Writing Widgets in Cool Techy Things to Use for Language Ed. (Teaching/Tutoring/Learning).

+50 Ways - StoryTools
I haven’t looked at this one in depth, yet, but it provides links and advice for storytelling. While its scope doesn’t appear to be for English Language Learners (those whose first or most proficient language is not English), it could still be a valuable resource for incorporating into an upper level writing course.

What is the value of story telling anyway? Well, there are many. One very useful everyday skill is using language to express time, which is done a lot in stories. Other benefits to narrative writing (story telling) are the many ways it helps sharpen overall language aptitude for use and comprehension in addition to more enjoyable effects such as entertainment and reduced stress.

Many scholars for TESOL and language learning, in general, discuss their findings from academic research suggesting that various forms of language play are not also more enjoyable, but motivating, less stressful, and an effective practice for increased language learning and proficiency. Storytelling, whether written or orated, is a form of language play, after-all.

**Narrative Writing/Film

**

Fiction

The Periodic Table of Storytelling

Level - Advanced
If you happen to be teaching a class where, at some point, your students have to generate a fictional narrative, this could be a good resource to inform your lesson plan, in class writing exercises, etc. This is tool is quite involved and it is definitely contenxtualized to Western society culture.

It is possible that this could be used for exercises throughout an entire Fiction Writing class for advanced ESL/EFL… students. It might be fun for students to create their own Periodic Table of Storytelling with cultural references from their own backgrounds.

There are probably other uses for this as well such as a small part of a culture class. Before assuming that a thing like this is only at the surface level of culture, remember that ”no piece of literature [or film] is created in a vacuum” (Dr. Mark Quiggley and many other faculty from the University of Oregon). During my undergraduate career (for ANY literature course), we had to learn whatever history and philosophy from the same time period, as well as the author’s history, any political, religious, cultural norms, etc. that relate to the parts of the literary cannon we were studying.