The TALES workshop

The TALES Workshop combines theoretical exploration and practical activities to engage students in reflecting on picturebook mediation as a communicative practice for EAL education with children. The workshop focused on the exploration of picturebooks about nature and the environment, on the reflection on their potential use in additional language education, and on the design of read-aloud performances in EAL. Tasks, group discussions, hands-on activities and collaborative activities encourage student teachers to identify and reflect on the multimodal features of picturebooks and their implications for children’s understanding and engagement in communicative interaction. By working in pairs or small groups, students identify and discuss multimodal elements in picturebooks and their potential use with young learners in EAL education contexts. The workshop also includes practical activities where students engage with the design of read-aloud performances. Through learning-by-doing activities, they practice using semiotic resources such as voice modulation, gestures, gaze, and book handling to enhance children’s comprehension and engagement. At the end of the workshop, students can perform in pairs or small groups a read-aloud of a picturebook in front of the whole group and share reflections on multimodal mediation strategies.