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L2 Vocabulary Acquisition through Narratives in an EFL Public Elementary School
Maria Nelly Gutierrez Arvizu
Universidad de Sonora
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Abstract
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has exponentially grown in the past decades
as it has become part of the curricula from kindergarten to higher education. In many countries,
governments have conducted initiatives that resulted in the implementation of English classes
in public education settings. The use of narratives in language teaching has been regarded as
an effective way to teach vocabulary as stories provide a natural context for language input.
However, there is a need to assess the effectiveness of narrative instruction. This study
investigated the effect of using stories and pre-teaching vocabulary in a public elementary
school in northwestern Mexico. A total of 167 students from third to sixth grade participated.
A narrative intervention was conducted in the experimental and comparison groups. The
experimental groups were pre-taught vocabulary in the stories through visuals and stories in
the participants’ native language (L1), Spanish. A vocabulary assessment was administered
three times (pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest) to determine if there were statisticallysignificant differences within and between groups. The tests scores were analyzed using
Friedman and Mann Whitney U statistical tests. The results showed that narratives overall
helped in developing vocabulary for EFL young learners. Furthermore, the experimental groupobtained slightly higher scores at the delayed posttest showing that pre-teaching vocabulary
and using the L1 may contribute to increasing vocabulary knowledge in the second language(L2). In EFL public education contexts, using effective teaching strategies promotes
acquisition and retention that ultimately lead to communicative competence in the L2.
Keywords: EFL, SLA, young learners, narratives, vocabulary

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Recently many governments around the world have implemented educational policies toincorporate teaching English in the elementary school (Copland, Garton, & Burns, 2014). In
the past two decades, teaching English to young learners has had an impact on millions ofEnglish teachers, students, and parents in numerous countries (Emery & Rich, 2015; Rich,
2014).
In Mexico’s English as a foreign language (EFL) context, developing vocabulary is one of thecurricular components of the national program. The Common European Framework ofReference (CEFR) has been used to establish the language learning targets (Council of Europe,2001). By sixth grade, students should be at level A2 (basic user). In other words, students
should be able to talk about situations that are familiar to them, and offer basic descriptions ofthemselves, their context, and others. English instruction has been introduced in the educational
system “for students to get the necessary knowledge to engage in social practices with spoken
and oral language to interact with native and non-native English speakers by means of specificcompetencies with the language” (Secretaría de Educación Pública, 2011, p. 67). The national
curriculum indicates that English will be taught in three sessions of 50 minutes each per week.
English instruction begins in kindergarten and continues for nine years with the purpose ofachieving a B1 proficiency level in the CEFR. That is, the goal is that after completing basic
education, the students should be independent users of the language who can understand andexpress themselves at a basic level in topics that are familiar to them such as school, work, andsocial life (Council of Europe, 2001).
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using stories in EFL teaching
and the impact of pre-teaching vocabulary as an instructional strategy, particularly at the
beginning stages of the L2 acquisition process of young learners. The setting for the study wasa public elementary school in northwestern Mexico. In this school, Spanish is the predominantlanguage for communication among teachers, staff, and students. All the classes, except the
English class, are completely conducted in Spanish. The students are rarely exposed to otherlanguages other than Spanish. This linguistic context limits the amount of exposure to andpractice of English.
The importance of this study is that it analyzed a teaching strategy that may help develop EFL
students’ storytelling with topics that are familiar to them. This study could provide afoundation for materials development, teacher training, improved outcomes, and further
research of teaching and learning processes in an EFL context. Also, researching the use ofstories in second or foreign language development strengthens its purposeful employment in
the classroom. From the research methodological stance, this study contributes to advancing
the field of applied linguistics with regards to the participants (young learners) and the research
design (pre, post, delayed post-test). It is a quantitative study assessing the impact of anintervention over time as measured through tests (Martin & Bridgmon, 2012).
This study is part of a larger study conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a narrativeintervention to promote speaking adapted to suit the context of an elementary public school in
Mexico. The larger study looked at narrative retell skills, listening comprehension andvocabulary acquisition. The main research questions driving the study reported in this article
are the following:
1. Is a narrative intervention effective in increasing English vocabulary acquisition of
EFL elementary school students?

