it's national storytelling week!

Next week is National Storytelling Week 2026!

In 2026, we will be celebrating National Storytelling Week from Monday 2 February to Sunday 8 February with FREE online events running on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 February 2026. The events will be live-captioned Created by Society for Storytelling, this fantastic annual event is a joyful celebration of the power of sharing stories. Stories teach us about the world; they allow us to step into someone else’s shoes and feel empathy; they help us to relax and escape and they can help develop essential literacy skills.

And this year, they're making it musical:

Our research highlights that exploring stories through lyrics can be an effective way to re-engage young people with reading for enjoyment and writing for pleasure. Slightly more than 3 in 5 (60.7%) children and young people age 8-18 regularly read song lyrics digitally.

All of which can be adapted to the ESL/ESOL/TEFL classroom.

There are lots of things to discuss around storytelling...

Should we allow AI to make up stories for us [see: trurl's electronic bard vs chatgpt]

When it comes to new people among us, especially in our schools, should immigrants be encouraged to use their mother tongue?

When it comes to storytelling, it's often difficult to see what's next...; there are often specific themes, such as creating narratives around money and debt; some stories, such as blockbusters, don't have to be stupid; and look out for the political narratives...

Finally, beyond the UK and the school system, there are lots of writing activities for the ESL class and beyond...

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