Abstract
This paper first discusses the advantages of using literature in language learning, explains why children’s literature is suitable for EFL learners, and then illustrates a project which used children’s literature to engage EFL university students in reading and writing stories. Participants of the project were two cohorts of first-year English majors (n=43) from a national university in southern Taiwan. Students’ opinions were gathered from their reflective statements and interviews. Themes were first identified by two raters and data then coded independently. A majority of the students considered the selected stories were good writing models, the process of story writing was rewarding, the web postings nurturing, and the authors’ computer chair empowering. The paper concludes with some suggestions for classroom practice in the EFL university classroom.
Keywords: Children’s Literature, EFL Writing Instruction, Literature-based Instruction
Introduction
Narrative is one of the two modes of our thinking (Bruner, 1986). While communicating with others, we may describe an incident as a way of explaining our thoughts or a part of our argument. As such, narration is usually an essential prose genre required to practice in a university composition course for learners of English as a foreign language (henceforth, EFL). However, when it comes to the first-year composition in Taiwan, some students who are lacking in practice and stimulus for imagination and creativity often do not have much to say. Their writing in general reads plain and dull; their stories are simply displays of chronological events, having no life and content.
Since reading and writing have a close relationship with each other (Grabe, 1991; Reid, 1993), carefully selected reading materials double as effective prompts and models for writing. For years, literature has been recognized as a valuable resource for reading and writing instruction. But, in EFL context, full-length novels or fiction may not provide input as comprehensible as stories written for children nor model examples of language style and length for production. Thus, for several years I have attempted to use children’s literature in my composition course and developed a task of reading and writing stories to empower my student writers and activate their imagination.
In this paper, I will first discuss the advantages of using literature in language learning, next address the issue of literature selection for EFL learners, argue that children’s literature is a suitable material to engage EFL university students in reading and writing activities, then present a project of reading and writing stories for university English majors in Taiwan, and provide some suggestions for classroom practice and instruction design in the end.
2. Using Literature for Language Learning
2.1. Why Literature?
The use of literature has been acknowledged as conducive to academic, intellectual, cultural, and linguistic learning (McKay, 1982; Oster, 1989; Sage, 1987; Spack, 1985). In L1 context, educators, especially whole language advocates, have recommended the use of literature and authentic materials (e.g. Goodman, 1992; Harste, Woodward, & Burke, 1984). At schools, literature is not only operated as a pragmatic vehicle for teaching reading and writing, but also as a powerful way of knowing about oneself and the world. There are so many teachers seeing its benefits for students and so much empirical and anecdotal documentation verifying its positive results (Rudman, 1993; Smallwood, 1996). Palardy (1997) states that through literature, student readers “will have the opportunity to develop insights and understandings of the cultures and people of the world; to develop their imagery and visualization abilities; and to gain new perspectives by testing their ideas with those found in books” (p. 67). Likewise, Root (1971) maintains that literature helps the readers better understand themselves, their world, and the aesthetic values of the written text.
L2 researchers and practitioners who seek communication as the primary goal of instruction also encourage the use of literature. Sage (1987) argues that literature represents various uses of the language, conventional and literary, displays a broader range of communication strategies than any other single language teaching component, and extends linguistic knowledge on the levels of usage and use. When students read literature, they learn the target language in a whole context rather than memorizing words and rules. This way of getting knowledge about language resembles the subconscious process of language acquisition proposed by Krashen (1976). Not like formal learning of vocabulary and language structure in the classroom, literature provides an informal but supportive environment for students to naturally develop their linguistic system. Also, Mitchell (1989t) asserts that the use of literature is a way of ensuring informal encounters between the ESL learners and the proficient native language user (the author) with the language, both inside and outside the classroom. Widdowson (1983) maintains that literature “sets up conditions for a crucial part of language learning - the ability to infer meaning by procedural activity" (p. 33). In addition to reading, Moody (1971) states that literature helps build up students’ listening comprehension when used aurally, encourages oral practice through discussion and offers many interesting chances to write. In other words, as input, literature presents different but natural language communications to students; as prompts, literature, being naturally involving, can stimulate students to discuss, share, and write. Functional language skills are therefore developed in meaningful, communicative activities.
