of community-based literacy groups as sources of support for bicultural families attempting to maintain their children’s minority language.
Storyland
First and foremost, Storyland was envisioned as a lending library of quality, age- and level-appropriate English books and materials for parents and children to read together, and to provide resources for teachers of English to children. Even with the accessibility provided by the internet, it is still difficult and expensive for parents in regional areas of Japan to find and choose appropriate English books for their children. Teachers also struggle to find suitable books to use in class, and resource books for themselves. The library contains both English and Japanese books about teaching English. Storyland opened in February 2009 and as of January 2012 has 1482 books, mostly new, although some have been donated by families who no longer need them. While Storyland has some graded readers and phonics-based books, the main focus is on good-quality, interesting, well-written picture books and children’s literature, including books for babies and books with no text at all. Many of the books are classic children’s picture books and literature, and are Caldecott Medal or Greenaway Medal award-winners. Storyland is open for borrowing one Saturday a month, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, and events are held twice a term, a total of fifteen so far. One workshop for teachers has also been held.
The library is free, and open to all. In order to borrow books people can become a member by registering with their name and contact details. 58 families and individuals are currently registered members. Each family or individual receives a member’s card and book bag and can borrow up to four books at one time, the books to be returned by the next open day, usually a one month period. The registration and borrowing system is all handwritten and in English.
Storyland is staffed by this teacher with administrative help from the Department of Child Development &
Education office and the university library. Events are planned and carried out by the teacher with students
from the Child Development and English Departments studying Teaching English to Children (3rd year) and Reading Activities (4th year), plus interested volunteers. On open days visitors are free to browse, read, borrow and return books, and to chat together. At events, activities are planned based around a theme, and include reading-aloud, performed stories, games and crafts.
Open Day, December 15th, 2012
Read-aloud events
The read-aloud events were conceived in order to encourage shared reading and parental involvement in children’s English literacy, and to provide experience for students majoring in Child Development and Education and English at the university. It was hoped the events would introduce parents to books they could read with their children, suggest ways to read together, and introduce activities to foster English literacy and an enjoyment of English. There was no intention to “teach” English or reading at these events, enjoying the books was the main objective, along with providing as much exposure to English as possible. It was also hoped that attendees could learn about other cultures and their customs, and that teachers of English to children could see how to use picture books as a resource.
The second main objective of the read-aloud events is to provide experience to students in the Child Development and Education Department taking classes in Multiculturalism and Teaching English to Children, and students in the English Department taking Teaching English to Children classes. Each event has a theme, with books and activities chosen and designed to relate to that theme (Table 1). The theme, books and 3. Children reading quietly. 4. Talking and reading.
6. Mothers advising a new member.
5. Grandmother and granddaughter playing with alphabet magnets.
activities are decided collaboratively by the teacher and students.
Table 1: Read-aloud event themes
Table 2 shows the content of the most recent event in November 2011.
Table 2: content of Thanksgiving event, November 24th 2012
The Little Bear kami-shibai and the Who am I? card game were both 4th year graduation projects designed and created by the student herself. There is usually one “performed” story at each event, which students decide, designing and making the materials themselves. In the list below, a single asterisk denotes a shop-bought item, a double asterisk a 4th year student graduation project. Books are read-aloud by both students and teacher.
Table 3: List of performed stories and their medium
Date Theme Date Theme
February 2009 Opening: Imagining January 2011 Snow
May 2009 Teddy Bear’s Picnic: Bears / Mother’s day May 2011 Mother’s Day / Earth Day
July 2009 I Can Do It July 2011 Luau Party
November 2009 Thanksgiving / Autumn January 2012 New Year
January 2012 Wild Things July 2012 Mother Goose
May 2010 Princess Party: Princesses / Fathers May 2012 Neverland / Colours July 2010 Pirate Party: Pirates / The Sea November 2012 Thanksgiving / Food November 2010 Autumn, shapes & colours February 2013 Dr. Seuss Party
Read-aloud activities Introduction
An Awesome Book of Thanks Thank you for me
Pat-a-cake fingerplay A Cake All For Me Little Bear “Kami shibai”
Performed Story What is Thanksgiving? Paper cup puppet theater Game Who am I? Multicultural faces card game.
