TITLE : THEME: YEAR :

TURTLE TROUBLE WORLD OF SELF ONE

Stories are useful in language learning for young learners. Young learners acquire language unconsciously. The activities you do in class should help this kind of acquisition. Stories are the most valuable resource you have. They offer children a world of supported meaning that they can relate to. Later on you can use stories to help children practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Slatterly & Willis, 2001). McRae (1997) says that careful text selection is fundamental to the successful use of any kind of representational materials (1997:49). Collie and Slater (1994) suggest that text selection depend on each particular group of students, their needs, interests, cultural background and language level (1994: 6). As a teacher, I must take into account all of the aspects in selecting the story for teaching and learning in the classroom. Turtle Trouble story that I have chosen was taken from the internet ( http://freekidsbooks.org/?page=2 ). The story was written by Amy Upshaw and Salem de Bezenac. The length of the story which is around 16 pages including illustration is suitable for my pupils proficiency level. The story can enhance students vocabulary as many words are introduced through the story. The first thing that I look before choosing the story is the language. I found out that the language used in Turtle Trouble is direct and simple. The story is imaginatively worthwhile and the language used is sensitive and appropriate. The language used suit the age and interest level of the story as a whole. I am sure that my Year 1 students can understand the story. The story is also written in legible print. Listening and reading the story can also be means of increasing my students knowledge of words and structures. My students can learn new vocabulary from the story.

According to Ellis and Brewster (1994), teachers can choose stories, which are not linguistically complicated, not too long and included repetition and illustrations. The

stories should have a limited number of characters and contain an uncomplicated plot. All of these criteria help students to understand the English language better. As for me, this story just has 2 main characters and the plot is simple. The characters are realistically and genuinely represented. The story also has a very clear and uncomplicated storyline. The adorable and colorful illustrations engage even the youngest children. Turtle Trouble story also within the understanding and experience of my students. The conflicts in the story resolved nicely and meaningfully. The story offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, and to consider. The story has been chosen for various good reasons that I have stated. Furthermore, there are many and good moral values in the story. The values of the story are being explored throughout the story. This is what I can emphasize in my lesson. It is stated in our curriculum that teacher must take into consideration the emphases of moral and ethical values. That is why I choose the story. In conclusion, when choosing a story I was aware of all the principles and therefore I have chosen Turtle Trouble. Even though the students read the story once, I believe they will read it over and over again because it is so interesting and captivating. This story can be the most ideal source for young learners in effective language learning.