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2. Does pre-teaching vocabulary increase vocabulary acquisition among EFL
elementary school students?
3. What are the perceptions of the EFL elementary school students regarding the
instruction of vocabulary in the narrative interventions received?
Literature Review
Narratives in Language Development
In educational contexts in general, “stories play a crucial role in human learning” (McDonald,
2009, p. 112). In teaching a second or foreign language, stories provide a meaningful context
where grammar and vocabulary interact in a cohesive manner (Pinter, 2006). Stories help inthe “development of vocabulary and grammar, and of oral and literacy skills” (Cameron, 2001,
p. 179). Stories stimulate imagination and creativity in language learners whose attention isplaced in understanding the meaning of the story in general (Wright, 1995).
There are different purposes for using stories in the EFL classroom. Stories have been usedprimarily as a teaching technique to present grammar and vocabulary in context, introduce a
topic, and develop plays for non-native speakers learning English as a foreign language (Bland,
2014; Dujmović, 2006; Ellis & Brewster, 2014; Pinter, 2006; Srinivas, 2009; Vale & Feunteun,
1995). It is common to find stories in textbooks in order to provide context for English language
learners when a specific grammatical point is being taught. Stories are also found in EFL
teacher training courses because their use is regarded as a teaching strategy that aids inlanguage development (mainly reading and listening comprehension) and classroom
management (Phillips, 1993; Vale & Feunteun, 1995). Interestingly, despite having animportant role in language teaching, Garton, Copland, and Burns (2011) conducted a survey ofpractices when teaching English to young learners around the world and found that 42% of theteachers reported frequently telling stories in class, while 17% of the teachers reported neverusing stories in class. Also, children telling stories was reported as one of the least frequently
utilized activities. The researchers noted that despite being considered one of the major
pedagogies, stories were not among the more commonly used strategies by teachers or students.
This insight may form the basis for needing research to determine their effectiveness as an
instructional technique to aid in vocabulary development.
In Gutierrez Arvizu (2017), the effectiveness of a narrative intervention with sixth graders in
an EFL public school was investigated. The results showed that the experimental andcomparison groups increased the length of time speaking English after a narrative intervention
using the Story Champs curriculum where story grammar was taught explicitly, although theexperimental group showed a greater improvement. Story Champs is a language curriculumthat uses narratives with situations that children may easily identify to teach vocabulary andcomplex language structures (Spencer & Petersen, 2012).
L2 Vocabulary
Undoubtedly, vocabulary is a key component in second language acquisition and learning. In
any model for communicative language competence vocabulary is regarded as one of theelements that is necessary in communication activities (Council of Europe, 2001). In EFL
educational settings, the development of vocabulary has consistently been present in the
curriculum, sometimes in the form of lists and other times embedded in conversations, reading,and projects. Paviéciâc Takaéc (2008) compiled a list of the most commonly used schemes topresent new vocabulary: connecting an L2 item with its equivalent in L1, defining the meaning,presentation through context, directly connecting the meaning to real objects or phenomena,

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and active involvement of learners in presentation. Vocabulary crucial to understanding thestory might be pre-taught or taught during the lessons to ensure full comprehension of the story(Cameron, 2001). Also, Gutierrez Arvizu (2017) recommended pre-teaching vocabulary in thestories in order to ensure that the students would comprehend the content presented in thestories.
Acquiring vocabulary in a second language for beginners involves making connections
between the word in the L2 and its equivalent in L1 (Paviéciâc Takaéc, 2008). This could be
an advantage particularly in the case of languages that share similarities in linguistic features.
EFL teachers may use the L1 as a strategy to explain vocabulary (Alshehri, 2017).
Current research in vocabulary acquisition has overlooked young learners of English,
specifically the age range of elementary school children. This is particularly relevant because
great efforts are being made in countries where English has been part of the curricula sinceelementary school, and research should be conducted to inform decisions in policy making.
Overall, it can be noted that the use of stories as a teaching strategy and vocabularydevelopment is intrinsic to language learning; however, there is a need for research regardingthese topics in teaching and learning in EFL contexts to make the best use of the resources athand. Resources such as time and materials are limited in public elementary schools in the
educational context previously described. Therefore, investigating the effectiveness of teachingstrategies leads to possible curricular adaptations and improvements. Even more rarely,
research to this point has reported findings showing the effects of intervention in the long term.
Hence, the importance of conducting a study that analyzes the impact of a narrative intervention
after its conclusion is significant.
MethodParticipants
A total of 167 children between the ages of nine and 12 years participated in the study. They
were enrolled in grades third to sixth in a Mexican elementary public school. Two intact groups
from each grade were recruited and randomly assigned to one of the treatments (experimental
or comparison). For the purpose of the statistical analyses, the participants were divided inexperimental and comparison regardless of their school grade. There were 90 female and 77
male participants in the study. Table 1 shows the distribution of participants by treatment
received (experimental or comparison) and gender in each of the grades (third, fourth, fifth,
and sixth).
Table 1: Participants’ distribution by grade, treatment, and gender (N=167)
Grade(approx. age)Third
(9 years old)
Fourth(10 years old)Fifth
(11 years old)Sixth
(12 years old)
Total