Craft Hand & footprint turkey craft Social Pot-luck Thanksgivng Tea Party
Medium Story
Panel Theater Guri & Gura’s Surprise visitor Cinderella
The Chinese Zodiac *
Storytelling Apron The Old Women Who Swallowed a Fly * Phonic Fun Alphabet **
Paper Puppet Theater Fish Eyes Swimmy
Maki-e (picture scroll) The Gingerbread Man Puppet Show The Three Little Pigs Paper Cup Puppet Show What is Thanksgiving?
Research questions
After three years of activity, several questions needed to be addressed: how many people are regularly attending Storyland, who are they and why are they attending? Is Storyland fulfilling their needs? Is involvement in Storyland beneficial for students, if so, how? Are we achieving our initial goals as outlined in the introduction by providing access to English books and materials for families; providing regular literacy programs and periodic events; providing support for returnee and bicultural bilingual families; providing resources and training for teachers in the local community; providing teaching experience for students majoring in Child Development and Education and English at the university?
Data collection
Attendance and membership figures have been analyzed to find out how many people are attending Storyland open days and events, and how often. In order to assess users’ and students’ perceptions of Storyland a small scale qualitative survey was carried out during 2012. Users were surveyed either by paper questionnaire and interview at Storyland or online using Survey Monkey. Students were surveyed by paper questionnaire and interview, plus they gave feedback in oral and written form after each event. The user survey had to be adapted to fit the online format. (See Appendix for paper questionnaires). The questionnaires were in English although students were allowed to answer in Japanese if they preferred. Interviews were carried out in both English and Japanese. Further data is provided by the staff member from observation and notes taken as a participant observer.
Results
1. Attendance at Library Open Days
Initially Storyland was open for borrowing twice a month, from 1:00 to 4:00, and also after Coffee Morning, but attendance was disappointingly low (see Table 4).
Table 4: Library open day attendance, February 21 to August 22 2009.
As Table 4 shows, attendance after Coffee Morning was generally higher than on library open days, the average attendance at library open days was two or three people, and on seven out of thirteen open days no one attended. This raised the question of whether the need for Storyland was great enough to justify the time and expense required. It was decided to reduce the library open days to once a month, and from three hours to
Date Occasion # of visitors Date Occasion # of visitors
2/21 Library 2 6/6 Library 13
2/28 After Coffee Morning 3 13/6 After Coffee Morning 5
3/7 Library 0 6/20 Library 0
3/21 Library 3 7/4 Library 3
4/4 Library 0 7/18 Library 0
4/11 After Coffee Morning 13 8/1 Library 0
4/18 Library 3 8/8 After Coffee Morning 14
5/2 Library 0 8/22 Library 3
5/16 Library 0
8/8 After Coffee Morning 14
8/22 Library 3
two, to lesson the burden on the teacher. Attendance improved slightly, averaging six or seven people each time between October 2009 and March 2010, and sixteen people after the Coffee Morning in October.
The main problem seemed to be advertising and reaching our target audience of returnees and teachers of children, as well as bicultural families. Initially attendees were mostly Coffee Morning participants and their acquaintances. These attendees were very enthusiastic about Storyland, but the general public was not aware of its existence. Attendance slowly rose in early 2010 and increased dramatically from May 2010, after Storyland was featured in various media, including local radio and most effectively, in free parent-child magazines such as Wire Mama distributed in Nagasaki. A Storyland page was added to the university homepage, the alumni association disseminated information and a Storyland page was also created on Facebook. Attendance has continued to rise with the highest attendance at an open day being 27 people in November 2011, possibly because we had no November Event that year.
Between October 2011 and December 2012, an average of 15 people attended library open day each month (see Table 2). About 20 families attend regularly, of those approximately half are bicultural or returnee families. Attendance was low at the June and August open days, but this is probably due to the fact that an event was held the week before.
Table 5: Library open day attendance October 2011 to December 2012.
2. Attendance at Read-Aloud events
Attendance at events followed a similar pattern, with low attendance in the first year, rising dramatically from May 2010 (See Table 6), with the exception of the Teddy Bear’s Picnic in May 2009. Events are held twice a term, although no event was held in November 2011 because the teacher had other commitments. Average attendance has been 24 people, with the highest at 42 for the Teddy Bear’s Picnic, and 35 for both Thanksgiving in November 2011 and the Luau party in July 2011. Attendance at the most recent event in November 2012 was also high at 30. It can be argued that this sustained attendance at events shows that Storyland is popular and meeting the needs of those who attend.
Date Number of visitors
October 1st 2011 17 November 12th 2011 27 December 3rd 2011 19 January 14th 2012 15 February 4th 2012 20 March 3rd 2012 11 April 7th 2012 15 May 12th 2012 16 June 7th 2012 4 July 7th 2012 14 August 4th 2012 2 October 6th 2012 22 November 3rd 2012 15 December 15th 2012 13
Table 6: Read-Aloud Event Attendance 2009~2012
3. Attendance and membership
Although great efforts have been made to keep accurate records, particularly at events it can be difficult to make sure that everyone signs the attendance book, especially as they are required to write in English.
Overall, at least 242 people have attended Storyland. Approximately 40% attended only once, mostly people who attended an event. A further 24% have attended between two to four times. Nine of the regularly attending families have attended more than ten times, the most being 28 times. Membership, while small, has grown gradually (see Table 4).
Table 7: Rate of membership growth
(* refers to the number of member’s cards issued. One card is issued to each family or individual who registers).
Of the families, 14 are bicultural, i.e. one parent is non-Japanese. As can be seen in Table 7 while initially membership was mostly made up of bicultural families, almost 69%, by 2012 it had declined to 24% as more Japanese families joined. Two bicultural families moved away in April 2012.
Although exact figures are not known, many of the members are English teachers and several are returnee families. Many are also Kwassui graduates. Children range in age from 7 months to 16 years old although most are pre-school age or lower primary school age. Their English ability and experience varies greatly ranging from peer-level native-speaker to complete EFL beginner. The regular attendees are mostly either bicultural families, returnee families or teachers of English to children. Some of the returnee children have lived in English-speaking countries and attended pre-school or primary school in those countries. Most of the bicultural children were born and are being brought up in Japan, with occasional visits to their English- speaking parent’s country of origin. They attend Japanese pre-schools and primary schools. In one family (P11 in the data) the eldest daughter attended primary school in Japan, junior high in the United States and is now at public senior high school in Japan, while her younger brothers attended pre-school and primary school in the United States and are now in public primary school in Japan. The two older children are literate in English
Date Theme Attendance
(children) Date Theme Attendance
(children)
February 7th 2009 Opening 8 (5) July 16th 2011 Luau Party 35 (22)
May 9th 2009 Teddy Bear’s Picnic 42 (25) January 28th 2012 New Year 22 (14)
July 11th 2009 I Can Do It! 9 (5) May 26th 2012 Mother Goose 25 (14)
November 28th 2009 Thanksgiving 10 (6) July 28th 2012 Neverland 24 (13) January 30th 2010 Wild Things 10 (6) November 24th 2012 Thanksgiving 30 (17) May 29th 2010 Princess party 33 (20)
July 17th 2010 Pirate Party 26 (12)
November 27th 2010 Autumn 35 (15)
January 22nd 2011 Snow 26 (15)
May 14th 2011 Mother’s Day 29 (16)
Year Number of members * Number including all family members Number of bicultural families
2009 16 49 11
2010 39 89 14
2011 50 121 16
2012 58 135 14
and are voracious readers. Many of the families who attend events are complete EFL beginners which may be why they attend only once and do not become members.
One workshop for teachers of English to children was held on January 23rd 2010, attended by ten people.
4. Survey results
Data collection proved extremely difficult. The intention was to collect data for the user survey from attendees by questionnaire while they were at Storyland events or open days but this proved almost impossible as both the staff member and the users were busy, therefore only three were collected in this way.
One of those, P14, had only attended twice, the other two, P15 and P16 are regular attendees. All three were Japanese, P15 is a returnee family. P15 and P16 are friends. The questionnaire was in English and the teacher administered the questionnaire in interview style, using both English and Japanese where necessary. The responses were therefore not anonymous, and the presence of the teacher may have affected the participants’
responses.
