Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Using ESL Fiction Texts to Increase Motivation and Comprehension

  • Chapter
Pump It Up

  • 946 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter discusses the potential for using ESL fiction texts to motivate students to read more and consequently improve their reading motivation and comprehension skills. It also proposes a lesson plan and an exercise which may help encourage ESL teachers to use fiction in the classroom.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Afflerbach, P., Pearson, P. D., & Paris, S. (2008). Clarifying differences between reading skills and reading strategies. The Reading Teacher, 61(5), 364–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, H. D., & Abeywickrama, P. (2010). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnahan, C., Williamson, P., & Christman, J. (2011). Linking cognition and literacy in students with autism spectrum disorder. Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(6), 54–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, S. A. (2006). The effects of an adapted interactive writing intervention on kindergarten children’s phonological awareness, spelling, and early reading development: A contextualized approach to instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(4), 714–731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Defoe, D., & Kelley, J. (2007). Robinson Crusoe. West Berlin, NJ: Townsend Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. In A. E. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (pp. 205–242). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D., Strachan, S. L., & Billman, A. K. (2011). Essential elements of fostering and teaching reading comprehension. In S. J. Samuels & A. E. Farstrup (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (pp. 51–93). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Erkaya, O. R. (2005). Benefits of using short stories in the EFL context. Asian EFL Journal, 8, 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fielding, L. G., & Pearson, P. D. (1994). Synthesis of research reading comprehension: What works. Educational Leadership, 51, 62–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, F. S., & West, C. (2013). The great Gatsby. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaskins, R. W. (1996). That’s just how it was: The effect of issue-related emotional involvement on reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(4), 386–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gee, R. W. (1999). Encouraging ESL students to read. TESOL Journal, 8(1), 3–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosn, I. (2002). Four good reasons to use literature in primary school ELT. ELT Journal, 65(2), 172–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodin, S. M., Weber, C. M., Pearson, P. D., & Raphael, T. E. (2009). Comprehension: The means, motive, and opportunity for meeting the needs of diverse learners. In L. M. Morrow, R. Rueda, & D. Lapp (Eds.), Handbook of research on literacy and diversity (pp. 337–365). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2010). Writing to read: Evidence for how writing can improve reading: A report from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie, J. T., & Humenick, N. M. (2004). Motivating students to read: Evidence for classroom practices that increase reading motivation and achievement. In P. McCardle & V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research (pp. 329–354). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamil, M. L., Pearson, P. D., Moje, E. B., & Afflerbach, P. (2011). Handbook of reading research. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knapp, M. S., Adelman, N. E., Marder, C., McCollum, H., Needels, M. C., Padilla, C., & Zucker, A. (1995). Teaching for meaning in high-poverty classrooms. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krashen, S. (1993). The power of reading: Insights from the research. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liaw, M. L. (2001). Exploring literary responses in an EFL classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 34(1), 35–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKay, S. (2001) Literature as content for ESL/EFL. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language. Boston, MA; Heinle & Heinle.

    Google Scholar 

  • McVay, J. C., & Kane, M. J. (2012). Why does working memory capacity predict variation in reading comprehension? On the influence of mind wandering and executive attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141(2), 302–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. (2011). ESL reading textbooks vs. university textbooks: Are we giving our students the input they may need? Journal of English for Academic Languages, 10(1), 32–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrow, L. M., Tracey, D. H., Woo, D. G., & Pressley, M. (1999). Characteristics of exemplary first-grade literacy instruction. The Reading Teacher, 52(5), 462–476.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nasr, N. (2001). The use of poetry in TEFL: Literature in the new Lebanese curriculum. Revista de Filología y su Didáctica, 24, 345–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parodi, G. (2007). Reading – Writing connections: Discourse-oriented research. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 225–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, D. (2011). Toward the next generation of comprehension instruction. In H. Daniels (Ed.), Comprehension going forward: Where we are, what’s next (pp. 243–254). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, P. D. (2000). Reading in the twentieth century. In T. Good (Ed.), American education: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (pp. 13–66). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, P. D. (2007). An endangered species act for literacy education. Journal of Literacy Research, 145–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, P. D. (2009). The roots of reading comprehension instruction. In S. E. Israel & G. G. Duffy (Eds.), Handbook of research on reading comprehension (pp. 3–31). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilgreen, J., & Krashen, S. (1993). Sustained silent reading with English as a second language high school students: Impact on reading comprehension, reading frequency, and reading enjoyment. School Library Media Quarterly, 21–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pressley, M., Yoki, L., Rankin, J., Wharton-McDonald, R., & Mistretta, J. (1997). A survey of the instructional practices of grade 5 teachers nominated as effective in promoting literacy. Scientific Studies of Reading, 145–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiter, A. (2003). The effects of L2 pleasure reading on high school ESOL students’ reading comprehension and motivation. Retrieved from http://gse.gmu.edu/assets/docs/lmtip/vol1/A.Reiter.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Robson, A. E. (1989). The use of literature in ESL and culture-learning courses in US colleges. TESOL Newsletter, 25–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savvidou, C. (2004). An integrated approach to the teaching of literature in the EFL classroom. The Internet TESL Journal. Retrieved May, 2104 from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Savvidou-Literature.html

  • Stahl, S. A. (2004). What do we know about fluency? Findings of the national reading panel. In P. McCardle & V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research (pp. 187–210). Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, S. L. (1991). An integrated approach to literature in ESL/EFL. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (pp. 328–346). New York, NY: Newbury House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stowe, H., & Dunayer, J. (2006). Uncle Tom’s cabin. West Berlin, NJ: The Townsend Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, K. F., & Barksdale-Ladd, M. A. (1995). Effective literacy classrooms: Teachers and students exploring literacy together. In K. A. Hinchman, D. J. Leu, & C. K. Kinzer (Eds.), Perspectives on literacy research and practice: The 44th yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 169–179). Chicago, IL: National Reading Conference.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. C. (1995). The influence of classroom contexts on young children’s motivation for literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 410–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van, T. T. M. (2009). The relevance of literary analysis to teaching literature in the EFL classroom. English Teaching Forum, 2–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wharton-McDonald, R., Pressley, M., & Hampston, J. M. (1998). Literacy instruction in nine first-grade classrooms: Teacher characteristics and student achievement. The Elementary School Journal, 101–128.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Aseel Kanakri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kent State University, Ohio, USA

    Joanne Kilgour Dowdy

  2. Kent State University, Ohio, USA

    Yang Gao

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Sense Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kanakri, A. (2016). Using ESL Fiction Texts to Increase Motivation and Comprehension. In: Dowdy, J.K., Gao, Y. (eds) Pump It Up. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-612-5_26

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-612-5_26

  • Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6300-612-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation