scholarly journals Teaching Short Stories through the Use of the Reader-Response Theory: Second-Year Students at Dr. Moulay Tahar University-Saida

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sihem BOUBEKEUR
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Reader Response ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
Written Text ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Second Year

The Reader-Response Theory considers the learner as an active participant in extracting meaning from a literary work depending on his/her prior experience. Teaching literature critically allows the reader to create a sense, and compare the previous experience with the written text. Second-year students cannot decode and scrutinize a short academic text, which unveiled that they are unaware of the different types of readings. The research question arises in this vein is: To what extent does the Reader-Response Theory contribute to the development of the EFL students’ skills? The piece of work aims at introducing and applying the Reader-Response Theory to teaching short stories to second-year university students. The current study was conducted on students taught by the teacher-researcher at Dr. Moulay Tahar University-Saida, Algeria. A questionnaire, observation, and the analysis of students’ written assignments employed in the present work for the overarching aim of gathering data in a timely period. Yet, the results revealed that after implementing this approach, EFL students become aware of how to undertake an academic written piece. It also reinforces their thinking skills, and boosts their creativity.

scholarly journals Teaching Short Stories through the Use of the Reader-Response Theory: Second-Year Students at Dr. Moulay Tahar University-Saida

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-92
Author(s):  
Sihem BOUBEKEUR
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Reader Response ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
Written Text ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Second Year

The Reader-Response Theory considers the learner as an active participant in extracting meaning from a literary work depending on his/her prior experience. Teaching literature critically allows the reader to create a sense, and compare the previous experience with the written text. Second-year students cannot decode and scrutinize a short academic text, which unveiled that they are unaware of the different types of readings. The research question arises in this vein is: To what extent does the Reader-Response Theory contribute to the development of the EFL students’ skills? The piece of work aims at introducing and applying the Reader-Response Theory to teaching short stories to second-year university students. The current study was conducted on students taught by the teacher-researcher at Dr. Moulay Tahar University-Saida, Algeria. A questionnaire, observation, and the analysis of students’ written assignments employed in the present work for the overarching aim of gathering data in a timely period. Yet, the results revealed that after implementing this approach, EFL students become aware of how to undertake an academic written piece. It also reinforces their thinking skills, and boosts their creativity.

The Bible and the Reader's Response

2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Pike
Keyword(s):  
Reader Response ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Individual

Reader response theory, the broad range of literary perspectives which place emphasis upon the role of readers and their responses to texts, has contributed important insights to biblical hermeneutics and to pedagogy in literature education. Yet reader response theory does not appear, as yet, to have had as significant an influence as it might upon the way we teach individuals to read and respond to that most important of texts, the Bible. It is proposed in this article that Rosenblatt's transactional theory of the literary work offers valuable insights that can be applied to both the reading of the Bible and also how it can be taught in a range of contexts, in Christian and state schools, as well as in churches. Consequently, pedagogy informed by Rosenblatt's reader response theory may offer us a biblical use of the Bible as it can foster the spiritual development of readers by enabling them to engage with Scripture at a deeply personal level. It is suggested that Bible teaching must be responsive to the individual and to society but must, most of all, be responsive to the Holy Spirit.

scholarly journals The application of reader-response theory to teach symbolism in literature class for EFL students

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Putri Rindu Kinasih
Keyword(s):  
Reader Response ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Imaginative Literature ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
General Meaning ◽  
Literature Class

For years, scholars believed one effective approach that can be used in teaching literature in EFL context is reader-response approach yet very limited study can be found about the application of reader-response theory in teaching symbolism. Whereas, symbolism is considered as the most important elements of serious imaginative literature which provide rich sources of insight. The problem is, deciding exactly what is represented by a symbol is not an easy thing to do, though the general meaning is clear because a symbol most commonly represents something unnamed. This research aimed to find out the application of reader-response theory in teaching symbolism. This research observed 16 participants majoring in English Literature program. Within four weeks, the participants were asked to read selected poems and short stories and asked to write a reflective writing as a response. Then, the writings were assessed by using critical thinking rubric. From this research, it can be drawn that the participants’ score of symbolism interpretation were increasing by the end of the research. In other word, reader-response theory is beneficial to the improvement of students’ inadequacies in studying symbolism and offers potential benefits to solve problems in literature discussion such as low self-confidence and fear of stating out different interpretations. By the end of the research, the participants are more accustomed to express various ideas and more motivated to explore more supporting sentences to strengthen their ideas.