In order to reach more people the survey was made available online using Survey Monkey and distributed via Facebook and e-mail. Some of the questions had to be reformulated to fit the multiple choice format of Survey Monkey. Also, only 10 questions were allowed therefore question 2 and questions 12 to 15 were cut from the paper questionnaire. For the purposes of this paper, only questions one to ten are being considered.
Thirteen people responded, making a total of sixteen, a mere 22% of the total membership. However, considering the regular attending families number between 17 to 20 this figure becomes more significant at between 65% to 76% of those members. Participants who answered the online questionnaire were both Japanese and non-Japanese. P2, P4, P6, P9, and P11 are bicultural families living in the area. In P2, the mother is American, the father Japanese; P4 and P6, the mother is Japanese and the father is British; P9 and P11 the mother is Japanese and the father is American. P8 is a Japanese woman who borrows books to read with her granddaughter because her granddaughter has been living abroad with her parents.
At least 37 students have taken part in events at Storyland over the past three years, but only six responded to the questionnaire administered in 2012. This was due to bad planning on the teacher’s part, and possibly the fact that the questionnaire was in English. This is therefore a very preliminary study but the responses gathered so far provide interesting insights into how the users and students perceive Storyland. Participants who added comments have been numbered for ease of reference.
4.1. User Survey Results.
Q.1 How did you hear about Storyland?
Most people knew about Storyland by word of mouth. The paper questionnaire also asked why the participant joined Storyland. The three responses were: P14, to give my children a chance to read English books, and to hear English; P15, we had just returned from the UK and were looking for a place for an “English shower”, there are not so many chances for us; P16, for my daughter to become familiar with English.
Response # %
From a friend 10 62.5
Kwassui homepage 3 18.8
Poster 3 18.8
Q.2 How often do you attend? (on the paper questionnaire this was an open question, on the online questionnaire it was multiple choice).
Other responses (paper questionnaire): Almost every time; five or six times a year; this is my first time.
Other responses (online): P11When child’s schedule allows; P2 I try to attend when I don’t have classes; once or twice a year.
Q.3 Have you attended any events? If yes, what did you think of the events?
Comments:
P1 My children really love crafts and activities. I don’t push my kids to learn English, but in Storyland they can naturally learn English words and are interested in communicating with someone in English. I think it is a good way to learn for my children.
P2 Very fun, the university girls always plan something that all ages of kids can enjoy. They plan fun and interesting things to do.
P3 We did crafts and there were story reading and we enjoyed the event.
P4 Good balance of activities to keep the kids interested. Uni students also helps to negate the space
“English is only used by foreigners” mentality.
P7 I thought that the students of Kwassui University and the professor did a great job so I would like them to keep held some events.
P9 I’ve always enjoyed the events.
P11 Very good for both kids and parents though the English ability of some of the readers limits the understanding of some of the kids.
P14 Really fun. Children could make many crafts and enjoy themselves. The puppet play was very good (comment on May 2012 event).
P15 My daughter looks forward to events. They are very nice for her. I would like students to speak English more. Name tags for children and students are a good idea. I would like the names of equipment to be in English, instructions in English.
P16 I want the children to have more chance to speak English, more reading aloud. She likes singing in English and Mother Goose.
The comments are overwhelmingly positive, with one or two constructive criticisms.
Response # %
Three times a year 4 25
Once every three months 3 18.8
Every open day 2 12.5
Once every two months 1 6.2
Other 6 37.5
# %
Yes 12 75
No 4 25
Q.4 How often do you borrow books?
Q.5 How many books do you usually borrow?
Responses to questions two to five show that while attendance is sporadic, depending on other commitments, most people attend the events. Most people borrow books each time, borrowing between two to four books.
Q.6 What kind of books do you borrow? (Multiple replies were allowed)
Most people borrow books to read aloud with their children, followed by readers, and books for children to read on their own. One of the mothers P15, from a Japanese returnee family, commented that she’s not sure if her daughter is actually “reading” the books when she reads alone, and that they borrowed readers once but found them boring.
