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Reviving the Art of Story telling

DUBA I— As a child, Huda Hassan, an Emirati, spent hours with her grandmother relishing the tales of Arabia — the pearl divers, Bedouins and wind towers that will stay with her for life.

Perhaps, she is the last generation to experience the joys of being enraptured by stories ‘well told’ with the interest in the art of storytelling receding among the youth.

Identifying the need to encourage children to read and preserve the past, more than 200 diploma students of Dubai Women’s College - Higher Colleges of Technology will be a part of the Reading in Schools project at government schools in Dubai.

“The project will help inculcate the habit of reading among school children,” said Zadjia Zahi, English faculty member and head of the project at the college.

“We’ve noticed that children here do not read as much as those in other countries,” she said.

In 2008, a survey by the UN revealed that the average Arab in the Middle East reads approximately four pages worth of literature a year, where as Americans read an average of 11 books a year, with the average Briton reading eight books.

“As future mothers, the programme will also prepare our students to teach their children the importance of reading, by becoming storytellers themselves,” Zahi said.

Julia Johnson, UAE-based children’s author and storyteller, said the art of narrating stories must be revived before the past is forgotten.

“Before the boom of television, computers and shopping malls, this part of the world depended a lot on oral storytelling,” said Johnson.

“They would sit together and tell stories and that is a tradition which has died out.”

Johnson has authored more than 10 children’s books that revolve around the traditions and inhabitants of the region. Stories such as ‘The Pearl Diver’ that introduces children to the Arabian Gulf and beauty that lies within the sea and ‘Saluki Hound of the Bedouin’ that shows the life of the desert and the bond between the man and the beast bring young Arabs closer to their heritage.

“Stories which have not been written about this country are in danger,” she said.

“If young people take the time to sit and listen to the old stories that their grandparents narrate, they will have a fund of stories that they can write down and pass on.”

This month, DWC students will conduct reading activities in government schools and donate books sponsored by Magrudy’s Bookshop.

Zahi said the student-run community service activity fosters the spirit of volunteering and enables a transfer of knowledge.

“The students will be taught how to approach the local students at schools and make reading enjoyable and accessible to them,” she said.

As part of the project, DWC students will be taught the skills of storytelling. They have to work in pairs and plan out activities, and buy books for the school they choose.

Storytelling should begin as early as possible, according to Johnson. “It is the best way to introduce children to a language,” she said.

“They can start with rhymes… jiggling the baby on the knee and singing, even if they do not understand,” she said.

“For parents, it can be a sharing occasion, a time to talk, show pictures and encourage children to find out more.”

At school, course topics can be introduced through stories that actively involve the children.

“Invite them to develop their own ending and write down their own stories,” Johnson said.

In 2004, Shaikha Al Shehhi, a UAE national, conducted a study on the benefits of reading picture books on the vocabulary of students in government schools and found that story time and the post-reading discussion facilitated the students’ understanding of the words and verbs in the story.

Shehhi selected and made a variety of storybooks that were around themes from the course book and recorded their behaviour.

As a result, students began discussing the book with her and talked about the characters and events. They wrote down new words they learnt and made sentences out of them.

Some took the concepts home and received a positive feedback from the family on their improvement in the English language.

Similarly, the rollback effect of the Reading in Schools initiative is evident with students practising their reading skills at home, on their siblings.

Khadija Abbas Ali of DWC has an audience waiting for her at home ever since she took up storytelling. “I read to my siblings when they are at home and love to watch them react,” she said.

Faculty members have noticed a peak in interest in reading among their students as well. “They have started buying more books and it also helps improve their language,” said Zahi.

“It’s good to see that it will not only benefit the community now but will change the way they raise their children in the future as well,” she said. — afshan@khaleejtimes.com

Business Case Centre Planned to Hone Skills

THE University of Wollongong is planning to set up a Business Case Centre to develop business cases with a regional context.

