Responses of young children to storytelling and story reading : an investigation into language and imagination.

<p> </p> <p>This largely qualitative study had two main aims: to investigate the language</p> <p>young children used in their retellings of traditional tales told and then read to</p> <p>them in picture book form and to gauge their responses to these different</p> <p>modes of story. The hypothesis was that children experienced more vivid</p> <p>visualisations after storytellings, having to create images for themselves rather</p> <p>than being presented with an artistic interpretation through picture books. Data were gathered in two large, inner city, multiethnic schools over a period</p> <p>of seventeen months from one hundred and forty nine children aged between</p> <p>five and seven. They retold stories they had heard orally or from picture books</p> <p>and were then questioned about their visualisations during these story</p> <p>experiences. These recalls and interviews were conducted audio-taped and</p> <p>transcribed with individuals. Initial analysis confirmed that older children were</p> <p>more adept at using language in this way, and richer data were available by</p> <p>concentraiing on children aged six and seven. Subsequently, in depth</p> <p>analysis concentrated on a core of sixteen children in this age range.</p> <p>Retellings were coded and given a score for identifiable events when</p> <p>compared to original texts. They were further examined for examples of</p> <p>repeated or 'created' story language directly representative of original texts,</p> <p>oral or read. 'Created' language was seen as a product of imagination. In</p> <p>semi-structured interviews directly following retellings children were</p> <p>questioned about visualisations they had experienced during story sessions.</p> <p>Visualisations were categorised into strands reflective of eiher direct storybased</p> <p>imaging or invented images. This revealed that imaginative responses</p> <p>to oral stories were greater than those related to picture book readings.</p> <p>Investigating visualisations of this type was not an area widely researched in</p> <p>the field of education so this study contributes to our understanding of the</p> <p>inner worlds of children and how they perceive stories.</p>