Literature also serves as a valuable source of language input in the EFL context. For EFL learners, reading perhaps mainly channels the input of the target language. As Nuttall (1982) contends, “The best way to improve your knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among its speakers…. the next best way is to read extensively in it” (p. 168). Krashen (1982) also states that reading is a convenient way to receive comprehensive input within the four walls of the classroom. This input does not necessarily have to be gained from direct contacts with English native speakers. When it comes to reading materials, Gajdusek (1988) argues that literature is a more satisfying input than other reading sources. In addition to the linguistic benefit, literature especially opens the door for EFL learners to the target culture. Abulhaija (1987) asserts that we can never learn or teach English in EFL situations in isolation from literature because “literature is a vehicle through which we can get contact of all roots with other cultures, peoples, and societies, [and] language is the means to carry that out” (p. 3). Through literature learning a foreign language leads to a cultural understanding and cultural communication. To learn English for cross-cultural communication, Marquardt (1967) maintains that “knowledge of deep structures of the target language and perceptions of the underlying values, assumptions, beliefs, and inter-group attitudes of the target culture are now considered as important as control of structural patterns....Literature has been found ready to suggest ways of meeting these new needs” (p. 9). Kintanar (1972) also notes that literature plays a significant role in the connection between cultural learning and language learning. Obviously, the natural convergence between literature, language, and culture suggests the use of literature in the EFL curriculum.
2.2. Why Children’s Literature?
When we face numerous literature resources, selection becomes the first and foremost issue. To choose appropriate materials for EFL students, generally we need to take three important factors into consideration: language, content, and length.
Adeyanju (1978) argues that the language of literature text should not be stylized, dialectal, or otherwise difficult. This does not mean simplifying the text by limiting the length of sentences or the number of words within the text. Krashen’s (1982) Input Hypothesis asserts that comprehensible input should be i + 1, i referring to the learner’s current level of competence and i + 1 representing a slightly higher level which can be comprehended because of non-linguistic and contextual factors. That is to say, the input should not be so simple as to kill readers’ interest, nor so difficult as to hinder their understanding. The text should be challenging but not frustrating. It is agreed that readers do not have to comprehend everything they read; general comprehension occurs though they cannot grasp some difficult structures (Buckton, 1983; Povey, 1967). The comprehensibility of the target language can also be supplemented by some non-linguistic cues such as illustrations or story structure (Allen, 1989).
With regard to content, Adyanju (1978) recommends three criteria: cultural information, material accessible to students’ schemata, and strong story lines. The first two are concerned with students’ affective involvement, and parallel Pugh’s (1989) criteria, which suggest that good literature should involve the reader at three levels: personal, cultural, and universal. Priority must be placed on stories that enable students to relate their own experiences and feelings to the reading. Students’ interests and backgrounds may influence their responses to and comprehension of the stories. To be involving, the story line should be strong enough to carry the students onto the next page. If the plot is too flat, or does not satisfy the students’ expectations, the story is not good.
Length is another important element in choosing literature. Sage (1987) explains that shorter stories make the students’ reading task and the teacher’s coverage easier. Overly long stories often make the students impatient and unwilling to wait till the end to know what happens to the protagonist. Students’ anxiety may also increase consequently. In other words, the story should be short but long enough to stimulate students’ interests and feelings.
Based on the above criteria, children’s literature appears a better source to foster extensive reading and creative writing abilities for EFL university students than those required and used in literature programs. Literature is usually confined to those aesthetic texts written for adults, when addressed at the college level in Taiwan. In the department of English or Foreign Languages and Literatures, literature required to study mostly refers to British and American literature. The texts used for the literature courses are often heavily worded, with contents fairly new to students, and presented in very long pieces. However, like all good literature, “first-rate children’s literature offers the same benefits that any high quality literature and art offer, including the pleasure of a good story, the experience of knowing other people and places, and the opportunity to reflect or examine ideas and values” (Bloem & Padak, 1996, p. 49). In addition, as Smallwood (1996) states, high quality children’s literature “characterized by an economy of words, stunning illustrations, captivating and quickly moving plots” (p. 1) can help adults as well as children in developing language and literacy skills and content knowledge. Given this, children’s literature, with vocabulary and style accessible to EFL students, doubtlessly can serve as an introduction to English-speaking culture because its “cultural values are frequently conveyed with greater directness than in literature addressed to adults” (Clark, 1992, p. 5). In addition, children’s stories are often shorter, or at least felt shorter when the language of the text does not hinder so much readers’ comprehension as adult literature.
