Improving Story Narratives of Children from Different Cultures

Improving Story Narratives of Children from Different Cultures

Scott Prath, M.A., CCC-SLPEllen Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLPTSHA Convention: March 2012

Scott PrathM.A., CCC-SLP

Ellen KesterPh.D., CCC-SLP

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Difference Vs. Disorder – Speech

Difference Vs. Disorder - Language

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Difference Vs. Disorder - Narratives

Learner Objectives- Future Directions

• Discuss differences in narrative styles between English and Spanish speakers.

• Identify which narrative styles are common to many cultures

• List dynamic assessment and intervention stages to assess and teach narrative use

• Discuss how narrative abilities can affect academic progress

• Describe how cultural differences can be taken into consideration when treating a student

How important are narratives?

• We ask children to tell us about events, retell stories, write about events in their journals, and answer questions about stories.

• We analyze and judge the grammar and content of their stories, the order of events, the semantic complexity, and the narrative elements.

Can culture affect narrative production?

• A child’s culture and life experiences have taught him a different narrative script.

• How do we decide if missing elements are due to an impairment or cultural difference?

Our Goal Today• Show that narrative styles between children

from English- and Spanish-speaking cultures vary greatly.

• Show how one set of narrative-based intervention procedures can universally challenge both English- and Spanish-speaking children

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Narrative Elements that are Common to Most Cultures

Narrative Element Definition

Example (3 Billy Goats Gruff)

Initiating Event

The incident which introduces the central conflict in a story;

The goats were hungry and wanted to eat The grassy knoll was on the other side of the bridge

Attempt

The protagonist’s attempt to solve the problem.

They went to cross the bridge.

Consequence

The results of the

attempt (i.e. whether or not the goal was attained).

The troll threatened to eat them .

Resolution

Whether or not the super-ordinate problem was resolved.

Tricked the troll into waiting for a bigger feast.

Setting

The physical or temporal context of the story.

The grassy knoll and the bridge.

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Narrative Elements

• Initiating Event▫ The incident which introduces the central conflict

in a story

• Example:▫ Mom said it was time to live on their own. And “be

careful of the big bad wolf.”

Expected in Most Cultures

Narrative Elements

• Attempt▫ The protagonist’s attempt to solve the related goal.

• Example▫ The 3 pigs attempted to build houses.


Narrative Elements

• Consequence▫ The results of the attempt (i.e. whether or not the

goal was attained).

• Example:▫ The houses were built and the wolf blew down

the poorly built houses. He could not blow down the well built house. Expected in Most Cultures

Narrative Elements

• Resolution▫ Whether or not the super-ordinate goal was

resolved.• Example:▫ A houses strength/value was proportionate to

the effort put into building it.


Narrative Elements

• Setting▫ The physical or temporal context of the story.

• Example:▫ The country.


Activity

Language Sample Exploration

Common Elements

Initiating EventAttempt

ConsequenceResolution

Setting

Case Study – Pablo 7 years• English Narrative• The boy is sitting in in in in the in

the chair.• The frog gonna go see his babies.• The boy see the, the there is no

nothing.• The boy put put his, the boy check

his boots.• “No one’s in there,” said the boy.• The boy screamed for the frog.• The dog fall.• The boy run to him.• He get him.

Common Elements



Setting

Case Study – Pablo 7 years• The boy get the, the, the, the boy scream

again.• The boy scream uh, uh, uh, a hole, the

the the the>• The dog, the dog, the dog hit a tree.• Then, then a boy went to a tree and

then, he scream owl.• The owl push the boy.• The owl follow the boy.• The boy scream again.• A deer pick up a boy.• The boy and the dog run, run from to

the deer.• The deer fall, fall, let go of the boy.

Common Elements



Setting

Case Study – Pablo 7 years• The boy and the dog, the boy and the

dog fall on the water.• The boy said, “You can hear that?”• The boy said, um, he said, um, his dog

to be quiet.• Then the dog and the boy run to a tree.• Then they look and there are the frog.• Then came up the babies.• Then the boy said to the frog “I can

keep one of your babies?”• And the one of the babies stay, stay

down.

Common Elements



Setting

Narrative Elements that are Specific to Spanish and English

Narrative Element Definition Example (3 Little Pigs)

Internal Response

An emotional response to the

initiating event

The goat was scared of the troll. The troll was mad and hungry.

Discourse Markers

A word or phrase that does not change the meaning of the sentence.

"well," "now," "then," "you know"

Embedded stories

Flashbacks and other editing cues that may impact the viewing experience.

If the goats parents had been eaten by the troll.

Causal Relations:

The relationship between an event (the cause) and a second event (the effect).

The troll allowed the smaller goat to pass because he was offered a bigger

brother.

Causal Chain

A series of causal events that lead from beginning to end.

The troll became progressively more hungry and demanding.

