Storytelling often implies entertainment, however it can be educational and has been used as such throughout history. Storytelling has received attention in the SLA field as well. Most published research on storytelling in an L2 has involved young learners and has investigated its impact on linguistic skills (Lucarevschi, 2016), and the term storytelling itself can involve a wide variety of genres (e.g., folk tales, myths) and delivery mechanisms (e.g., written, spoken, digital). This presentation will focus on personal storytelling in the form of anecdotes. Anecdotes are short, spoken non-fictional accounts that recall a notable event and are commonly shared in daily conversations. The potential of anecdotes in language learning contexts has been promoted by educators (e.g., Jones, 2001; Wajnryb, 2003). However, while studies exist on storytelling, ones specifically concerning anecdotes are scarce: there is a large gap between pedagogical enthusiasm and empirical research. This presentation will give a narrative of the presenter’s doctoral research on student-told anecdotes in an EFL context. It will provide a wide-angle view of his research endeavor from an experimental task to a cornerstone of his oral communication classes. The presentation will also touch on qualitative research methodologies such as Narrative Inquiry and practitioner research in the form of Exploratory Practice (Allwright, 2003) that have sustained the presenter’s recent publications on this topic. The presentation will include interactive tasks in which attendees can practice sharing engaging anecdotes. Finally, the presenter will provide detailed lesson plans so that attendees can incorporate anecdote sharing in their own language classes. JOACHIM CASTELLANO is a lecturer at Gunma University. He is a doctoral candidate at Ryukoku University where he is researching SLA and storytelling, specifically focusing on anecdotes in L2 classrooms. Joachim was selected as an award winner for the 2013 Apple Distinguished Educator in Japan. THIS IS A FACE-TO-FACE EVENT
