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1 The syllabus

Narratives in TEFL       

2014 Autumn semester

Aims of the course:  

The course provides an overview of the uses of narratives in cognitive, linguistic, affective and social development, with special focus on their relevance in the lives of EFL learners and teachers. It will also provide teaching tips for the application of some authentic children's books in the primary and secondary classroom.

Course materials: Book chapters and articles indicated on list of readings, all available on CooSpace.

Requirements: You are expected to

  • attend the three face-to-face sessions (indicated by the tutor, or negotiated in class)
  • participate in discussions actively
  • read assigned materials for seminars
  • present your own reflections (post comments) on the assigned readings in time
  • develop a teaching unit based on stories and submit the outline of your research paper
  • write a research paper on a negotiated topic in approximately 2 000 words. Your paper should be a joint assignment for the Narratives in TEFL and Teaching Culture courses. Therefore, you will submit one single paper to Fodor Mónika's and Lugossy Réka's course. Your research paper should both on narratives in TEFL and the cultural content of these narratives. Deadline for the paper: (to be negotiated). Paper options are further discussed during the first seminar.

Assessment:   You will be assessed on your oral contributions in seminars, oral presentations, brief in-class and homework assignments, feedback and reflections on readings, and the written assignments (an in-class essay and your research paper). The research paper is to follow APA style. It will be assessed on the following criteria: content, form, and academic language. Both instructors will read your essay and paper and suggest a grade.

Dates, time slots and topics:

September 9: Introduction to the course. Discuss the importance of narratives in education: Cognitive, affective and linguistic perspectives. Clarify main terms.

By September 30 you should read the three studies below. You will also be asked to post two comments in connection with the studies: one comment in which you reflect on what you read (what you liked, what you agree or disagree with) and one comment in which you respond to someone else's opinion from the group. 

An affective perspective on narratives: The importance of fairy tales

  • Bruno Bettelheim. The Uses of Enchantment. Introduction.

A cognitive perspective on narratives

  • Schank, R. C., & Abelson, R. P. (1995). Knowledge and memory: The real story. In R. S. Jr. Wyer (Ed.), Advances in social cognition. Volume VIII (pp. 1-85). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

READ pp. 1-10 and from there on select three main points you find interesting.

An EFL perspective on narratives

  • Williams, L. (1995). "Literature-based activities in a foreign-language nursery school." In R. D. Sell (Ed.), Literature throughout foreign language education: The implications of pragmatics (pp. 21-35). London: Modern English Publications.

October 17: Storybook content and context vs. Coursebooks. Teachers' beliefs about using stories.

  • Ghosn, I. K. (2003/4). Four good reasons to use literature in primary school ELT. In G. Ellis, & Ch. Morrow (Eds.), ELTJ  year of the young learner special collection (pp. 56-64). Oxford: Oxford Universtity Press. 
  • Ghosn, I. K. (2013). Storybridge to second language literacy. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Ltd. CHAPTER 3
  • Lugossy, R. (2009). "I will think about this": A case study with a lower-primary school teacher of English. In R. Lugossy, J. Horváth, & M. Nikolov (Eds.), UPRT 2008: Empirical studies in English applied linguistics (pp. 59-69). Pécs: Lingua Franca Csoport.
  • Plan four meaning-focused tasks for using stories with a chosen age-group. In doing so, you may rely on the resource books and website indicated below, as well as on the sample tasks (see tasks for Abdul Gasazi's Garden. Try the tasks in your class and write down your experiences.

By October 31 you should

(1) read the the book indicated below.

  • Krashen, S. (1993). The power of reading. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited

(2) pick three main ideas from the text and write a short essay in which you develop these ideas, by relating them to your own language learning experiences. Bring examples to support your points. The essay should not be longer than 500 words. Your writing will be assessed on content (60%) and correct academic English (40%).

By November 15 you should the outline of your research paper.

November 28: Write an in-class essay in which you reflect critically on a topic, based on your readings. Discussion of research paper outlines.

All sessions will be in Room E 322 between 11-12.20.

 

Suggested readings:

Bettelheim, B. (1991). The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy tales. Fourth edition. London: Penguin.

Bruner, J. (1987). Life as narrative. Social Research, 71(3), 691-711.

Egan, K. (1989). Teaching as story telling: An alternative approach to teaching and curriculum in the elementary school. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Chapter 2

Lugossy, R. (2009). "I will think about this": A case study with a lower-primary school teacher of English. In R. Lugossy, J. Horváth, & M. Nikolov (Eds.), UPRT 2008: Empirical studies in English applied linguistics (pp. 59-69). Pécs: Lingua Franca Csoport. 

Lugossy, R. (2006). Shaping teachers' beliefs through narratives. In Nikolov, M., & Horváth J. (Eds.), UPRT 2006: Empirical studies in English applied linguistics (pp. 313-336).  Pécs: Lingua Franca Csoport.

Schank, R. C., & Abelson, R. P. (1995). Knowledge and memory: The real story. In R. S. Jr. Wyer (Ed.), Advances in social cognition. Volume VIII (pp. 1-85). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

 

Useful resource books and websites for finding and using stories:

Brewster, J., Ellis, G., & Girard, D. (2004). The primary English teacher's guide. London: Penguin.

Ellis, G., & Brewster, J. (2002). Tell it again! The new storytelling handbook for primary teachers. London: Penguin.

Morgan, J. and Rinvolucri, M. (1983).  Once upon a time:Using stories in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Taylor, E. K. (2000). Using folktales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wright, A. (2009) Storytelling with children. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Zipes, J. (1995). Creative storytelling: Building community, changing lives. New York: Routledge.

 

Storyline Online, http://www.storylineonline.net/ the SAG Foundation (Screen Actors Guild Foundation) presents videos that feature well-known actors read award-winning picture books. Includes subtitles in English.

Resources for myths, folk and fairy tales from all over the world: http://www.storiestogrowby.com/choose.php

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/

Realbook News -http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/real-books  Picture book titles and ways to use them in your classes

Australian storytelling - http://www.australianstorytelling.org.au/storymag.php- Storytelling skills, resource bank of fables on: http://www.australianstorytelling.org.au/txt/fables.php

http://www.scholastic.ca/bigbooks/AGuidetoUsingBigBooksintheClassroom.pdf