scholarly journals Power and the Subversion of Stories

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tat-Heung Choi

Language is a multiplicity of meaning-making systems, which are connected with social, cultural and psychological networks. Focusing on issues of power, this article is concerned to explore how the readings of a European folktale triggered attempts among teenage girls in Hong Kong to make their own feminist and subversive interpretations in English. The reconstructed stories are more than a partial reproduction of the conventional text, they are also a useful reflection of the teenage girls' literacy and gender experience, as well as of their generic and social knowledge. With a resistance to textual conventions, the teenage girls demonstrate their written competence to create alternative subject and reading positions, which are textually motivated by their sense of difference. The material realisation of the stories is also characterised by splits and instabilities, in the negotiation of a new boundary for femininity. This negotiation demonstrates how the teenage girls are on the move, facing and settling contradictory possibilities in acquiring literacy and social roles. Along these lines of observation, the synchronic view of language, characterised by regularity and internal consistency, needs to be challenged in second-language writing instruction.

2003 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-275

04–620 Akamatsu, Nobuhiko (Doshisha University, Japan; Email: [email protected].). The effects of first language orthographic features on second language reading in text. Language Learning (Michigan, USA), 53, 2 (2003), 207–231.04–621 Argamon, S., Koppel, M., Fine, J. and Shimoni, A. R. (Department of computer Science at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Email: [email protected]). Gender, genre and writing style in formal written texts. Text (Berlin, Germany), 23, 3 (2003), 321–346.04–622 Dreyer, Carisma and Nel, Charl (Potchefstroom U., South Africa; Email: [email protected]). Teaching reading strategies and reading comprehension within a technology-enhanced learning environment. System (Oxford, UK), 31, 3 (2003), 349–365.04–623 Fender, Michael (U. of Pittsburg, PA., USA; Email: [email protected]). English word recognition and word integration skills of native Arabic- and Japanese-speaking learners of English as a second language. Applied Psycholinguistics (Cambridge, UK), 24, 2 (2003), 289–316.04–624 Flowerdew, L. (Hong Kong University of Science and Techology). A combined corpus and systemic-functional analysis of the problem-solution pattern in a student and professional corpus of technical writing. TESOL Quarterly (Alexandria, VA, USA), 37, 3 (2003), 489–511.04–625 Goswami, Usha (U. of Cambridge, UK), Ziegler, Johannes C., Dalton, Louise and Schneider, Woflgang. Nonword reading across orthographies: How flexible is the choice of reading units?Applied Psycholinguistics (Cambridge, UK), 24, 2 (2003), 235–248.04–626 Hinkel, Eli (Seattle University, USA; Email: [email protected]). Tense, aspect and the passive voice in L1 and L2 academic texts. Language Teaching Research (London, UK), 8, 1 (2004), 5.04–627 Hirose, Keiko (Aichi Prefectural University, Nagakute, Aichi, Japan; Email: [email protected]). Comparing L1 and L2 organizational patterns in the argumentative writing of Japanese EFL students. Journal of Second Language Writing (New Jersey, USA), 12 (2003), 181–209.04–628 Lee, Miranda Y. P. (Hong Kong Polytechnic University of Hong Kong; Email: [email protected]). Discourse structure and rhetoric of English narratives: differences between native English and Chinese non-native English writers. Text (Berlin, Germany) 23, 3 (2003), 347–368.04–629 Matsuda, Paul K. (University of New Hampshire, USA; Email: [email protected]), Canagarajah, A. Suresh, Harklau, L., Hyland, K. and Warshauer, Mark. Changing currents in second language writing research: a colloquium. Journal of Second Language Writing (New Jersey, USA), 12 (2003), 151–179.04–630 Moreno, Ana (Universidad de Leon, Spain; Email: [email protected]). Matching theoretical descriptions of discourse and practical applications to teaching: the case of causal metatext. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 22, 3 (2003), 265–295.04–631 Ramanathan, Vaidehi (University of California, Davis, USA; Email: [email protected]). Written textual production and consumption (WTPC) in vernacular and English-medium settings in Gujarat, India. Journal of Second Language Writing (Ann Arbor, USA), 12 (2003), 125–150.04–632 Rasinski, Timothy V. (Kent State U., USA) and Hoffman, James V. (U. of Texas, Austin, USA). Oral reading in the school literacy curriculum. Reading Research Quarterly (Newark, DE, USA), 38, 4 (2003), 510–522.04–633 Saito, Hidetoshi and Fujita, Tomoko (Hokusei Gakuen University, Japan; Email: [email protected]). Characteristics and user acceptance of peer rating in EFL writing classrooms. Language Teaching Research (London, UK), 8, 1 (2003), 31–54.04–634 Steinman, Linda (Seneca College, Toronto, Canada). Cultural collisions in L2 academic writing. TESL Canada Journal (Burnaby, B.C., Canada), 20, 2 (2003), 80–91.04–635 Zareva, Alla (University of Georgia Athens Georgia.) Transfer effects on the process of L2 reading and comprehension. Literacy Across Cultures (Fukui, Japan), 6 (2003), 25–34.