Treatment
Experimental
Comparisonn%n%
17 10.18
18 10.78

Femalen%
22 13.17

n
13

Male
%
7.79

N
35

%
20.96

17

10.18

18

10.78

18

10.78

17

10.18

35

20.96

28

16.77

21

12.57

27

16.17

22

13.17

49

29.34

23

13.77

25

14.97

23

13.77

25

14.97

48

28.74

85

50.90

82

49.10

90

53.89

77

46.11

167

100

119

GenderTotal

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Concerning language spoken, all of the participants were native speakers of Spanish. Theiroverall proficiency level of English, as measured by a standardized English test administeredprior to the intervention, was below A1 in the Common European Framework of Reference(Council of Europe, 2001).
Permission to participate in the study was obtained from the State's Department of Education,
the school officials and class teachers through meetings and project presentations. The risks ofparticipating in this study were the same as those encountered in daily life while attending
school. No additional risks were taken.
Lessons
There were twelve lessons of approximately 15 to 20 minutes in length for each of the groups.
These lessons were conducted in a period of three weeks during the time allotted for theparticipants to attend classes at their elementary school. There were four interventionists, one
for each grade, in charge of teaching both groups (experimental and comparison).
Instructional Materials
The stories and visuals used in this study were adapted from the multi-tiered curriculum Story
Champs (Spencer & Petersen, 2012). Story Champs is a language curriculum designed to teachspecific vocabulary and complex language structures through narratives with situations
familiar to children. The stories are a sequence of illustrations accompanied by icons of specificcolor that represent important aspects of the story: character, problem, problem resolution,
feeling, action, and ending.
Based on the results from the work of Gutierrez Arvizu (2017), changes were made to theselection of stories and content. The stories were selected based on cultural relevance andrelatability for elementary school students in the Mexican context. Also, character names werechanged to facilitate the story retellings. In the following paragraphs, a description of thematerials for each group is provided.
Experimental groups. In each lesson, two words were pre-taught using visuals and a story in
the participants’ L1 to provide context. A discussion relevant to the meaning of the new
vocabulary was encouraged. Then the story in English was read to the participants as theinterventionist would point to the images that illustrated each part of the story. A series oflistening comprehension questions around the elements of the story was asked of theparticipants as a class to reconstruct the story using icons and gestures representing eachelement. After that, the participants would engage in a paired activity to retell the story.
Comparison groups. In each lesson, the participants listened to the same story in theexperimental groups. They had a discussion of the story and a choral repetition of the story.
The participants were asked comprehension questions from the story but the story grammar
was not reviewed or practiced. The vocabulary was not discussed or practiced explicitly.
Assessments
Vocabulary test. A multiple-choice vocabulary test with 24 items was designed to measurelearning and retention. There were three options for each item. The participants would read andlisten to a word as they would be presented with three images. One of the images was thecorrect representation of the word. All of the words were part of the stories in the lessons. The
test items were dichotomously scored. The test was administered three times: pre-test, posttest, and delayed post-test (four months after the post-test). The vocabulary test was designed