At the Case Writing and Teaching Workshop held at the university campus in Dubai Knowledge Village last month in association with Canada’s Richard Ivey School of Business, participants were provided with the knowledge and skills to write original field based cases and teach effectively using cases.

Internationally renowned expert Professor James A. Erskine said the region’s corporate sector and business students need to master case writing skills from a regional perspective.

Professor Mohamed Khalifa, Vice President (Academic), UOWD said the workshop resulted in strong support from industry and high level of satisfaction from participants.

“This workshop will pave the way for the setting up of a Business Case Centre at UOWD. The centre will develop business cases within the regional context, further strengthening the industry-academic linkage”.

Cases were developed in collaboration with organisations including Economic Zones World, JAFZA, Jumeirah Group, Production Services Network (Dubai), National Bank of Dubai, Excel Sports, Selective Marine Services, Aqua Chemie, Promo Seven Sports Marketing , DAMCO, Dubai and TMH, Dubai.

On course

Gain an EMBA degree at the American University of Sharjah (AUS)

The Executive Master of Business Administration programme at the School of Business and Management (SBM) is aimed at working professionals and individuals running their own businesses.

The programme focuses on development of leadership and decision-making skills, learning from cross-functional business approaches, strategies, techniques and technologies around the world to identify useful new ideas and to stimulate creative problem solving

The two year course will be taught on alternative weekends and requires the completion of 45 credits in eight modules designed to provide a dynamic and integrative approach.

Students will have access to the expertise of 82 SBM faculty members.

It will include two travel study seminars—one to the US and the other to Europe— that entail visiting and interacting with global multinational corporations, thereby introducing students to world markets in 
a structured setting.

REQUIREMENTS:

A four year bachelor’s degree from a university recognised by AUS and the Ministry of Higher Education.

Minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or equivalent.

Low CGPA must be backed by at least five years or relevant work experience

Strong score of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

A minimum International TOEFL score of 213

Additional details including CV and reference letters need to be presented

Contact: SBM Office of Graduate Programmes and Outreach at 06 515 2028/ email: emba@aus.edu

Word up

A is for Arabia

Julia Johnson

The book takes you on a a journey through Arabia from A to Z.

It follows Bedouins and dhows, camels and oryx, accompanied along the way by illustrations and witty rhymes.

It introduces children to life in Arabia, with pictures and words explaining Ramadan, Iftar and Eid, khanjars, mosques and souqs. Children’s author Julia Johnson put the enquiry bug in young readers through her offering.

The THREAD

Bedtime Storytelling : I was in charge of putting Cordy to bed tonight. She has a set routine that she follows nearly every night…

But tonight, as I was pulling the blankets up, she said, “A story, mommy?”

“I tell you a story, mommy.” That was a first — she’s never tried to tell a story before. I wasn’t sure what to expect…“OK, Cordy. You tell me a story.”And then the story began. “Once upon a time, there were three letters. (She pointed to the letters on my sweatshirt.) They were in the spooky forest, and they were big....” Her voice trailed off. I wasn’t sure if she had already grown bored with her story, or if the difficulty of creating a story was frustrating her. It was a good start, though, and I wanted her to keep trying.

“Then what happened?” I asked.

“Then the knights got on the horses. And there was tea.” Her voice trailed off again, as if she didn’t know where to go next.

“What next?” I prodded her on.

“The volcano! It was a giant volcano, then it was small. And the roadrunner ran really fast.”

She paused, and I waited to see if she would continue again.

“And there was a river. Goodnight, mommy!” …

I walked out of her room grinning ear to ear. That was her first story, and though it had no organisation…it was still her first attempt at telling a story. I may have to start telling her more stories and encouraging her to tell me more stories to improve her storytelling skills.If her first involved that much imagination, I can’t wait to hear future tales from her.

Chirstina, a mommy who chronicle’s all her child’s move blogs @ A Mommy Story