2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-279

04–517Armand, Françoise (U. de Montréal, Canada; Email: [email protected]), Lefrançoise, Pascale, Baron, Agnès, Gomez, Maria-Cécilia and Nuckle, Sylvie. Improving reading and writing learning in underprivileged pluri-ethnic settings. British Journal of Educational Psychology (Leicester, UK), 74 (2004), 437–459.04–518Cheng, Y-S. (National Taiwan Normal U., Taiwan; Email: [email protected]). A measure of second language writing anxiety: scale development and preliminary validation. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 13, 4 (2004), 313–335.04–519de Jong, Maria T. and Bus, Adriana G. (Leiden U., Netherlands; Email: [email protected]). The efficacy of electronic books in fostering kindergarten children's emergent story understanding. Reading Research Quarterly (Newark, USA), 39, 4 (2004), 378–393.04–520Dunsmuir, Sandra (U. College London, UK; Email: [email protected]) and Blatchford, Peter. Predictors of writing competence in 4-to 7-year-old children. British Journal of Educational Psychology (Leicester, UK), 74 (2004), 461–483.04–521Forey, Gail (Hong Kong Polytechnic U.). Workplace texts: do they mean the same for teachers and business people?English for Specific Purposes (Oxford,UK), 23, 4 (2004), 447–469.04–522Harwood, Nigel and Hadley, Gregg (U. of Essex, UK). Pragmatism and the teaching of academic writing. English for Specific Purposes. (Oxford, UK), 23, 4 (2004), 355–379.04–523Heinz, Peter J. (Pikes Peak Community College, Colorado Springs, USA). Towards enhanced second language reading comprehension assessment: computerized versus manual scoring of written recall protocols. Reading in a Foreign Language (Hawai'i, USA), 16, 2 (2004), 97–124.04–524Huxford, L. (National Primary Strategy, England). Developing an understanding of the pedagogy of writing in the middle years (age 8–11). Australian Journal of Language and Literacy. (Norwood, South Australia), 27, 3 (2004), 234–244.04–525Hyland, Ken (Institute of Education, U. of London, UK; Email: [email protected]). Disciplinary interactions: metadiscourse in L2 postgraduate writing. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 13, 2 (2004), 133–151.04–526Joh, Jeongsoon (Konkuk U., Korea; Email: [email protected]). Interactions among the reader, text and task variables in EFL reading comprehension performance. English Teaching (Anseonggun, Korea), 59, 3 (2004) 115–143.04–527Lee, Icy (Hong Kong Baptist U., China; Email: [email protected]). Error correction in L2 secondary writing classrooms: the case of Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 13, 4 (2004), 285–312.04–528Makalela, Leketi (U. of Limpopo and Michigan State U.). Differential error types in second-language students' written and spoken texts: implications for instruction in writing. Written Communication (Thousand Oaks, CA, USA), 22, 4 (2004), 368–385.04–529McNaughton, S., Lai, M., MacDonald, S. and Farry, S. (Auckland U., Australia). Designing more effective teaching of comprehension in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms in New Zealand. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy. (Norwood, South Australia), 27, 3 (2004), 184–197.04–530Moore, Tim (Monash U., Australia; Email: [email protected]) and Morton, Janne. Dimensions of difference: a comparison of university writing and IELTS writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes (Oxford, UK), 4, 1 (2005), 43–66.04–531Taguchi, Etsuo (Daito Bunka U., Tokyo; Email: [email protected]), Takayasu-Maass, Miyoko and Gorsuch, Greta J. Developing reading fluency in EFL: How assisted repeated reading and extensive reading affect fluency development. Reading in a Foreign Language (Hawai'i, USA), 16, 2 (2004), 70–96.04–532Yoon, Hyunsook and Hirvela, Alan (The Ohio State U., USA; Email: [email protected]). ESL student attitudes toward corpus use in L2. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 13, 4 (2004), 257–283.


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