Protagonist Identification

Identification of

the main protagonist in the story within the first scene of the program.

Once upon a time there were 3 Billy Goats Gruff…

Narrative Elements

• Internal Response▫ Emotional response to the initiating event is

present.• Example:▫ The pigs were scared at the prospect of having

to leave home.

Culturally Specific

!

Narrative Elements

• Discourse Markers▫ A word or phrase that does not change the

meaning of the sentence.• Example:▫ “Once upon a time…"

Culturally Specific

!

Narrative Elements

• Embedded stories▫ Flashbacks and other editing cues that may impact

the viewing experience.• Example:▫ If the pigs had built their houses based on

something that had happened to their father.

Culturally Specific

!

Narrative Elements

• Causal Relations▫ The relationship between an event (the cause) and

a second event (the effect).• Example:▫ The wolf blew the straw house down so the pig

ran as fast as he could to his brother’s house.

Culturally Specific

!

Narrative Elements

• Causal Chain▫ Whether or not event is part of the chain that

leads from beginning to end.• Example:▫ Story progressed from the straw house, then

the stick house, and finally the brick house.

Culturally Specific

!

Narrative Elements

• Protagonist Identification▫ Whether or not the main protagonist in the story

is identified within the first scene.• Example:▫ Once upon a time there were 3 little pigs…

Culturally Specific

!

Activity 2

Language Sample Exploration

Common Elements

Internal ResponseDiscourse MarkersEmbedded Stories

Causal RelationshipCausal Chain


Case Study – Pablo 7 years• English Narrative• The boy is sitting in in in in the in

the chair.• The frog gonna go see his babies.• The boy see the, the there is no

nothing.• The boy put put his, the boy check

his boots.• “No one’s in there,” said the boy.• The boy screamed for the frog.• The dog fall.• The boy run to him.• He get him.

Common Elements




Case Study – Pablo 7 years• The boy get the, the, the, the boy scream

again.• The boy scream uh, uh, uh, a hole, the

the the the>• The dog, the dog, the dog hit a tree.• Then, then a boy went to a tree and

then, he scream owl.• The owl push the boy.• The owl follow the boy.• The boy scream again.• A deer pick up a boy.• The boy and the dog run, run from to

the deer.• The deer fall, fall, let go of the boy.

Common Elements




Case Study – Pablo 7 years• The boy and the dog, the boy and the

dog fall on the water.• The boy said, “You can hear that?”• The boy said, um, he said, um, his dog

to be quiet.• Then the dog and the boy run to a tree.• Then they look and there are the frog.• Then came up the babies.• Then the boy said to the frog “I can

keep one of your babies?”• And the one of the babies stay, stay

down.

Common Elements




Dynamic Assessment Narrative Collection Sheet

Narrative Differences

How Narratives Vary Across Cultures

How does narrative development change as a child gets older?

• Simple to Complex• Egocentric to conscious of others’ thoughts• Present tense to past tense

How can differences in narrative ability affect academic performance?

• When personal knowledge differs from mainstream expectations, discourse, story recounts, and story telling will not match mainstream standards.

• Children from Spanish-speaking cultures continue to perform worse than other children on national indicators of achievement.

Gutierrez-Clellen, 2002

Is how we ask children to tell a story different than how their parents ask?

• Metzi (2000) found differences in the way Spanish-speaking and English-speaking mothers elicited stories.

• Different aspects of narratives were emphasized by Spanish and English-speaking mothers▫ English-speaking mothers emphasized

organizational aspects▫ Spanish-speaking mothers emphasized

conversational aspects• Narratives vary by cultural demands.

Narrative Differences Specific to Spanish and English

Ernesto Quiñonez: Dog Days of Spanish HarlemTristan Jamison: A Dish Best Served Cold

The Moth Podcast: True Stories Told Live

Narrative Differences:

Goal of most narrativesSpanish - Culture English - Culture

• Moral themes. Spanish-speaking children may use an event to demonstrate a sense of themselves in relation to their community.

• Individualistic/child-centered themes. English narratives focus on what is happening internally and externally to the main character


ReactionSpanish - Culture English - Culture

• A character’s reaction to an event or element may be atypical.

• A character’s reaction to an event or atypical story element is predictive


Story ElicitationSpanish - Culture English - Culture

• Mothers emphasize the conversational aspects of the narrative. The Spanish-speaking children have greater responsibility in recalling the story as their mothers play a listening role in the conversation.

• Mothers primarily focus on the organizational aspects of the narrative and English-speaking children may act as co-narrators with their parents.


Grammar – meaningSpanish - Culture English - Culture

• Spanish relies on the inflection of morphemes.

• English relies on manipulation of word order.

Narrative Differences:Acting as a listener or a participantSpanish - Culture English - Culture

• Spanish-speaking cultures often have the role of speaker or listener and may not simultaneously engage.