To sum up, in an EFL classroom where mastery of linguistic and cultural literacy forms the center of attention, children’s literature can be suitable material for literacy development due to its simple language style, embedded cultural information, and comfortable length.
3. A Project of Reading and Writing Stories
3.1. The Writing Course
This project was intended to use children’s literature to promote EFL university students’ narrative thinking and enhance their writing ability through a task of story reading and writing. It was conducted in a required composition course for English majors. The course meets two times three hours a week. It aims to build up students’ writing ability and confidence through assorted tasks such as narration, classification, comparison and contrast, and argumentation. Specific objectives include learning how to generate and develop ideas on a topic, apply appropriate rhetorical patterns to a specific writing task, review peer writers’ drafts and offer constructive feedback, evaluate and revise their work, and use English correctly and properly.
The task of reading and writing stories in the project was one of the course requirements. The task was arranged to develop students’ narrative thinking, awaken their imagination and inspire their creativity. It lasted for four weeks: the first week focused on reading stories, the second, drafting stories, the third, peer review and revising, and the fourth, conference and revising. In addition to story writing, students were required to post their weekly journals (reading responses to the selected stories) at the course forum on the Internet.
3.2. Participants
Participants of the project were two cohorts (n= 24, 19) of first-year English majors from a national university in southern Taiwan. Altogether there were 43 students, 33 females and 10 males. Before this project, the students had studied English for 6 to 12 years. On average they rated their English reading ability at 3.6 and writing ability at 3.1 on a 5-point scale (5 for excellent and 1 for poor). Their learning problems, as students stated, mainly consisted in limited vocabulary, syntactic and discourse knowledge. 65% of the students had read English children’s literature as outside reading at high school before; the rest did not read or did not realize they had read any children’s literature before. About 20% of them had not been given much chance to practice real writing before. They had centered their attention on English word usage and sentence structures as well as translation to better prepare them for college entrance examinations.
3.3. Material
Cricket Magazine was used as the reading material and writing prompt for the course. This is a children’s magazine of literature and art which I selected for a number of reasons. First, the stories in Cricket mostly contain universal themes, which students can always have something to relate to. Second, the language used in Cricket is simple, direct, and natural. Stories published in the magazine can show students that language of good writing can be simple, clear, and elegant. Reading good models of writing and doing activities with these texts can provide students scaffolds when they are creating their own stories and manipulating the English language. Third, each story in Cricket is about three to four pages long. Students can finish reading one story in a sitting without too much frustration. The assignment of responding to a story in Cricket would be a reasonable task for them. The whole structure of a story can be perceived easily and thus provide an accessible framework for students to aid their comprehension and reinforce their sense of completion. Fourth, there are quality illustrations and different stories related to a theme covered in each issue of Cricket. Students can have a variety of choices; they can choose whatever reads appealing.
3.4. Instruction Design
3.4.1. Reading and Writing Stories
In my class reading stories consists in observing the essential elements and learning how stories are best told. It is to comment on the title and first line, explore voices woven in the plot, visualize characters through their remarks, identify the conflict, and notice the ending. To explain the importance of these elements, I guide students to read a story together in class. The story is first briefly introduced, with some key vocabulary explained. Then I demonstrate my reading with the technique called “think aloud” (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000; Wilhelm, 2001). I attempt to show students that it is fun to talk about and make connections with the text while reading. I read the story slowly, modify the language as needed to facilitate comprehension, comment on the text itself, pause occasionally for dramatic effect, and check for comprehension. After my reading, I bring students’ attention to some story writing strategies by asking questions as follows:
- What do you think of the title of the story? Does it imply the theme the author intended to convey? Is it catchy enough for readers?
- Do you like the first sentence and the first paragraph in the story? Are they interesting enough to carry your further in the story?
- In what voice/viewpoint (first person or third person) was the story told? What’s the difference between telling a story in first person and doing it in third person?
- Are the images of the characters in the story clear to you? Are they clearer when they speak? Do you think dialogue helps in developing characters?
