Listenig comprehension and vocabulary learning by means of storytelling in culturaly diverse high school studens: an action research approach

Abstract

The purpose of the present action-research project was to enhance listening comprehension of ninth-grade high school students through the utilization of the storytelling technique. In this study, the participants were 46 students from 2 different Chilean high schools that differ regarding economic and cultural background. Each of the students participated in an 8-week intervention plan, considering six weekly sessions of 45 minutes, in which students listened to 3 different stories based on their cultural context and interests. Along with the stories, they worked on pre-, while-, and post-activities, to boost the students’ listening comprehension abilities and vocabulary learning.By the end of the study, the effectiveness of the pedagogical innovation was assessed through listening and vocabulary tests, which were also applied at the beginning of the research, and a perception survey. The findings demonstrate that students developed their listening comprehension skills and improved their lexical competence by using the storytelling technique.