• English-speaking cultures may tell a story together, ask questions, or interject during a story.

Which narrative elements does my client include?

Collecting baseline information on narrative production

Collecting baseline data

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Collecting baselinedata



Improving narratives with intervention

How storybooks can by used to improve

narratives



Selecting Books for Intervention

• The general criteria in choosing a book are that it must be age-appropriate, interesting to children, and have some pertinence to a student’s speech or language goals.

• Books that include repetition, simplicity, humor and great (but not too distracting) illustrations are often successful with students who have speech and language difficulties. ▫ School Librarians: ▫ Classroom Teachers: ▫ Internet Resources:

Types of Stories

• Chain or Circular Story: The story's ending leads back to the beginning.

• Cumulative: The story builds on a pattern. It starts with one person, place, thing, or event. Each time a new person, place, thing, or event is shown, all the previous ones are repeated.

• Familiar Sequence (calendar or number): A common, recognizable theme such as the days of the week, the months, etc

• Pattern Story: The scenes or episodes are repeated with a variation.

• Question and Answer: A question is repeated throughout the story.

• Repetition of Phrase: a phrase or sentence is repeated.• Rhyme: A rhyme, refrain, or rhythm is repeated throughout

the story.• Songbook: Familiar songs with repeated phrases, sentences

Types of Stories Activity

Cumulative: The story builds on a pattern. It starts with one person, place, thing, or event. Each time a new person, place, thing, or event is shown, all the previous ones are repeated


Familiar Sequence (calendar or number):A common, recognizable theme such as the days of the week, the months, etc


Chain or Circular Story: The story's ending leads back to the beginning.

Book Selection

• Age-appropriate• Interesting and

relevant• Related to goals• Simple• Good illustrations • Resources▫ School librarians▫ Classroom teachers▫ Internet



Pre-Reading ActivitiesPre-reading activities are used to bridge any gaps

between a student’s current skills and the targeted skills.

• Music – use songs semantically related to the material in the book. (Hoggan & Strong, 1994)

• Semantic mapping/graphic organizers – the adult and students develop a list of words and concepts related to the story and then develop a visual representation or map of how the words and concepts are related to one another (Gillam & Ukrainetz, 2006; Hoggan & Strong, 1994).

Pre-Reading Activities• Illustration discussion – The student creates a

story using illustrations from the selected book. Scaffolding techniques may be used to facilitate higher semantic and syntactic complexity. Several templates that can be used during this activity are included.

• Pre-reading discussion – Pre-reading questions are designed to tie the students’knowledge and ideas from the graphic organizer to the concepts in the book.

Reading ActivitiesWhile reading the book, use scaffolding techniques to

engage the student and check understanding. Clinicians commonly use scaffolding techniques in order to help the student learn target skills.

Scaffolding techniques • Print reference – The adult references a target from

the book by pointing or commenting (e.g. The adult points to an illustration and asks, “What is happening in the picture?”)

• Cloze procedures – The adult provides the first part of an utterance and the student completes the thought (e.g. A: The mouse lost his balance and ______ S: fell off).

Reading ActivitiesScaffolding techniques • Syntactic and semantic expansions – The adult

expands on an utterance provided by the student using the grammar and vocabulary targets (e.g. S: The mouse walking. A: Yes, the little mouse is walking on the vine.).

• Binary choice – The adult offers the student two choices of responses (e.g. A: What happened to the mouse? Did he fall off or jump off the vine? S: He fell off the vine.).

• Modeling – The adult models the target structure for the student (e.g. What happened to the mouse when he was crossing the river? The mouse fell into the river.) (Liboiron & Soto, 2006).

Post-Reading Activities• Post-reading activities create a time when the student

can review and reflect on what they have learned. For students with language impairments, post-reading activities are a powerful way to allow the student to experience success that they may not often feel in the classroom. Here are general post-reading activities.

• Discussion questions – The adult and student discuss the story. According to Gillam and Ukrainetz (2006), the clinician should respond to 40% to 60% of all questions with scaffolding techniques.

• Syntactic activities – Students create grammatical structures through a variety of art activities and games. Suggested targets: past tense and present progressive

Post-Reading Activities• Semantic activities – Students add to their word

books through art activities in the areas of object/function, part/whole, categories, antonyms, and synonyms. Suggested targets:comparison, categories, and action words.

• Narrative retelling – use scaffolding techniques and visuals from the book to support the student while retelling the story.

• Phonology/Articulation – Use images from the book as well as general images in order to target specific phonological and articulation skills. See articulation chart in the following activities.

Summary:• A child will produce a fictional or personal story that

imitates the stories that he or she has been exposed to throughout life.

• Labeling or devaluing a narrative creation because it is not mainstream puts the child and the institution at a disadvantage.

Instead, a child’s story can be celebrated and aspects that are academically required, but

not present, can be added to the abilities that already exist.

Template Examples

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