Stories are a vital component in helping students acquire a new language effectively. Short stories can be an ideal way to introduce literature in a foreign language classroom as they help students learn and practice the four key skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Stories meet students' emotional, cognitive and psychological needs while providing an authentic model of language use that engages students and stimulates language acquisition more than focusing solely on linguistic elements alone.

1. Stories : Vital Component in the Alchemy of Acquisition
Abstract
Vinija. N.S
Faculty, SIE Kerala
Since the objective of English language teaching is to help students to
communicate fluently in the target language, teachers should provide an authentic model of
language use. For this, teaching materials have to be prepared by giving importance not only on
linguistic elements, but also on literary and cultural elements. Literature has rich potential to
provide an authentic model of language use. It is proved that short stories are often an ideal way
of introducing students to literature in the foreign language classroom. It helps students to learn
the four skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing more effectively because of the
motivational benefit embedded in them. Stories meet the emotional, cognitive and psychological
demands of the children. This paper probs into the effectiveness of stories to stimulate the
acquisition process.