ABOUT STORYBRIDGES

STORYBRIDGES for Early Language Learners: Spanish / French / German / ESOL is a unique program for kids ages four and up. StoryBridges uses: classic stories retold, with every dialogue illustrated; and cooperative learning activities to reinforce speaking the target language. In the Spanish, French, and German programs the tales are first told bilingually then all the activities are done in the target language. The story units weave music, theater, writing, literature and nature into their very fiber. They are an ideal vehicle for a parent or teacher to introduce a child to foreign languages. And many of the activities may be copied, making the program quite economical. The audio stories and reviews have a bilingual component – bilingual means INTEGRATING two languages – not translating them. The activities are Total Target Language exercises.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this program is to give children the confidence to speak with each other in non-native language, to listen to speakers of other languages, to believe that they can communicate in the target language and to participate in cooperative learning activities. And to be introduced to classic folk and fairy tales retold with compassion towards animals and humans which help students recognize the good in others and themselves while learning another language.

There are Flexible options for using StoryBridges materials which come on a flash drive, or DVD (this web site) or MP3/PDF or Book formats (from Audio Forum). Teachers can print out materials they need for the classroom. Computer skills can be developed when using StoryBridges entirely with computers. Even Community participation can be encouraged by asking parent organizations or a corporate sponsor to print the stories (in either PowerPoint or Word) as language books for the students!

CHRONOLOGICAL APPROACH

1] Listen to the classic story. 2] Repeat the dialogues. 3] Talk and sing during varied activities. 4] Read a Total Target Language Story. 5] Write answers in a self-evaluation. 6] Create and Act in a skit or play using the story as a resource. 7] Move on to the next story-unit.

Language is most easily learned by hearing sounds, figuring out their meanings and using them. StoryBridges offers an oral approach to teaching language for BEGINNERS. Each audio-story is a self-teaching tool and can be used in a classroom program and/or for independent study. Students listen to the stories and figure out the meaning of target language dialogues from 1) clues in carefully crafted English narratives, 2) from the story-book illustrations and Total Target Language Stories 3) and from completing creative and cooperative activities.

StoryBridges for Early Language Learners creates activities that begin with listening to and mimicking the target language, then speaking it; next, reading it and lastly, writing it. Each story-unit contains printable student friendly learning materials such as: an audio story with adult and children’s voices, bilingual* comic and coloring books, a universal** calendar, word searches, vocabulary to illustrate, card games, theater scripts, My Little Book - a target language story book with EVERY dialogue illustrated, various self-evaluations, classroom games, and a dictionary. The stories, as well as the activities progressively build a vocabulary in the target language.

* Bilingual means interaction not translation. For translations see the dictionary in the back of the program.
** Print out your Universal Calendar free gift from this web site.