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Folk stories and fairy tales
"The history of folk stories and fairy tales goes a long way back in the past and shows the relicts of ancient cultures that existed thousands of years ago" (Krzyżanowski, 1973). Texts reaching as far back as to the Sumerian and Babylon Empire and documents created in ancient Egypt around the year 2000 BC provide evidence that fairy tales are an immanent part of the human culture.
Homer's Iliad, which is usually dated to around the eighth century BC, is a work of great importance and at the same time one of the most famous prototypes of fairy tales and folk stories. Aesop's Fables, which are now also commonly used for the purposes of language teaching, have enthralled children since the sixth century BC. The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights are equally ancient and equally popular.
Fairy tales and folk stories have been an integral part of childhood. In the Polish culture, fairy tales have been created for more than 400 years. They are created with children in mind and speak to their needs and desires...
Fairy tales and folk stories used for language teaching continue to keep their holistic impact on child's formation, which can be viewed in a macro- and micro scale.
At the macro-level, fairy tales may be viewed in terms of their impact on the emotions and moral development of children. The micro-scale refers to the direct impact on the development of linguistic skills. Through their content fairy tales activate deep induction processes to help understand the message. As a result, they have a more profound impact on the memorizing processes.
Words and phrases are acquired in an unconscious way through repeated exposure to lexical material. Presenting a word in numerous contexts allows not only for deeper coding but also for generating correct mental representations. Listening to fairy tales and stories plays an enormous role, most notably in the development of receptive skills and understanding of global content. It is worth emphasizing the importance of exposure to correct pronunciation, rhythm and intonation, as well as the mastery of non-verbal means of showing comprehension and failure to comprehend. Fairy tales also bring measurable effects in supporting the development of productive skills.
Extracts from Agnieszka Horyza's lecture on Application of "Goldilocks's Rule" in Teaching Based on Adaptations of Fairy-tales and Folk-Stories, University College of Social Sciences in Częstochowa, 04.2012