- Is the plot/incident intriguing to you? Is there a conflict or climax?
- Do you like the ending of the story? Why?
I stress especially on the elements of voice and dialogue because I assume they compose the soul of a story. To help my students perceive the characters’ voice, I ask them to read out loud the dialogue to their peers or role-play the characters. By so doing, they learn not only how people communicate with each other in different cultures but also why story characters are better given their voice and perceived by dialogue.
Reading one story in class is certainly not inspiring enough for narrative writing. Since frequency ensures fluency in writing (Chen, 1997), I demand students to write journals regularly after class. They each check out at least one issue of Cricket Magazine from my library after browsing its cover, contents, and illustrations, and then post their story reflections at the course on the Internet. In their postings, they can talk about their favorite parts in the story, how the story makes them feel, something they have learned from the story, or a similar incident that has happened to them.
For some students, free responses to stories may not be an easy task at the beginning. For this matter, I have designed some guided questions to help them get both linguistically and cognitively engaged in story responding. They are required to answer some, not all, of the questions because the questions are meant to focus their attention on the special features in the stories as well as similarities and differences between cultures. The guided questions are as follows:
- How would you feel if you were the main character in the story?
- Which part of the story do you love or hate most? Why?
- Does the story remind you of anything?
- What does the author try to say in the story?
- Do you like the way the author wrote the story? Why?
- What is your biggest problem reading this story?
- Is the language of the story within your grasp? Did you learn some new words, expressions, or structures? What?
After the so-called pre-writing activities, that is, reading to analyze and make connections with the text and self, students create and draft their stories based on their personal experiences or the stories they have heard or read before. To help them get started, I ask the students to describe some conversation situations and use dialogues to present the events. Then within peer groups they exchange drafts and give each other oral and written feedback. With peer feedback, they revise their drafts to get their stories in shape. Then, I read their second drafts and have conferences with individual students to give another perspective of their stories, and if necessary, help clear their confusion as they revise their work. During the conferences, I also share my writing experience with those who are anxious about the seemingly endless revising process. I talk about how I feel and go through my writing process to illustrate the notion that writing is not only drafting but continuous revising; it ends only when the product is ready for publication. By doing so, my students can see me as a learner and a model, and revision as a natural and necessary process of their writing.
In the EFL writing classroom, language is doubtlessly one of the major concerns. To help my students get immediate linguistic feedback in the first draft, I ask them to read out loud their drafts to their group members and give each other comments on language use and usage. My suggestions are provided in the second draft; extra assistance is sought through the Internet too.
3.4.2. Sharing and Publishing Stories
In Taiwan writing is often practiced for practice’s sake in the university composition class. Students do not see a need or purpose for their writing. But when it is done for sharing and publication, students are empowered as writers (Chen, 2000). To make my students perceive their authorship, I integrate the following techniques into my writing classroom.
Author’s Chair (Calkins, 1983; Graves, 1983; Graves & Hansen, 1983) is a social, collaborative activity that helps the one sitting in the author’s chair develop a sense of audience as their peers and teachers ask clarifying questions that guide subsequent revisions. In my class, this activity is conducted as sharing and publishing final products in a networked classroom like Labbo’s (2004) technique of Author’s Computer Chair. I ask students to talk about and showcase their stories while sitting in the chair of the monitor computer. With graphics, music, or even animations, students not only read out loud the stories, but also describe how their story ideas are generated, how much revision they have done, and which part they like most. During the process, students are having the control of the page and acquiring authorship of their writing.
After the electronic presentation, my students revise their stories again for the publication of the class anthology CD. This is a formal publication of the class. Student writers introduce themselves as authors in a passage attached to their masterpieces. The story anthology reflects not only the efforts the whole class has put into writing but also marks a crucial step in students’ acquiring ownership and authorship. Its audience is expanded beyond the classroom when the CD circulates among all other composition classes in the Department, and gets posted on the Internet.