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by the researcher for this specific study. It is not part of the Story Champs curriculum. It wasreviewed by experts teaching young learners. It was piloted with a small group of students prior
to the administration. A Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .76 indicated good reliability (Taber,2018).
Young learners’ perception survey. An eight item 5-point Likert-scale survey wasadministered along with the delayed post-test with the purpose of allowing the participants toexpress their views on the intervention they experienced (Pinter, 2014). The experimental andcomparison groups answered survey questions tailored to the intervention that was provided(see Appendix A and Appendix B for the surveys administered). In other words, theexperimental groups were asked about the use of visuals, native language, pre-teaching
vocabulary, story in their native language whilst the comparison groups were asked if theywould like the aforementioned strategies. The instruments used language that the participants
would comprehend easily. Each item was translated into Spanish, the participants’ native
language. It is important to mention that the researcher developed the survey. It was adaptedfrom Gutierrez Arvizu (2017) to suit the purposes of the present study. It was piloted with asmall group of children in the same grade.
ProceduresFirst, two groups of each grade were recruited to take part in the study. The groups wererandomly assigned to an experimental or comparison treatment. After that, the participants
were pretested using the vocabulary test designed to measure previous knowledge ofvocabulary in lessons. Once pretested, 12 lessons for each group were delivered over a periodof 4 weeks. Immediately after that, the participants took a post-test to measure their learningof vocabulary in the lessons. After a wait period of four months without lessons, a delayed
post-test was administered to measure vocabulary retention. All the collected data wasdeidentified for confidentiality purposes. It is important to mention that this study was
conducted with the authorization of the school teachers, principal, and senior officer for the
English National Program at the Secretariat of Education and Culture of the State of Sonora,
Mexico. The participants were always treated with utmost respect and were safely guarded by
the research team during the lessons and assessments.
Statistical Analyses
After data screening and preliminary tests for normality, homogeneity of variances, sphericity,and presence of outliers, it was determined that non-parametric analyses were required. In orderto answer research question 1 regarding the effect of a narrative intervention to aid in theacquisition of English vocabulary in EFL elementary school students, a Friedman test was
conducted to find differences across assessment times (pre-test, post-test, and delayed posttest) (Lund Research Ltd., 2013). The Friedman test is a nonparametric statistical test used tocompare multiple paired samples that are not normally distributed. It is the equivalent to therepeated measures analysis of variance. Due to all the participants having received narrativeintervention, they were taken as one sample. For research question 2 regarding the effect ofpre-teaching vocabulary strategies to increase acquisition, three Mann Whitney U analyses
were conducted to find differences between the experimental and comparison groups at eachtesting time (Lund Research Ltd., 2013). The Mann Whitney U test is a nonparametricstatistical procedure that compares two groups that come from a non-normal distribution. It is
the equivalent of the independent t-test. For research question 3, regarding the participants’
perceptions of the intervention received, descriptive statistics were used to analyze theresponses to the survey that was administered. The analyses were done using the responses tothe Likert-scale items in the survey. The survey for each group had eight items with five points

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for the participants’ to indicate how much in agreement they were with the statements provided
in each item. The responses were not coded for emerging themes.
Findings
Narrative Interventions to aid in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition
Research question 1 was presented as follows: Is a narrative intervention effective in increasing
English vocabulary acquisition of EFL elementary school students? This question regarding
the effectiveness of narrative instruction in aiding EFL young learners to acquire vocabulary
was answered by conducting a Friedman test. The results showed that there was a statisticallysignificant difference in vocabulary knowledge across testing times, χ2(2) = 74.79, p = 0.000.
That is, the participants in the study increased their vocabulary from pre-test to post-test to
delayed post-test. Table 2 shows the descriptive statistics of medians, means, and standard
deviations at each assessment point. Vocabulary knowledge tended to increase across time.
Table 3: Medians, means, and standard deviations of three testing times (N=167)
Assessment Times
PretestMedianMeanStandard deviation
Posttest
MedianMeanStandard deviation
Delayed Posttest
MedianMeanStandard deviation

Vocabulary Scores
14
13.60
4.01
16
16.07
4.21
17
16.57
3.93

Stories as an instructional strategy have been regarded as effective since second or foreign
language teaching methodology has been documented (Pinter, 2006; Wright, 1995). In EFL
contexts, narratives have aided the teaching of young language learners by introducing
vocabulary in a meaningful manner, thus making vocabulary acquisition easier and long lasting(Bland, 2014; Dujmović, 2006; Ellis & Brewster, 2014).
Effectiveness of Pre-teaching Vocabulary
Research question 2 was posed as follows: Does pre-teaching vocabulary increase vocabularyacquisition among EFL elementary school students? This question was intended to explore andanalyse the differences between the experimental and comparison groups regarding theeffectiveness of pre-teaching vocabulary through visuals, explicit instructions with definitions,and a story in the participants’ native language as strategies to increase vocabulary knowledge.
A series of comparisons between the groups at each assessment time was conducted toinvestigate if these strategies were effective. To accomplish the goal of the second researchquestion, three Mann Whitney U tests were conducted. Table 3 presents descriptive statistics
of medians, means, and standard deviations for each group.

