Resumo

VAN DER VYVER, Corné. The value of personal storytelling in Afrikaans Home Language in the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2021, vol.61, n.3, pp.772-793. ISSN 2224-7912.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2021/v61n3a8.

Storytelling, in general, is used worldwide as a strategy in informal education. Telling one's personal life story, a subdivision of the encompassing phenomenon, is a valuable educational tool. In this regard storytelling on an individual level possesses important characteristics that can be used to enhance teaching strategies. McAdams (2001:101) found that life stories are especially important in expressing an individual's identity, thereby enabling them to make sense of their experiences. It is therefore very important that learners receive exposure to and training in telling life stories from an early age. This exposure guides learners in gradually becoming familiar with different storytelling activities, thereby enabling them to participate confidently in sharing their life stories upon reaching the age when such activity may be practised successfully. Given the fact that telling life stories is a subdivision of storytelling as a larger global phenomenon, it was important to have a closer look at the functions of storytelling in general. Storytelling as a general educational tool supports the value of learning the art of telling one's life story, especially when considering the influence of storytelling with regard to the neuro-development and associated processes and changes in learners. According to Gazzaniga (2011:75), storytelling reflects a basic ability of the memory to organise, helping a person to present memory thoughts coherently. Particular attention was therefore paid to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) to determine whether the CAPS underlines Gazzaniga's findings on storytelling and memory functions. It is generally accepted that most people learn best by means of their own meaningful experiences that enable them to connect new knowledge to that which they already believe or understand (Killen 2019:3). The guidelines in the CAPS support the notion that storytelling represents the way in which people use spoken language (discourse) and written language (text) in coherent and meaningful ways (Department of Basic Education 2011:14). It is necessary to determine whether enough time has been allocated in the CAPS to expose learners to storytelling from an early age. Since McAdams found that life stories can only be told successfully in early adolescence, it was necessary to determine whether this exposure to and training in storytelling skills accumulate until learners in early adolescence have reached the point where they are able to participate spontaneously and with confidence in telling their life stories. In this study, the CAPS documents were analysed by means of document analysis to see what kind of storytelling is encouraged, how much time is allocated to storytelling from Grade R to Grade 12 and which skills are acquired, according to the CAPS, for learners to be able to successfully participate in personal storytelling (listening and speaking). Findings in this article show that although learners are exposed to storytelling at a young age, the time allocated in the CAPS for storytelling is not enough to establish a storytelling culture. Also, the time spent on storytelling in class decreases as learners grow older, instead of increases, as would be expected. It is recommended that a partnership be established between the school and the community to address this issue. Teachers do not have enough time in the classroom for personal storytelling to take place, and therefore such a partnership will make a positive contribution in this regard. Moreover, the class situation is not always a safe environment in which to engage in personal storytelling - a problem that can, however, also be addressed by means of a partnership. When storytelling is learnt in the community, it should not be a strange concept for the individual when he or she encounters it in class. In this way, storytelling should facilitate the teacher's task in the classroom. It is important that trustworthiness be established in a partnership in order for it to become the medium through which the participants may safely expose their identity, thereby also assisting others in engaging in a similar activity. In this way such a partnership will be mutually beneficial to all the role players.

Palavras-chave : Afrikaans Home Language; autobiographical stories; Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS); document analysis; life stories; literature analysis; McAdams's life story theory; personal stories; role of storytelling; storytelling; storytelling skills.

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