Q.7 Approximately how often do you read aloud the books with your children? (3 people skipped the question online)
The other replies were: Five times and at least more than once. Three people commented online:
P6 When my child was little, I read four or five books during the day and two or three books at night. We don’t read to her so often - we read together the book which is a little difficult vocabulary for her, since
Response # %
Every time 8 50
Usually 4 25
Sometime 2 12.5
Rarely 1 6.25
Not yet 1 6.25
Response # %
4 6 37.5
3 3 18.75
2 5 31.25
N/A 2 12.5
Response # %
Picture books to read aloud to or with my child/children 11 69 Readers for my children to read on their own 7 44 Books for my children to read on their own 5 31 Books about teaching English to children 3 19
Picture books to use in class 2 12.5
Novels to read myself 2 12.5
Non-fiction to read myself 1 6.25
Response # %
Every day 4 31
Two or three times a week 3 23
Once a week 2 15
Twice a month 2 15
Other 2 15
she is grown up and can read herself.
P8 When my daughter and granddaughter come back to Nagasaki.
P11 When ever possible.
The returnee mother said they read the books at least twice and that her daughter “looks at her favourite books more”.
Q.8 Approximately how often do your children read the books on their own? (12 replies)
Comments:
P4 None. Can’t actually read yet, but looks at the pictures and can often remember the lines.
P6 My child reads and reads if you let her. She can read all day and everywhere we go, in the car, at the hospital, shopping. It’s a problem now.
Q.9 If you have borrowed readers, have you noticed any improvement in your childrens reading ability?
Of ten replies, six answered yes, three no, and one, not really, that being P15, the returnee family who borrowed readers once but found them boring. Four people commented online, but some comments suggest that the respondents didn’t understand what was meant by “Readers”, graded reader book series designed specifically to help children learn to read such as the Potato Pals Series or the Oxford Reading Tree.
Comments:
P1 They remember some words from a picture book
P6 Sometimes my child wants to hear the story from a different voice so not just reading book time, something new, something exciting will happen. But my child doesn’t repeat as much as we expected.
P8 Especially my granddaughter is interested by beautiful pictures.
P10 Vocabulary, speed, understanding improved.
Q.10 Have you noticed any improvement in your children’s English since attending Storyland?
Thirteen people responded, eleven saying yes, and two no. Again the comments are not strictly related to the question, however they show a positive assessment of Storyland’s effect on their children’s English or attitude to English:
P1 I think they don’t hesitate to communicate with foreign people, despite not being able to talk in English.
P4 Loves books. Remembers the stories after 3 or 4 readings to the extent that if I miss words on purpose, she will often correct me, Often wants to borrow the same books again and will incorporate vocab from books/stories into her own conversations
P6 When we borrow books we try to read to her and she gets excited to meet a new story world. When we attend, she tries to speak English there, and people speak English to each other, so she doesn’t feel shy to speak English at Storyland.
Response # %
Every day 6 50
Two or three times a week 2 16
Once a week 1 8.3
Twice a month 1 8.3
Once 1 8.3
Other: once a month 1 8.3
P7 Thanks to Storyland I think my daughter’s English ability is improving so much. For example when we attended an event, one student taught a finger-play (Incy Wincy spider, Teapot). After this event, I and my daughter got to do those finger-plays. In addition to borrow picture books is also good for her.
P8 I usually borrow some books written easily for my granddaughter, but there are many words I don’t know.
I can study English, thanks to these books.
P9 My older child has been quite interested in reading and enjoyed coming to a place filled with English books. My younger child has not really shown as much interest.
P10 Speaking skills improved.
4.2 Student survey results
As mentioned above, only six students responded to the questionnaire survey in 2012. Table 8 shows their year, department and how many times they have participated in a Storyland event:
Table 8: Student participants
Students participated as volunteers in their 2nd or 3rd year, and as part of the class requirement for Reading Activities class in their 4th year. S1 also participated as a volunteer in her 2nd year. All the Child Department students are taking the Multiculturalism course in that department, including Teaching English to Young Learners and Reading Activities. Both the English Department students took Teaching English to Young Learners and Reading Activities. All of the students strongly agreed or agreed that participating in Storyland events had improved their English speaking, reading, pronunciation and teaching skills; their ability to interact with children and peers, and their understanding of other cultures.