When it comes to participation in a writing contest, my student writers become more serious about writing and revision. In general, we try to participate in two writing contests: the Xin-Ho Literature Award, an annual writing contest organized by our University, and the Heinemann ELT Graded Reader Competition in Taiwan. Students become very serious in revisions when they are asked to do commissioned writing. In general, each entry for the literature award is revised at least two times, but most of the students are willing to do more, and the results obtained are always very encouraging. As to Heinemann ELT Readers Competition, students first read Heinemann’s graded readers and then create adaptations of the books. For example, in the year of 1999-2000, six out of twenty-four students in my class won good places in the Heinemann ELT Readers Competition. Such an award-winning experience effectively motivated them to write more in the future. One of these students submitted an entry to the contest again the next year though she was not required to do so for any course. To her great joy and satisfaction, she was awarded the second place in the contest.
The process of story writing is certainly a mixture of confusion and comfort, joys and sorrows. Student writers feel fearful and lost while drafting, but expect curiously what feedback they will get from their peers and teachers. The comments they get can either provide them a hint for smaller changes, or tap them into another story line. Pain and anxiety diminish while students perceive their writing is published and awarded. Publication and sharing spark students’ motivation and interest in story writing, which carry them all the way from confusing moments to joyful processes till the completion of their stories.
4. Evaluation of the Project
To examine whether the task of reading and writing stories served the purpose as designed, students’ opinions and feedback were gleaned from their reflective statements and interviews. Themes and categories were first identified by two raters with the constant comparative method (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Then data were coded independently and presented in frequencies and percentages in relation to themes and categories. Regarding coding reliability, 87% agreement was found at first; problem codings were further discussed until agreement was reached.
The evaluation of the project was supported by three themes: stories selected for reading, process of writing stories, and liked and disliked activities. Table 1 summarizes the students’ opinions regarding the themes and their subcategories.
Table 1. Frequencies and percentages of students’ opinions about the program of reading and writing stories (N=43)
Themes/Subcategories |
Frequency |
%* |
Stories Selected for Reading |
|
|
Good writing models |
38 |
88% |
Simple language |
40 |
93% |
Varied cultures |
32 |
74% |
Short/comfortable length |
25 |
58% |
Universal topics |
20 |
47% |
Process of Writing Stories |
|
|
Rewarding |
41 |
95% |
Confusing and frustrating |
9 |
21% |
Self-healing or adventurous |
4 |
9% |
Liked and Disliked Writing Activities |
|
|
Web-posting |
37 |
86% |
Author’s chair |
36 |
84% |
Revising |
6 |
14% |
Revising (disliked) |
2 |
5% |
*Numbers are rounded in percentages.
The stories chosen for reading were considered having simple language (93%), varied culture (74%), short and comfortable length (58%), and universal topics (47%). The perceived characteristics match with the criteria I utilized to select the reading material for the program. The stories in Cricket Magazine not only provide comprehensible input to the students but, as was said earlier, also demonstrate models of writing in simple and elegant language. The students stated that they had little problems in understanding the selected stories because they are narrated clearly with daily use vocabulary. They also noted that stories can be told well without cream of language, and language simplicity is no less powerful than complex discourse. Because of this feature, 88% of the students thought the selected stories are good writing models too. In reference to this some students pointed out:
I found most of the words used in the stories are words in the daily life. The stories in Cricket are not very difficult to understand, and there are some pictures inside. They use simple words to tell us the story. We don’t have to spend much time on looking the words up in the dictionary. (S02, Reflection)
The language used in children’s literature is always so simple that readers can easily understand its meaning. I like to read this kind of article because it is fluent and clear. Its clear narration attracts me. (S05, Reflection)
I feel at ease to read the stories because the writers don’t use a lot of difficult words. The stories were told well in such a narration. (S12, Reflection)
The stories are written well in such simple language. Now I see why the teacher always said, “Make your writing simple, clear, and elegant.” Simple words and expressions do not equal baby English. (S04, Reflection)
I admired the author of the story ‘Sicilian Father’ very much. The language is so simple and the story attracts me a lot. It is really a successful composition. Hope someday I can write such a masterpiece too. (S11, Reflection)
As to the content of the selected stories, two features emerged in students’ reflective statements: The stories reveal varied cultures such as Korean, Indian, Native American, African, European, and Chinese, but they also have universal topics. The students enjoyed reading about people and incidents foreign to them in English. Despite cultural discrepancies, the topics often reflected their childhood experiences. Students could easily get engaged in reading and self-reflection. They especially pointed out the relationship between childhood and imagination, and lamented they outgrew and lost the latter as grownups. But reading children’s literature brought back their childhood memories and creative potentials.
