Speak Up Language Learners: Writing Simple Stories for Novice Language Learners

It is next to impossible to find stories in the target language that don't have odd vocabulary or advanced grammar structures my novice language learners will not understand.

So I write my own stories for my students!

First, start with your current focus. In my example story, my students were learning emotion vocabulary words like surprised, afraid, happy...

Next I put lists of what my students have already learned on my desk and I begin to design a story. I decided to use family vocabulary and to have different family members feeling a certain emotion.

Then I wanted to bring in previously learned vocabulary to explain why this family member felt this way.

I spent time on this part and brought in a lot of previously learned vocabulary - in part to add to the storytelling. And in part because language learners need to recycle back to previously learned vocabulary so they don't forget it!

I love to get a little silly...

Because someone in my story needed to feel surprised. My students know some farm animals and some bedroom vocabulary. Finding a cow on your bed is certainly a reason to feel surprised! And my students love the silliness!!