St. Mike’s master’s grad taps into roots for book of cultural stories to enhance language learning

When Bernadette Samake M’25 was a grade school student in Mali learning French in addition to her native language, Bambara, it was the stories that really ignited her passion for languages.  

Now, as the Fulbright student graduates from Saint Michael’s College with a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) — and is fluent in three languages herself with some instruction in a fourth — she hopes to instill intrinsic motivation for language acquisition for young learners through storytelling. 

To help with that, Samake has created a children’s book that translates traditional Malian folktales into English.  

Folktales instructive in instilling values and for language learning  

Through Tales and Fables Around the Fire, Samake hopes to make English learning fun while also preserving cultural stories that have been passed down for generations.  

Bernadette Samake M’25 holding her book Tales and Fables Around the Fire. The book is comprised of folktales from her native country, Mali, which she hopes will be used as an English language learning resource.

“Each of those stories, the main goal really – beyond the entertaining aspect – is to teach moral lessons,” Samake said. “Because stories, tales, have a very important role in our society.”   

She explained storytelling was school for Malian children before a western school approach.  

“This was the way for us to teach values to children,” Samake said.   

African stories often depict personified animals, each chosen for a specific characteristic. In one story in Samake’s book, a hare thinks it is clever pretending to be sick to get out of helping others build a well, and in another story a girl who likes music and performances goes out without telling her parents. In both cases there are consequences, but ultimately the protagonists learn values such as teamwork and obedience. Samake’s book explores themes of unity, wickedness, obedience, greed, and betrayal. 

Growing up in Mali, Samake described how grandparents would sit around the fire with their grandchildren and tell these stories in Bambara. The culture is steeped in oral tradition, but that may be changing.   

“For me it was a way to have them written down, to preserve them because they’re maybe disappearing because of modernity,” she said. “And, also I wanted to give them a second life to use them as English learning tools.”  

From Mali to the U.S. – tales serve many audiences 

Samake had in mind Malian children learning English when she wrote the book. She said French children’s books helped her language skills develop quickly, but there weren’t the same resources available in English. Mostly, she encountered grammar books when she studied English in college. She wanted to create a resource she wished she had had as a student, and one that language teachers would find useful for developing motivation – a key challenge for students learning another language.

Tales and Fables Around the Fire by Bernadette Samake M’25.

“I wanted to give them what I did not have,” she said.  

What surprised her was how much native English speakers seemed to enjoy the stories. She became aware of the impact the book could also have on literacy and multicultural awareness for young learners from a variety of backgrounds. 

Her expertise has been sought in that area; she will soon speak at a conference about using international children’s books as a means of culturally responsive teaching for multilingual students and families. 

Graduation is just the beginning – there are always more stories to tell 

Tales and Fables Around the Fire originally published in 2023 and had a small print run just before Samake traveled to the U.S. for graduate school. While she has been at St. Mike’s, the book has undergone some additional edits, sizing changes, and e-book format creation. She is currently deciding whether to remain with her France-based publisher and hopes to launch the book on Amazon soon so the general public and schools can purchase copies.  

She hopes the rollout will go well because she has ideas for more books. Some remain in the children’s book realm, while others are non-fiction.  

Samake’s personal story continues beyond graduating from Saint Michael’s College; she plans to continue on to a doctoral program in a similar field. So, this is not “THE END” for Samake.  

Find out more about Saint Michael’s College’s MATESOL program here>>