Although these stories are written in English, they still introduce some classical stories in different countries including China and so on. I like reading stories of foreign cultures. (S13, Reflection)
I have read two stories in Cricket, and their contents also show in Taiwan. The stories I read are situations that may happen everywhere in the world. (S22, Reflection)
The first story I read in Cricket was one that brought back my memory right away. The debate that appeared in the story was something that still forms a vivid picture in my mind. It’s fascinating to learn that the same things happen in a totally different country. Perhaps I should create a Chinese version of a similar story! (S28, Reflection)
I feel most of the stories are quite interesting and full of imagination. Reading them, I feel as if I went back to my childhood. It’s a pity that I seem to lose my imagination as I grow older. I studied only the textbooks for the university entrance examination, and forgot how much fun it is to read stories. (S04, Interview)
Writers are sensitive about their surroundings. Their keen observations usually guide us to see things from different angels. They contrive stories from their own or others’ experiences…. We did not read too much outside reading in senior high. Textbooks and tests filled our lives then. I hope I can get more exposure to literature in the university and become as imaginative and creative as those writers. (S02, Interview)
Regarding the length of the stories, 58 % of the students stated they felt comfortable with the length of the stories because of two reasons. One was the length itself, that is, how many words or pages are included; the other pertained to the narration of the story. The latter referred to whether the writer was able to build up enough suspense and climax within the actual length of the story. Appropriateness of length in this sense was perceived in terms of whether the story was told well enough to carry the readers till the end. For example, a student stated,
I read two stories in Cricket. They are short. We can spend less time reading such a short story. There are new words in them. But I can guess their meanings. (S37, Reflection)
This finding in length is consistent with the pedagogical assumption I had about length while selecting the reading material. A short story would be appealing to the learners not only because its shortness might be psychologically supportive of the students’ reading but also because the whole structure could be perceived easily so that comprehension is facilitated and maximized.
When the students reflected on the process of their story writing, 95% of them considered the task worthwhile and rewarding. Their statements demonstrated that they had learned how to draft and help peers revise to make stories more intriguing and captivating in terms of the story elements mentioned previously. They pictured the scenes or events in the story by using dialogues, giving voices to their characters. They paid attention to the topic, conflict, and ending of a story when reading stories.
When I was writing the story, I felt the characters in my story jump out and speak to me. I could hear them…. In fact, it’s those who I knew that I wrote in the story. Their words are still ringing in my mind. (S05, Reflection)
My story was very flat and not interesting at first. Thanks to Christina and Vicky, they gave me some suggestions for the ending. There’s a surprising ending in my story at last. (S25, Reflection)
I talked to Ellen and James, my reviewers, about the part in which I was stuck in the first draft. They suggested I should delete some parts and create a conflicting point so that my readers would like to find out what happened next. They said I should make the characters fight seriously about who should own that place, not simply ignore each other’s existence… The topic Ellen suggested also helped. It’s more interesting now. (S23, Interview)
I think it’s quite effective to use dialogue to show readers what happened in my story. I don’t know many words…enough adjectives to describe an event well. Now I know readers can hear and feel themselves when my characters speak. (S37, Interview)
All the students said that they had made efforts to complete their products, and those who were awarded in the contests were especially proud of and satisfied with their achievements. Through the task of reading and writing stories, one male student especially found his potential in creative writing. He started to read extra novels and writing additional stories in his journals. His remarks below implied his desire to be a writer.
I’ve found that I am better at story-writing than expository writing. I like creating a world of my own. I like writing the people I know and the things happening to them. (S14, Interview)
Rewarding as the task was, 21 % of the students (9 out of 43) regarded their story-writing processes as confusing and frustrating. A couple of them felt frustrated that they did not have any inspiration or idea for a story at first. They dreaded they had no imagination. Two others said they read and heard others’ stories, but they did not know how to adapt or reconstruct these stories into their own. Three of them said their stories were reviewed as not interesting enough, but they were true accounts of their life. Two mentioned that their language was identified as Chinese English, especially the conversations between people. They did not think they had mastered a good command of the language to tell stories in good English.
