ABSTRACT
Storytelling is a popular focus in early years due to its importance in supporting children's oral language development and early writing. Oral language is key for enabling children to rehearse their thinking and support their understanding and is crucial in developing social relationships and communication skills. Research recognises the challenges for practitioners with increasing numbers of children arriving in nursery and schools with seemingly low levels of oral language and its impact on their development. Several nurseries and schools chose to focus on developing oral language for their action research projects which meant a difficult decision about which specific project to use as an example of a complete project. Action research offers an opportunity to focus on developing oral language through a range of creative and innovative approaches to suit the needs of the children and context.
