Contextualized Storytelling, Professional Teacher Development, and Audiovisual Resources for EFL Learning in Early Childhood Education: The Case of "Aula Manglar" in the Galapagos Islands

Abstract

Although context-based instructional materials, teacher education, and active pedagogical methodologies are necessarily important in early language learning, rural and isolated places often use standard curricula not linked to local context. This article shares the conclusions of a project carried out by Universidad Yachay Tech in the Galapagos Islands under the name of Proyecto de Vinculación con la Sociedad (Code: VS_PG_02_PY_09_FC). The initiative designed, implemented, and validated contextualized audiovisual and pedagogical resources—specifically through the open-access storytelling series "Orion and Isabella's Adventures" published by Editorial UNAE—to strengthen English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning among basic education children in the "Aula Manglar" classroom environment. The objective of this study is to describe, in an integrated manner, the design and implementation of these contextualized storytelling materials together with the accompanying teacher professional development process, and to present initial evidence of how this combined intervention relates to children's engagement, confidence, and reading interaction. Based on established frameworks for teacher professional development, the present study provides evidence of the initial collaborative diagnostic meetings with local English teachers from partner institutions (Educational Institution/UE Stella Maris and Educational Institution/UE Jacinto Gordillo) and committed volunteers from the Manglar School. Using a qualitative-descriptive methodology and based on systematically logged field notes (bitácora) obtained during face-to-face pedagogical events beginning in June 2026, the study identifies a total of 46 separate institution-based interventions, including 18 sessions dedicated to "Aula Manglar"; 7 Conversation Club interventions among secondary-level schools, and 10 hybrid community sessions. As a result of data collected by local teachers, many critical gaps were identified within modern methodology and schools' alignment with the national curricular threads of the Ecuadorian curriculum. This made it necessary to co-design a plan of action to work toward integrating local educational needs/suggestions with the targeted customization of instructional materials. The evidence reveals that providing vocabulary, grammar usage, and reading comprehension that are rooted in familiar ecological/cultural context, combined with specific professional development for teachers, teaches students to be more engaged situationally, more confident communicatively, and more inclined to interact with printed text.