Four (9%) other students had different opinions about their story writing experiences. These students discovered meaning and constructed desired realities through the process of creating stories. They found their writing process either a self-healing, revealing means, or an adventurous discovery. One female student wrote a story about how she got a scar on her leg, expressing her feelings about her parents’ unhappy marriage and divorce. She never talked about this to others but after she made the story public in class, she felt relieved and happy. She realized that she should walk out of the shadow of her parents’ divorce and learn to be an independent woman. Another female student recalled happy memories with a friend she had met in the United States. She wrote how this friend had helped her go through the difficult times she had had when she just got to a new environment. She said she chose to emphasize the positive part of her stay in a foreign country, though her school life then was miserable because some schoolboys mocked at her all the time. She considered her writing process filtered out the negative feelings and helped her find happiness. Likewise, another female student realized she did not loathe the teacher she wrote about so much after she got her fear and repulsion out of her chest through writing. Different from these female students who revealed and healed themselves through their stories, one male student created a story out of imagination. He described how a poor man desired to be rich and famous by writing like a well-known novelist and eventually Death played a joke on the writer. He deemed his process of the story writing as fun and exciting. He did not expect his story would have such a plot at first. He thought he would write some horrible scenes to scare his readers but he changed his mind after reading more stories. He said the experience was exciting especially when he tried to visualize how his readers would think or feel when they read his story.
The activities students liked or disliked emerged as a category in students’ learning reflections. Web posting (86%) topped the list and author’s computer chair (84%) came a close second. Students posted reflections of reading and writing stories on the web because they had to at first, but they became quite fond of doing so later. As time went by, the class developed into a supportive writing and learning community. Responses nurtured student writers so much as they shared their experiences in life and responded to each other. Some had taken to writing and sharing so much that they formed a habit of reading and responding at the forum. For instance, two students stated:
It is a place of sharing emotions and feelings with each other. Moreover, you can find you have many friends that they know you and show considerations to you. The invisible gap smashed little by little with classmates’ reflection and reading your articles. (S23, Reflection)
In the past, I post the article in this composition site because the professor asks us to do it…At first, I did not feel comfortable to write about my feelings. I thought they’re personal and private, should not be read by all in the class. But little by little, when others reply to my article, I always felt warm ad happy…Now, I like this place very much. (S27, Reflection)
A majority of the students felt fond of presenting their stories through the computer. 84% stated they enjoyed the activity of author’s computer chair and considered it challenging but fun. Although some of them were not familiar with multimedia programs at first, gradually the students took pleasure in incorporating text, graphics, music, and pictures into their presentations. To them, Author’s Computer Chair provided a playground for learning where, apart from learning how to write stories, they could explore technological information in a playful way. In addition, it also reinforced their authorship. At the author’s computer chair, they felt amused as readers and empowered as writers. As one female student reflected,
It’s amazing to see my masterpiece presented with the computer. When I heard myself talking through the microphone and saw the classmates amused by my story, I felt I was a real author. All the efforts put into the work were paid at that moment. (S08, Reflection)
Interestingly, the activity of revising appeared favorable to a group of students (14%) and intimidating to a handful (5%). Compared with web-posting and author’s chair, this activity was not liked as much. But those who liked it stated that readers’ feedback had helped them revise their work effectively and they enjoyed seeing their progress and products polished and praised. A student in an interview said,
Revising a story is like riding a roller coaster. It’s scary when I received suggestions for enormous revisions. But I felt excited when seeing my story being shaped on the computer screen. (S04, Interview)
A couple of students however showed an unfavorable attitude toward revising. One thought it might change her original story structure if she followed readers’ suggestions. She preferred keeping her own thoughts because revision required time and work. The other student said she was intimidated by the amount of suggested revision and always felt depressed by the act of revising.
I like my way to tell the story more. If I take reviewer’s feedback, I need to revise a lot. It needs a lot of time and work. (S06, Interview)
I don’t like revising my story. It drives me nuts when I have to go through the whole thing and follow the suggested feedback for revision. I know my story is not written well. But I’d rather write a new one. (S11, Interview).