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Table 4: Medians, means, and standard deviations for three testing times (N=167)
Assessment Times
PretestMedianMeanStandard deviation
Posttest
MedianMeanStandard deviation
Delayed Posttest
MedianMeanStandard deviation

Experimental Group (n=87)

Comparison Group (n=80)

14
13.78
3.99

13
12.41
4.05

16
16.46
3.93

16
15.65
4.48

18
17.23
3.94

16
15.86
3.87

The results showed a non-statistically significant result for the experimental and comparisongroups before the intervention (U= 3273, Z= -.666, p= .506). The effect size was r= .051, whichis considered small. Therefore, the groups were considered comparable at pretest. After theintervention, the results showed a non-statistically significant result (U= 3177, Z= -.974, p=.330). The effect size (r= .08) was small. Four months after the intervention was conducted, adelayed posttest was administered to determine if the vocabulary in the stories was retained.
The statistical test results indicated a significant difference between the experimental andcomparisons groups (U= 2733, Z= -2.401, p= .016). The effect size (r= .19) was small. The
experimental groups scored slightly higher than the comparison groups at this assessment
point.
Graphically, Figure 1 presents a pattern of increased vocabulary knowledge for both groups.
Upon further visual inspection and statistical analyses, specific information is revealed. At pretest, neither group was statistically significant different. That is, they could be considered thesame in a practical sense. At post-test, both groups had an increased vocabulary score asmeasured by the test administered once the narrative intervention was completed. At this point,
the results of a statistical test did not show any significant differences between the experimental
and comparison groups. However, a significant difference between the groups was found atdelayed post-test. That is, the experimental group obtained a higher score at post-test than thecomparison group.

20
15
Experimental
10

Comparison

50PretestPosttest

Delayed Posttest

Figure 1: Means plot for scores and testing times

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The findings of the delayed post-test suggest that using a variety of strategies to pre-teachvocabulary to young learners in an EFL context allows them to continue developing even after
instruction has been concluded. Among the strategies used effectively in this intervention werethe use of the native language, visuals, and meaningful context (Gutierrez Arvizu, 2017;
Paviéciâc Takaéc, 2008).
Young Learners’ Perspective
Research question 3 was stated as follows: What are the perceptions of the EFL elementary
school students in terms of the instruction of vocabulary in the narrative intervention received?
The purpose of the third research question was to give a voice to the participants regarding
their perspective on learning vocabulary in a narrative intervention. To accomplish this, asurvey using a 5-point Likert-scale was conducted. The items in the survey for the experimentalgroup reflected the actual teaching strategies used. The items in the survey for the comparisongroup were written as strategies they would like or prefer not to have. Table 4 shows the means
and standard deviations per group on each of the items and topics of the survey.
Table 5: Means and standard deviations per group for items on survey (N=167)
Experimental Groups(n=106)
Mean
Standard
Deviation
4.41
2.73

Topic
1. Learning new words in English

Comparison Groups(n=105)
Mean
Standard
Deviation
4.03
1.16

2. Liking visuals for new words

4.15

1.12

4.16

1.15

3. Liking how new words were taught

4.23

1.09

4.02

1.20

4. Understanding words better with visuals

4.04

1.12

3.89

1.22

5. Having stories in native language

4.33

1.03

3.98

1.39

6. Knowing meaning of words in story

4.02

1.14

4.09

1.24

7. Knowing meaning of words in native
language
8. Understanding story better if words were pretaught

4.26

1.06

4.34

1.13

3.65

1.26

4.01

1.24

Overall, it can be observed that the participants in both groups awarded high scores to the topics
in the items. The highest score in the experimental group was for learning new words in English(m=4.41, SD=2.73) closely followed by having stories in their L1 (m=4.33, SD=1.03) andknowing the meaning of vocabulary in their L1 (m=4.26, SD=1.06). For the comparisongroups, this last topic was awarded the highest scores (m=4.34, SD=1.13) as a strategy theywould like to have. They also expressed they would have liked having visuals for new
vocabulary (m=4.16, SD=1.15) and knowing the meaning of words in the stories (m=4.09,
SD=1.24).
In the comments section of the instrument, the participants expressed liking the lessons and thestories. A few comments included enjoying learning vocabulary and the visuals used.
Participants in the experimental group also expressed a positive perception towards having
learned the words in their native language, Spanish.