Q.9 What have you learned from participating in Storyland?
Code Department Year Times participated
S1 Child 4 7
S2 Child 4 5
S3 English 4 5
S4 English 4 2
S5 Child 3 2
S6 Child 3 2
Student Response
S1 How to read a picture book for children, games and how to communicate with children and their parents.
S2 I learned the reading of English picture books.
S3 I love children. I noticed that I am good at taking care of children.
S4 I learned how to read the book (aloud).
S5 I learned about picture books and English teaching.
S6 I learned how to teach better for children.
Q.10 What do you like about participating in Storyland?
In answer to question 6, what don’t you like about participating in Storyland four students replied nothing. S1 replied the smell of the room (it gets quite damp in summer, and is shut up most of the time), and S6 said “I want to use English more, but there are Japanese families in Storyland”.
Overall the comments are positive. S4 had only participated in the July event when she answered the questionnaire, at which her role involved her being outside the room while the reading activities were taking place. However, the comments are rather general. Students who participated in the November event made the following observations in written feedback after the event as part of their Reading Activities class. S7, 8 and 9 are all English department students taking Reading Activities who did not take part in the questionnaire survey. These comments have been paraphrased.
S1 noticed how parents and children enjoy the events together and that parents want to learn about other cultures. She also learned how to prepare and plan an activity, her graduation project, a game played with picture cards. S3 commented that she learned about Thanksgiving, how to convey the meaning of a book to children, and that she got used to standing in front of people and enjoys working with children.
S7 also presented her graduation project, an original ‘kami shibai’ (story told with illustrated picture cards) and showed signs of being able to evaluate both herself and the other students’ performances. She noticed how parents and children work together on the craft activities. S8, who participated as an assistant said she felt inspired and motivated by her peers’ example. She will be presenting her graduation project, a phonics- based picture book, at the upcoming event in February 2013. S9 has only taken Reading Activities class in the second term and the November event was her first experience at Storyland. She comments that she learned how to present a finger-play, could find many wonderful books, and learned how to select a book according to the purpose of the activity. She enjoyed interacting with the children, and observing the parents and children enjoying the event together.
Discussion
One interesting aspect that is highlighted in the students’ comments is the way that Storyland facilitates interaction between parent and child, encouraging parents to become more involved in their children’s biliteracy or acquisition of English, and their joint enjoyment of English. Arguably, this is vital in the Japanese context where reading in English in particular is often a grueling task purely for testing purposes.
In preparing for the events students learned how to select books, how to read them aloud in order to convey the meaning, and how to design pre- and post-reading activities, both games and crafts, to accompany the books. During the practice sessions their pronunciation, rhythm and intonation showed clear improvement, as did their confidence in performing before an audience.
During class students learn the cultural and historical background of the books and stories, for example Thanksgiving, pirates, and indigenous Hawaii. For the Luau Party in July 2011 P2 taught the students a children’s Hula dance which they performed and taught to the attendees at the event itself, in the process
Student Response
S1 Reading activities, some games.
S2 I like thinking of the activities and reading English picture books.
S3 I can read various kinds of books. It is so fun and interesting for me.
S4 I don’t know. I didn’t see activities.
S5 I like playing with children in English.
S6 We have theme everytime. It’s interesting for me to prepare along our theme.
learning the meaning of the different movements in the dance. Those who took part in the performed stories learned how to design and make a variety of different media, including paper puppet theater, panel theatre and a puppet show. Four students have made graduation projects for use at Storyland: A Phonics Fun Storytelling Apron, Who Am I? Multicultural Faces Card game, Little Bear ‘kami shibai’, and the upcoming Let’s Go Shopping phonics-based picture book. They learned how to plan, make and perform these activities and had the unique authentic experience of presenting them to parents and children, as well as their peers and teachers.
As for the parents, the survey shows that the regular attendees enjoy the events and find that Storyland is having a positive effect on their children’s English or attitude to English and foreigners. They usually borrow books and read them together with their children. From observation and discussion with parents at events and open days, the teacher can state that Storyland also serves as a place for parents to meet with others who are trying to improve or maintain their children’s English ability, to gain advice and support from each other, and to share their experiences.
