Abstract
This article presents the pedagogical implementation of the reader-response theory in a class of English as a foreign language with language pre-service teachers as they experience the reading of two short stories. The research took place over a 16 week period in which students kept a portfolio of their written responses to the stories. Participants also discussed their interpretations in class. The core constructs of this study are the reader-response theory, the use of literature in English as a foreign language classes and its relation to critical thinking. Results showed that the application of tasks based on the reader-response theory encourages a meaning seeking process as well as the development of higher order thinking skills in future language teachers.
Highlights
English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers could affirm that literature involves a meaningful reading which may have connections with literacy development; the old debate surrounding literature in EFL curricula still continues
The core constructs of this study are the reader-response theory, the use of literature in English as a foreign language classes and its relation to critical thinking
This research-based article presents a pedagogical proposal of reading inspired by the reader-response theory (RRT) for an EFL class of pre-service teachers at university level focused on North American culture
Summary
English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers could affirm that literature involves a meaningful reading which may have connections with literacy development; the old debate surrounding literature in EFL curricula still continues. This research-based article presents a pedagogical proposal of reading inspired by the reader-response theory (RRT) for an EFL class of pre-service teachers at university level focused on North American culture (the class being taught by one of the authors). This literary theory recognizes that readers “always bring certain personal, cultural, and literary repertoires to their reading, which need to be explored and compared. People have one perception when they read a work for the first time, and very different ones, when they reread” (Woodlief & Cornis-Pope, n.d.) In this re-reading process, readers reconstruct the structure and meaning of ideas expressed by others. “Developing a strong interpretation requires being very conscious of all of these processes and changes in reading, understanding individual responses better by comparing them with others, and seeing multiple interpretive possibilities” (Woodlief & Cornis-Pope, n.d.)
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