I really liked your entry because you provided a clear explanation about what Storytelling is, and the reasons that lead teachers to use this technique in their lessons. It makes complete sense for me to communicate with the pupils exactly at the level that they can understand and benefit the most from, which includes:
– using appealing topics that foster motivation
– presenting them in a not-too-formal way in the shape of stories
– reinforcing oral language with facial expressions and body gestures that could help children infer meaning from the context.

If we consider Primary Education students, we can realize that there are some aspects that could be difficult to understand for them, such as the abstract terms, and contextualising them with motivating stories could make a great difference.

On top of this, storytelling usually catches the audience’s attention up to a point where they can feel they’re part of the story itself. When you hear a good story, amazingly narrated as the examples we had the pleasure to watch in class, you suffer with the protagonist, you are happy when he/she is happy, and you become afraid of being caught by the bear, if you Go on a Bear Hunt. This can be done thanks to the excellent communicative skills that storytellers need to have, but also relies on the pupils’ imagination and creativity, that will help them to create in their minds the fiercest creatures, the scariest monsters and Mmmmm, the most delicious chocolate cakes in the whole world.

As you also remarked, it is important not to lose the children’s attention, and that is why stories that are told orally, will usually be short. And short needs to be my commentary, so I will end it in here. Thanks for your entry,

Loli