In answer to question 10, have you noticed any improvement in your children’s English since attending Storyland, P2 wrote:
I don’t really use Storyland to improve my son’s English, but more as away to enjoy reading with someone else (not just Mommy) in English. Plus, Storyland has such a great selection of books. We can get recommendations from Karen and other parents or kids. At the city library, no one really knows that much about the books they do have. Storyland is very much like a small library in the States. It’s a nice feeling.
Conclusion
Although limited to the responses of a few regular attendees, the data shows that Storyland is achieving its primary goal of providing access to quality, age- and level- appropriate English books and materials for parents and children to read together. One drawback perhaps is that Storyland is only open for a very limited time each month, as suggested by the comments on question two, how often do you attend. Many of the original members work on Saturday, or their children have conflicting commitments, especially as they become older.
The survey shows that Storyland’s periodic events are very successful, both for families attending and students participating. It has proved impossible to provide regular programs, given the diverse needs, ages, and abilities of the children (and parents) involved. The teacher already has a full teaching load at the university, plus other extra-curricular commitments which make it impossible for her to provide such a program herself. Ideally students taking Teaching English to Children could run such a program, but it requires a great time commitment and a certain ability level.
7. Phonics Storytelling Apron 8. Multicultural Faces Card Game
Responses to questions nine and ten suggest that Storyland is providing support for bicultural families trying to raise their children bilingually, as well as returnee families. P4’s daughter, who will be four years old in February 2013, has been attending Storyland regularly since she was a baby. She is currently an active Japanese-English bilingual with above-peer recognition of letters, in both languages.
The survey did not target teachers specifically, although some of the participants who answered online may also be teachers. We have only been able to hold one workshop for teachers so far, thus providing training for teachers remains an area to work on. We do have the resources, including books in Japanese about teaching English to children, and Big Books to use in class, and these are popular with the teachers who attend regularly.
Finally, Storyland is most definitely fulfilling its role of providing experience for students majoring in Child Development & Education and English, providing a unique context for them to gain valuable authentic experience.
Obviously there are major drawbacks with this study, including failure to systematically survey students involved between 2009 and 2011, and to reach a wider section of people who have attended Storyland.
Observation suggests that many of the one-time attendees at events, while enjoying themselves, do not have the English ability necessary to benefit from Storyland. A bilingual survey is probably necessary to reach more of those visitors.
Future research will try to analyze which books are most popular and useful for users, how to help the users make the most of the books, and ideally a longitudinal case-study of individual families. The story continues.
References
Beck A. 2013 16 tips for Raising a Bilingual Child in Japan, Japan Today. Retrieved January 18th 2013 from http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/16-tips-for-raising-a-bilingual-child-in-japan
Cameron, L. 2001 Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: CUP
Curtain, H, A. & Pesola, A. P. (1994) Languages and Children: Making the Match. New York: Longman.
Gillis-Furutaka A.,2007 Starting a Saturday School/Learning Circle, Bilingual Japan 16/4 p.13-15.
Goto M. & Kamibeppu M. 2012 Books and Friendship at the Bunko, Bilingual Japan 21/2 p.18-21.
Kamada, L. 1995 Teaching Reading to a Developing Bilingual Baby. Japan Journal of Multilingualism and Multiculturalism. Vol.1 No.1 October 1995, p.16~26.
Kolsawalla, H. 1999 Teaching Vocabulary Through Rhythmic Refrains. In S. Rixon Young Learners of English: Some Research Perspectives. Harlow: Longman
Masatsugu, K. 2008 Coffee Mornings: the Benefits for Students of Experiencing Multiculturalism Kwassui Bulletin 51, Faculty of Wellness Studies, p. 1~13. 活水論文集健康生活学部編, 活水女子大学.
Moon, J. 2000 Children Learning English. Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann.
Rankin, M. 2010 Writing in the Minority Language at Home in Japan JALT 2010 Conference Proceedings retrieved January 22nd 2013 from
http://jaltpublications.org/proceedings/articles/1128-writing-minority-language-home-Japan
Sawazaki R., 2007 An Analysis of Three Pilot Shared Reading Programs Bulletin of the Faculty of Cultural Information Resources, Surugadai University文化情報学：駿河台大学文化情報学部紀要 第14番 第2号 12.2007 p.17-33 Slattery, M. & Willis J. 2001 English for Primary Teachers. Oxford: OUP.
