Telling stories orally first before

Telling stories orally first before writing them down was seen to enhance the learners’ writing. However, five learners, some of whom were at lower proficiency levels, preferred writing their stories first, suggesting that written composition allowed them more time to organize their thoughts and find the appropriate vocabulary. Two lear- ners expressed a preference for writing by hand, while three others took advantage of spell check software and online multilingual diction- aries to correct their work while using a computer. As Student 1 said, ‘If I’m writing, I will think of more, but talking . . . sometimes my mind is faster but my mouth is slower.’ This student also expressed her prefer- ence for oral storytelling by noting that reciting words aloud helped her fix new vocabulary in her mind: ‘I think if I talk, this words is mine.’ Student 4, who felt that she learned new vocabulary by listen- ing, commented that ‘when you listen to stories you can get, can take many words, new words.’ This notion was echoed by Student 3, who commented, ‘I usually get some words . . . words I don’t know’ from other learners in the classroom.