scholarly journals LITERATURE CIRCLES AS AN IMPLEMENTATION OF READER-RESPONSE THEORY WHEN TEACHING EXTENSIVE READING IN ENGLISH AT UNIVERSITY

2018 ◽  
pp. 223-231
Author(s):  
I. N. Kosheleva
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Reader Response ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Literature Circles ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Literary Interpretation ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
Reader Response Theory

Teaching extensive reading at university has a great potential for development of students’ linguistic, thinking and creative skills. By embracing the content of a literary work, students expand their vocabulary and increase their range of grammar constructions. Moreover, literary texts comprise a variety of social, ethical, and moral problems and are characterized by diverse conflicts. They are perceived and understood as a result of literary interpretation and are determined by readers’ life experience and attitudes, cultural and moral standards. Therefore, the reader-response theory becomes relevant, since it considers reading as transaction (interaction) between the reader and the text. It means that the meaning wasn’t put by the author once and for all but will be interpreted differently by different readers. Accordingly, there is no single interpretation of the literary work. The subject of this research is the problem of teaching extensive reading in English at university through reader-response theory. The purpose of the article is to introduce the premises of this theory making a case for its application and to describe the operation of literature circles as a local example of the scientific paradigm. The methodological framework of the research was comprised of the communicative approach to teaching English, task-based language learning and the studentcentered approach in collaborative learning. The article demonstrates that literature circles function in a group where each student performs his/her role and different layers of understanding of the literary text are uncovered through peer discussion. The results of the research can be of interest to both foreign language teachers and to the researchers dealing with applied methodology of teaching literature. The author proves that literature circles favorably affect both students’ motivation for extensive reading and English teaching enhancement at university. 

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Critical Thinking Skills for English Literature Study with Reader Response Theory: Review of Literature

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farah Qamar
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Reader Response ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
Theory Review

<p>Since Socrates’ time, reasoning is considered valuable for the justification of speaker’s belief along with Thomas Aquinas’ testing of his thinking to answer his own thinking. Critical thinking has been part of discussion among the educators for its significance and application for last many decades. Many educators have conducted researches on the assessment of critical thinking within a domain or across the domain in order to test students’ critical thinking skills and its effect on their learning. Similarly, critical thinking is highly valuable for the study of literature as it explicitly asked for learners’ beliefs, perceptions, and judgments in order to remove the ambiguity of thought. Perfection of thought can be achieved with the use of critical thinking skills while training of mind needs interaction between literary text and the reader as literature has the capacity to achieve mental traits specified to critical thinking. Accordingly, this report presents a relationship between critical thinking skills and English literature study along with reader response theory techniques considering that without the use of critical thinking skills and reader response theory, study of literature is haphazard hence for the application of reader response theory, literary text is inevitable. In essence, I aim to highlight the effectiveness of critical thinking skills for the study of literature while emphasizing the significance of reader response theory which is also inevitable for the study of literature and for the use of critical thinking skills.</p>

Adapting the Australian Canon and Decolonizing the Tertiary Classroom: Settler Students Respond to Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (270) ◽  
pp. 253-263
Author(s):  
Demelza Hall ◽  
Kate Storey ◽  
Laura Benney ◽  
Marlee Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Reader Response ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Reading Group ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
Literary Adaptation ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
English Classroom