4.1. Discussion
The project aimed to foster students’ ability to communicate ideas through a task of narrative reading and writing. The data were mainly drawn from students’ statements. It was recognized that students’ remarks, like all self-report data, were limited to reflect conscious knowledge and might be biased by their desires to please the teacher researcher. All the same, they provided one useful source of data on effects of teaching the narrative genre, which can be investigated further in additional studies.
In general, the students’ positive feedback about the tasks completed demonstrated that the learners benefited profoundly from the training in writing given as the goals set were accomplished. The students deemed that the stories they read were appropriate choices for writing models, the whole writing process effectively involved them in reviewing and revising their products, and the activities of web postings and author’s computer chair nurtured and empowered them as writers.
With regard to material selection, students’ views of the selected stories appeared germane to the teacher’s assumptions about children’s literature. Published stories for children are simple in language style, embedded with varied cultural information, and within comfortable length. Such result suggested that children’s literature could be a reasonable choice for these students and other EFL learners in similar or different contexts. As described above, children’s stories of the type used in this small-scale research could be used as reading prompts and writing models in any EFL class.
As to how reading stories impacted on the learners’ writing process and product, the students’ statements coming from the questionnaire indicated that they transferred their knowledge of the genre gained from reading to writing. The element of voice seemed most salient to them when they were drafting their stories. The other elements such as topic, conflict, and ending were highlighted in students’ review feedback. It appeared that explicit teaching increased students’ awareness of genre characteristics in narrative texts they read and write. The result supports research on reading–writing connections and the potential of addressing both skills in the same classroom (Grabe, 1991; Reid, 1993).
Throughout the process of these tasks, web postings and author’s computer chair were identified as the two most liked activities. The students’ favorable attitude toward these two computer-assisted language activities indicated the power of technology in the EFL classroom. It seemed that in an EFL class, if designed carefully, reading response and writing communication through the Internet can draw participants closer and create a learning community within the class, and that sharing written products through multimedia programs may promote students’ authorship and information literacy.
During the process of writing, some students encountered confusion and frustration about generating story ideas, creating intriguing plots, using appropriate English, or revising. These problems are not unusual for EFL learners and unskilled writers. Apparently, extra support and intervention were needed for such student writers along the process. Readers’ feedback could be stimulating for more details and provided suggestions for interesting adds-on. Conferences could help clarify individual bewilderment regarding revision. Even so, the fact that only a handful of students revealed their confusion implied the procedures designed for the task of reading and writing stories were feasible and reasonable.
5. Conclusion
In terms of classroom practice and instruction design, this project has the following implications. First, children’s literature, when selected carefully, can be a valuable resource for integrative EFL learning. Since stories tend to invoke our imagination and desire for creating, composition classes can be conducted more than the drab routines of students-write-and-teacher-correct. When my class read and discussed how a story was written together, the students were inspired to use different ways to analyze, review, and play with a story. Students read out loud the story and role-played the parts. They also shared their reflections on what they had read at the course forum, and oftentimes revealed themselves when they found the stories related to their personal experiences. Moreover, they presented their works as published authors when the writing task was completed. Using stories as designed in the project, a composition class can integrate writing with other modes of learning.
Second, sharing and publication with the assistance of computer technology can empower student writers and develop a writing community in the class. Publication in a composition classroom refers to sharing ideas in a polished piece of writing with others. It could be sharing among students themselves or with other classes, or tied to the real world of publication outside of academe. My students appeared most motivated for sharing ideas on the Web and presenting their stories in a multimedia classroom. These activities enabled them to see the authentic value of doing the task, and take writing seriously to apply good skills to real life. Indeed, sharing and publishing provides students not only a tremendous incentive to acquire the writing skills they need in college, but also a means to build up their self-esteem as writers.
Third, time, support, and practice can provide scaffolds for unskilled or low self-esteemed writers. A few of my students had not had much experience in writing, so they often felt puzzled about how to generate ideas and tell their stories clearly. Students like them may need more individual conference, specific feedback, and extra time for revision regarding how to go about their reviewing stage.
Fourth, narrative genre knowledge gained through explicit instruction can promote EFL students’ narrative thinking and facilitate the task of reading and writing stories. Such approach to “paradigmatic thinking” (Bruner, 1986) through models of expository writing may have similar effects.
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