August 30, 2016

Oral storytelling helps young Indonesian students learn English

Three-Minute Thesis winner develops new model for teaching children second language

Storytelling is at the heart of cultures throughout the world. It is a way of educating, providing a moral foundation, and ensuring a community’s cultural fabric is passed from generation to generation.

So when Ika Lestari Damayanti (pictured) was searching for a way to connect with young students as part of her studies, she turned to the most ancient means of communication: oral stories.

A PhD candidate in the University of Wollongong’s (UOW) School of Education, Ika’s passion for storytelling grew from a disparity she witnessed in the education system of her native Indonesia.

“In Indonesia, English is not spoken in the community and many teachers cannot speak or use English effectively. But it is a compulsory subject for high school students and it is in the national exam for students,” Ika said.

“For young students to progress to the next level of schooling, they have to pass the test. But there is no motivation for them to study it, they don’t see it as relevant.”

Ika’s PhD focuses on developing a pedagogical model to teach children English through methods of storytelling. The model is currently underway in classrooms on the outskirt of Bandung, the capital of West Java Province.

It takes traditional Indonesian oral stories, which underpin Indonesian culture, and translates them into English as a way of teaching children the language.

Ika said the fun, interactive nature of the storytelling means the students are motivated to learn, while, at the same time, providing a cultural connection.

“A lot of children don’t want to learn from textbooks. It is boring for them,” she said. “But I realised that through storytelling, English become relevant. Kids become motivated and actively participate in the stories.

“Oral storytelling is a tradition in Indonesia, but has become less important over generations. We are helping to revive that and it helps the children to learn and identify with their culture.”

If the research is a success, Ika hopes to use the model to teach English in other developing nations or, alternately, to introduce Australians to other languages.

While Ika is passionate about her PhD, and the difference it is making in the young students’ lives, she was initially daunted by the prospect of telling a lay audience about her studies. In three minutes or less.

But she decided to take a leaf out of her own book and use an oral story to educate the audience during the UOW Three-Minute Thesis final in July.

Ika’s story, of the young student Jamal who saw no point in learning English, connected with the crowd and she took out the competition.

“Winning was beyond my expectations,” Ika said. “I thought I would give it a try, and when I won, I couldn’t believe it was really me.

“But that is the power of storytelling and that is what my research is about, reducing the technical terms and using general language to educate the audience.”

Ika will now represent UOW at the Three-Minute Thesis Asia-Pacific Competition in Queensland on September 30.

The Three-Minute Thesis Competition is an annual event that challenges PhD candidates to present their research to a non-specialist audience in a three-minute timeframe.