Abstract The ‘Drover’s Wife Reading Group’ was a collaborative teacher–student project piloted between 2018 and 2020 at Federation University Australia with the intention to create spaces for decolonization, particularly settler (un)learning, beyond the limits of the tertiary English classroom. Drawing upon aspects of reader–response theory, the project began as a small constructivist study in that it sought, initially, to gauge the different responses undergraduate settler students had to a work of Indigenous Australian literary adaptation. However, the transformative nature of the text being engaged with – Leah Purcell’s play, The Drover’s Wife (2016), a literary work which has been widely recognized for the critical literacy it promotes – coupled with the sophistication of the participants’ various responses to it, quickly saw the project shift to one of intense collaboration, with the students involved becoming partners in shaping the project’s outcomes.

scholarly journals An ASSESSING IRAQI UNIVERSITY READERS' CRITICAL THINKING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE USE READER RESPONSE STRATEGY IN THE INSTRUCTION OF SHAKESPEARE'S LITERARY TEXT

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-133
Author(s):  
Qaysar Abbas Abudlridhadr ◽  
Hj. Azmi Abdul Latiff
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Reader Response ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
Post Test

Purpose: This study centers on the significant role of Reader Response theory in instruction literary text, this study also, affirms that there is a useful and progressive influence of the Reader-response strategy in the literary text to enhance and improve the level of EFL Iraqi learners’ critical thinking. This study proves that teaching literature, without Reader response strategies, the level of development of critical thinking becomes very passive and slow. Methodology: The researcher used one group “pre-post-test”. The study was conducted at the English department, Faculty of Education in Iraq. This study was carried out for fifteen weeks. The researcher administered Cornell Class-Reasoning Test as a pre-test in week 4 while post-test in week 12.The researcher used non-probability convenient sampling because it was probably the most common of all sampling techniques in social sciences and the proximity of the samples to the researchers (Patton, 1990).This test was run twice with intensive interventions for five weeks implemented between the two tests. Main Findings. Findings showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the EFL Iraqi learners' critical thinking skills between pre-test scores and post-test scores. There are statistically significant differences at the “p ≤ 0.05” level for the following item groups: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12. This study confirmed that participants significantly improved their level of critical thinking skills by implementing Reader- Response activities in teaching literary texts. Implications: This study proposes applying the strategies of reader-response theory as an effective and encouraging concept or stimulating approach to enhance the level of recognition and appreciation of the texts in literature. This experiment could be a positive study and applicable to different educational centers to teach all the texts in English literature. This study helps instructors to change their old-style manners of instructions. Novelty: The experiment focused on the vital and encouraging role of reader-response theory in fostering EFL Iraqi readers’ capacity to generate multi-layers of versions and meanings during reading literature. The study presents a helpful and successful manner to all the persons who work as teachers in educational systems. The study directs the instructors to follow the modern approaches in explaining the literary text to their learners instead of the old-style manner. EFL tutors should practice these strategies in EFL English classes of literature so that they could make the lecture full of activity and enjoyment throughout the interesting themes of literature.

scholarly journals Using Wattpad to Promote the Students’ Responses to Literary Works: EFL College Students’ Perspectives and Experiences of Enjoying Short Stories

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-192
Author(s):  
Mega Anggitasari ◽  
Wawan Tarwana ◽  
R. Bunga Febriani ◽  
Syafryadin Syafryadin
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Short Stories ◽  
Reader Response ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Reader Response Theory ◽  
Literacy Activities ◽  
Efl College Students

This research is to investigate how EFL college students response in enjoying short stories by using Wattpad and to find out how their perception and experiences in enjoying short stories by means reading Wattpad. As interest in literacy activities, EFL college students’ choose Wattpad as an application to read short stories, Wattpad is a fairly popular and efficient application for reading short stories and can provide comments directly within the short story paragraphs and Wattpad has many advantages in promoting reader-response theory to EFL college students’ .This case study was conducted to the college students and 40 students. Three instruments covering the observation, the interview, and the questionnaire were chosen to gain the data. It was concluded that there is the positive feedback of using Wattpad as a media to learning literature similar to those previous studies, this research also focuses on Wattpad as a media to learning literature.

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