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The perspective of young language learners should be considered as they are the ultimate
consumers and beneficiaries of the instructional strategies teachers employ (Pinter, 2014). The
participants’ positive opinion on the use of stories and vocabulary teaching strategies in English
provides a basis for possible curricular changes and adaptations (Gutierrez Arvizu, 2017).
Recommendations
Based on the results from the statistical analyses, it can be noted that narratives in generalprovide context for meaningful vocabulary learning in a foreign language. Therefore,
vocabulary may be developed when seen in context with the support visuals, discussion, andthe relationship between words in L1 and L2. Interestingly, the results also showed that thebenefits of having teaching strategies for vocabulary development may be observed in the longterm. After four months, the participants in the experimental group continued slightly
increasing their vocabulary. It was at the delayed post-test assessment that a statisticallysignificant difference was found.
In this study, the participants in the experimental groups were exposed to multiple modes ofpresenting vocabulary (Linse, 2005) such as visuals, definitions, discussions, and narratives in
L2 and L1 to promote acquisition of lexical items. Despite the fact that the participants had abeginner level of proficiency in the language, they were able to understand the stories and learn
and retain vocabulary used in the stories. Srinivas (2009) stressed the importance of introducing
new and key words before using stories through visuals and realia when teaching English toyoung learners. Moreover, Linse (2005) and Nunan (2011) considered explicit instruction, preteaching vocabulary, and multiple exposure to the new lexical items as part of the principles
for teaching vocabulary to young learners.
The interplay between materials, content, and teaching strategies to promote communicativecompetence comes to a realization in the learners’ proficiency in the language. Particularly
when teaching young learners, these elements should be engaging and varied (Emery & Rich,
2015). The participants in this study enjoyed the stories, materials, and activities. The young
learners who participated in the study perceived this intervention as motivating to learn andpractice English. When teachers face the task of choosing the stories to be used in class, theyshould take into account that stories should be engaging from the beginning, be appropriate,
provide rich language experiences, and be enjoyable and comprehensible (Srinivas, 2009).
As the field of applied linguistics moves forward, the voice of young language learners shouldbe heard. Pinter (2014) advocated for giving space for young learners to provide their own
insights into their second or foreign language learning process. In their perception, theparticipants shed light into the importance of the L1 when used as a strategy for learning a new
language. The L1 should be considered as a resource or strategy (Alshehri, 2017) that language
teachers have that allows learners to make meaningful connections.
An observation from the researcher’s stance is that an important piece in any curricular
implementation to ensure that the guidelines are properly conducted is teacher training. In
future studies, the effectiveness of this narrative intervention should be investigatedlongitudinally while teaching the lessons throughout a school year and delivered by English
teachers. It is also suggested that the teachers incorporate lessons that match or aid in thecontent already established in their course syllabi.

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One limitation of this study is that the data were collected in only one research site. This school
was located in the center of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico surrounded by businesses and middleclass housing. It had all the conveniences of an urban school such as running water, electricity,and internet. Also, the school had a computer room and library. This implies that the findings
and conclusions may not be the same if the intervention would be administered in schools withdifferent characteristics regarding English proficiency of the students, amount of time forEnglish classes prior to the study, and characteristics. It is suggested that further studies may
be conducted to sustain the results.
Conclusion
Overall, the results of this research indicated that using stories and pre-teaching vocabulary are
effective, particularly over time. The effect of teaching English through stories in EFL contexts
allows elementary school students to develop vocabulary in this language. Furthermore, theeffects of using instructional strategies such as pre-teaching vocabulary, using visuals, andtelling a story in the students’ native language, aided in the vocabulary acquisition process.
These effects were observed across time, after the intervention was concluded. Adding to theseresults, the participants’ perspective was mainly positive. The young learners of EFL expressed
liking the interventions in general as they were exposed to a new method of instruction thatallowed them to practice the English language and learn vocabulary.
Teaching English to young learners in foreign language contexts has exponentially grown in
the last decades. This tendency will continue in the future as English is widely used in business,academia, science, and culture contexts to mention a few. It is of utmost importance that
English language programs, particularly in public education, make the best possible use of thelimited resources they have to advance the language learning process and achievecommunicative competence. It is clear that this can be done through the implementation ofteaching strategies that are effective as research evidence supports to develop the language inmeaningful lessons that promote vocabulary acquisition, as well as all the skills. Narratives
have been and will continue to be at the core of teaching instruction. It depends on how we as
language teachers implement it that our students will benefit the most.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express her gratitude to the Secretaría de Educación Pública in
Mexico. This research work was supported by the Programa de Desarrollo Profesional
Docente through a grant awarded in 2018 under the title “Comprensión auditiva en inglés en
primaria pública en México”. It has been registered at Universidad de Sonora, Mexico with
the number USO318005666. Many thanks to Dr. Trina D. Spencer for her advice on
instructional and testing materials development, and research design. Finally, thanks to theresearch team, participants, school teachers, principal, and officials who supported thisresearch project.

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Corresponding author: Maria Nelly Gutierrez Arvizu
Contact email: marianelly.gutierrez@unison.mx

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