Thematization in Romantic and Criminal Short Stories in English and Persian: Implications for Second Language Reading
Title
Thematization in Romantic and Criminal Short Stories in English and Persian: Implications for Second Language Reading
Thematization in Romantic and Criminal Short Stories in English and Persian: Implications for Second Language Reading
Keywords: Theme, rheme, thematic organization, thematic progression, benefits of short stories, second language reading
Authors
Elnaz Ghaleasadi
Islamic Azad University (Science and Research Branch), Iran
Elnaz Ghaleasadi
Islamic Azad University (Science and Research Branch), Iran
Bio Data
Elnaz Ghaleasadi holds an MA in English language teaching (ELT) from Islamic Azad University (Science and Research Branch, Ahvaz, Iran). She has extensive experience of teaching English as a foreign language. Her research interests include translation, reading comprehension in ESL/EFL and discourse analysis.
Abstract
Some teachers may believe that EFL/ESL students will be able to read and write in the target language if they focus on linguistic elements only, but other teachers who integrate short stories in the curricula have found out that stories add a new dimension to the teaching of reading. Also, they have realized that in order to read and comprehend stories more effectively, thematic organization and progression have enormous importance. Despite its appeal, however, thematicity has not been treated sufficiently in the Iranian educational context. Therefore, the present study is an attempt to compare different thematic types and thematic progression patterns in criminal and romantic short stories in English and Persian. Following Hallidayan categorization of theme (1985, 1994) and revised model of thematic progression patterns proposed by McCabe (1999), 10 criminal and 10 romantic short stories in both languages were analyzed in order to determine the possible differences in the textual organization of the two languages. The analysis showed overall similarities across the stories in both languages. These similarities were attributed to the same genre family. Moreover, the results confirmed that the theme/rheme construct could be a powerful and down-to-earth method for analyzing texts, including stories, and that it contributes to reading and comprehending stories with ease of text processing.
Some teachers may believe that EFL/ESL students will be able to read and write in the target language if they focus on linguistic elements only, but other teachers who integrate short stories in the curricula have found out that stories add a new dimension to the teaching of reading. Also, they have realized that in order to read and comprehend stories more effectively, thematic organization and progression have enormous importance. Despite its appeal, however, thematicity has not been treated sufficiently in the Iranian educational context. Therefore, the present study is an attempt to compare different thematic types and thematic progression patterns in criminal and romantic short stories in English and Persian. Following Hallidayan categorization of theme (1985, 1994) and revised model of thematic progression patterns proposed by McCabe (1999), 10 criminal and 10 romantic short stories in both languages were analyzed in order to determine the possible differences in the textual organization of the two languages. The analysis showed overall similarities across the stories in both languages. These similarities were attributed to the same genre family. Moreover, the results confirmed that the theme/rheme construct could be a powerful and down-to-earth method for analyzing texts, including stories, and that it contributes to reading and comprehending stories with ease of text processing.
[private]
See page: 298-341
[/private]
Category: Main Editions, Volume 14 Issue 1