Smith, C., 1994 Teaching Children to Read in the Second Language. Monographs on Bilingualism No.1. Japan Association of Language Teaching Special Interest Group on Bilingualism.
Trelease, J., 2001 The Read-Aloud handbook. New York: OUP Wright, A. 1995 Storytelling with Children. Oxford: OUP.
Appendix 1: Storyland user survey (paper questionnaire)
This information will be used to improve Storyland and also for research purposes. All information will be strictly anonymous. Thank you for your time and cooperation.
1. How did you hear about Storyland?
2. Why did you join Storyland?
3. How often do you attend Storyland?
4. Have you attended any events? YES / NO If YES, what did you think of the event(s)?
5. How often do you borrow books from Storyland?
6. How many books do you usually borrow?
7. What kind of books do you borrow? Circle the appropriate letter(s):
a) picture books to read aloud to or with my child/children.
b) picture books to read for my own pleasure.
c) books for my children to read on their own.
d) readers for my children to improve their English reading ability.
e) books about teaching English to children.
f) picture books to use in class.
g) novels to read myself.
h) non-fiction to read myself.
8. If you circled a) in question 7, approximately how often do you read the books you borrow?
9. If you circled c) in question 7, approximately how often do your children read the books?
10. If you circled d) in question 7, have you noticed any improvement in your children’s reading ability?
11. Have you noticed any improvement in your children’s English ability since attending Storyland? YES / NO If YES, please explain:
12. How do you receive information about Storyland?
Please answer number 13 if you are a parent who borrows books for your children.
13. About language use:
a) What is your first language? Japanese / English / Other:
b) What is the main language used in your home (please circle):
Japanese English
Both Japanese & English
Other:
c) What language do you and your children usually use together?
Japanese English
Both Japanese & English
Other:
14. About you:
a) Are you Japanese / Non-Japanese:
15. Would you be prepared to be interviewed in further detail? YES / NO If YES, please give your name and contact information (e-mail & telephone):
Thank you very much!
Appendix 2: Student survey
Department: 学科 Year: 年生
1. How many times have you taken part in a Storyland Event?
2. Why did you take part?
1) it was a class requirement 2) as a Suffy volunteer 3) both 1 and 2
4) other:
3. Show your agreement on a scale of 1 to 5:
1 = strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3 = no opinion 4 = agree 5 = strongly agree
1) I enjoy participating in Storyland. 1 2 3 4 5 2) Participating in Storyland has improved my English speaking skills 1 2 3 4 5 3) Participating in Storyland has improved my English reading skills 1 2 3 4 5 4) Participating in Storyland has improved my English pronunciation 1 2 3 4 5 5) Participating in Storyland has improved my English teaching skills 1 2 3 4 5 6) Participating in Storyland has improved my ability to interact with children 1 2 3 4 5 7) Participating in Storyland has improved my ability to interact with my peers 1 2 3 4 5 8) Participating in Storyland has improved my understanding of other cultures 1 2 3 4 5 4. What have you learned from participating in Storyland?
5. What do you like about participating in Storyland?
6. What don’t you like about participating in Storyland?
＜要旨＞
『ストーリーランド』：今までの話、バイリタラシーの実験
本稿では、『ストーリーランド』の活動の理論的背景を説明する。活水女子大学子ども学科は2009年、
英語の絵本や児童書専門の子ども文庫『ストーリーランド』を開設した。長崎で子育てをしている 外国人家族、国際結婚の家族、または両親のどちらかが英語を話せ、子どもをバイリンガルに育て ている家族向けの登録制の文庫である。幼児期〜学童期の子ども達とその家族が、質の高い英語の 本に触れることができる場を提供している。また、英語を母語とする家族や、帰国子女が英語力を 維持することができるような活動も展開している。同時に『ストーリーランド』は、地域の小学校 の先生の英語活動、子どもに英語を教えている先生をサポートするリソースセンターの役割も果た している。アンケート調査により収集したデータから利用者と学生への効果を明らかにする。
