Using Children’s Literature for Reading and Writing Stories
Title
Using Children s Literature for Reading and Writing Stories
Using Children s Literature for Reading and Writing Stories
Keywords: Children s Literature, EFL Writing Instruction, Literature-based Instruction
Authors
Naoko Taguchi
National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Naoko Taguchi
National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Bio Data
Yuh-Mei Chen is an associate professor at the National Chung Cheng University. She has been teaching English at different levels for over twenty years. Her research interests include English writing instruction, testing and assessment, and teacher education.
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.
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.
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See pages 210-232
[/private]Category: Main Editions, Volume 8 Issue 4
