Reflection LGA: Tan Eik Ter (930818-07-5895)

Based on the story that I have chosen to present which is The Llama and The Lion,
I have managed to identify my strengths, my weaknesses and reflected on how I could
improve on them. Under the guidance of Madam Suraya binti Harun, I have managed to
deliver the story confidently and effectively in accordance to the selection criteria of stories
for young learners.
First and foremost, I managed to attract their attention by choosing a specific animal
which is new to most of the pupils. Their excitement and anticipation can be seen through
their facial expressions when they were beaming with smiles and their body language
showed that they were eager to listen to the story. Young pupils would generally prefer
animals and by introducing them the llama, I believe I have helped them in expanding their
general knowledge especially in the area of animals. This would then enhance their interest
and curiosity to know more and instil the sense of intuition.
The introduction of my story which was telling the pupils mainly on llamas was vital
because it provides me the opportunity to capture my audiences attention. Needless to say
that the pupils were enchanted by the cute and fluffy looking alpaca plush toy which I
brought along which was delightful to the eyes of my audience. Indeed, the visual
enhancement through the representation of the llama in its physical toy form serves as a
centre of attraction that the main character of the story is the llama itself.
Furthermore, another fundamental attribute to a successful storytelling is portraying a
strong sense of confidence. Undeniably, confidence plays a major role in a storytelling
session as a storyteller would be required to deliver the story effectively through the smooth
flow of uniformity and cohesion from one plot to another, from the beginning to the end of the
story. Likewise, in my storytelling session, I have managed to rehearse a couple of times
beforehand, ensuring that the story is being told to the pupils according to what has been
composed earlier. For example, my eye contact with pupils and the simple gestures I made
using the llama, the staff, hands and facial expressions certainly did captivate my pupils at
certain points of the story. Without confidence, I would have not been able to tell my story
this effectively.
Moreover, I reminded myself that in order for an effective storytelling to take place, it
was also important for me to have a clear pronunciation. I was very particular with my
pronunciation, ensuring that every word is being pronounced and enunciated in the right way
and right tone. It is of utmost importance that pupils not only enjoy the story but know the
right way of pronouncing the words. Pupils have to be taught to pronounce words correctly
because a different pronunciation might give a different meaning to the context. Besides

ensuring that I myself have to pronounce some difficult words correctly, I did not let it disrupt
the flow of my story. Most storytellers would tend to slow down when encountering difficult
words as they would want to omit mistakes and to pick up the pace of the story abruptly.
This might eventually cause the pupils to lose track of the story. Therefore, what I did was
just to tell my story as naturally as possible without worrying on the pronunciation alone.
On top of that, my voice projection throughout my storytelling session was
consistently audible. In my opinion, a clear audible voice would ensure pupils stay connected
with the storyteller. For instance, during my storytelling session, I managed to portray
different characters using different voices and tones. I did not adopt a monotonous style of
presenting my story for when I was needed to carry out the role of the lion, the transition of a
soft, likeable, and adorable voice of llama to a gruff, coarse and rough voice of a lion can be
clearly distinguished. My voice projection coupled with the effects of sound variations really
did enhance the delivery of my The Llama and The Lion story.
In addition, as stated by my lecturer, I have managed to come out with a story that
highlights on explicit moral values. In my story, I wanted to expose to my pupils the
importance of having faith and pride in your own abilities even though others may look down
upon you. For instance, the story which was supposed to portray the superiority of the lion
was overturned by the smartness and wittiness of the llama. Difference of size or opinions of
others will never influence your ability of overcoming the adversity. Instead of sharing with
pupils common moral values such as do not lie, do not steal, never give up, I believe this
fresh approach of introducing explicit moral values should be further extensively
encouraged.
One of the weaknesses that I could improve on is by being more expressive with my
movements. Instead of limiting my movements to just one part of the classroom, I could fully
utilise those empty spaces by moving to the left, right, up and down. This would definitely
enhance the liveliness in the class and ensure the story does not get dull. Besides that, I
believe I could have introduced a lion in the form of a plush toy to make my story more
interesting. Since my story involves only two main characters, it would be sensible and
rational if I present the lion too. Another probable weakness would be the lack of interaction
between the storyteller and the pupils. I guess I could improve in this aspect by including
more question and answer sessions in between paragraphs or anywhere deemed necessary
in order to make it more interactive. By engaging pupils into my story, they would have a
comprehensive knowledge on what is going on in my story and thus, enhancing the
storyline.

In conclusion, I believe I could have done better if given a second chance.

Nevertheless, the experiences of delivering and sharing a story in front of my pupils have
given me the opportunity to sharpen my skills and pushing me towards being a better
storyteller in the future. I guess all of these skills are essential in shaping a teacher that
would not just aim at seeing pupils enjoying the story but also acknowledging the aesthetic
values of the story.