Artículos
Reasons why the Civil War took place
TEACHING ESL: its Barriers and Remedies
English through music
Volcán Chaitén
Storytelling in the Classroom
USA States
The Roots of Revolution
“How To” Congress Workshop Abstract: “Breathing Life into Words”
“Some notes about the writing skill"
“El Evangelio según Agnes"
Short Stories
Short Stories II
Short Story: The Visit
The Yellow Wallpaper
The Manchester Marriage
..............................................................................
"STORYTELLING IN THE CLASSROOM"
(The value of teaching stories for EFL)
Index:
1. What is a short story?
2. Reading in a loud voice: Advantages.
3. How to analyse a short story.
4. Conclusion
I - What is a short story?
Short fiction is a very old form of writing, its recorded history going back to a collection of Egyptian stories entitled "The Tales of the Magicians", which may have been composed as long ago as 4.000 B.C. Subsequently the tradition of short fiction in prose and verse brought forth such notable collections as "The Thousand and One Nights" (10th century A.D.), Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" (1397), to name only a few. Short fiction is as old as literature itself.
Yet, the form of short fiction we know today as the short story is essentially a product of the 19th century, for it was during the early decades of the 1800s that writers in various major countries of the Western world first began to recognize and talk about the short story as a particular genre in its own right, sharply distinguishable from other forms of short fiction such as tales, sketches, brief narrative and so on. But what is the difference between a short story and a novel?
We have to say that a story has unity which a novel cannot have. A short story shows an action in one place and in one day. Also, a short story must have an effect of totality that a novel does not have. The writer of a short story must be concise and also a vigorous compression is essential. Short stories must have originality and ingenuity. Compression, originality, ingenuity and sometimes a touch of fantasy. (Poe's stories) are the elements that differentiate a short story from a story that is short.
The difference between a short story and a sketch is that a sketch may be still-life whereas in a short story, something always happens. A sketch may be an outline of character or even a picture of a mood or mind but in a short story, there must be action.
II- Reading in a loud voice: Advantages
Reading in a loud voice in an EFL class has often been neglected, unfairly neglected especially during the last decades. This technique should be taken into consideration again for a number of reasons:
1) By reading in a loud voice, students may practise pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, voice-volume and expressionism.
2) A feeling of sharing something arises in class, this feeling often turns to be highly motivating.
3) Students can also imitate the teacher reading in loud voice. When reading, the teacher should somewhat exaggerate the techniques and skills he wants his students to acquire rapidly.
The efficient reader predicts what he is going to read. The process of understanding a text is the process of seeing how the context of the text matches up to these predictions. It is very important for the teacher to predict, to talk and give and elicit information about the topic he is going to read about. In the first instance, his prediction will be the result of the expectations he has. As he continues to read, however, his predictions will change as he receives more information from the text. Therefore the equation Predicting + Exchange of ideas + Reading in a loud voice has the power to be highly effective to ameliorate reading skills in an EFL class.
III- How to analyse a short story
A short story should be analysed in terms of the following elements:
1) setting
2) conflict
3) climax
4) anticlimax
5) denouement
6) theme
7) message or morale
8) symbols
9) character analysis
The setting indicates time and place, when and where did the action take place?
A further function of setting is the creation of atmosphere.
Atmosphere has been more talked about than defined because it refers to the suggested rather than the stated. In the novel "Wuthering Heights" for example, the atmosphere at the beginning, the presence of grey sky, thunderstorms, dark and solemn rooms, coldness etc, reflects a feeling of disorder, confusion, troubles, illnesses etc, which predict the factual chain in the story.
Conflict means complication. Once the setting has been presented, something happens that will determine a certain course of action. There should be an element of instability in the initial situation. In "Young Goodman Brown" for example, the conflict arises when Brown encounters a strange man in the forest
Climax: It is the highest point of interest. The element of instability has led on to the climax. For example in O'Henry´s "The Gift of the Magi", the conflict arises when husband and wife exchange the "special" gifts they have bought for each other.
The Anti-climax: It happens when that highest point of interest falls down and the situation is solved.
Denouement: How does the story finish? Was it an expected or unexpected denouement? Several times, this is a point for further discussion.
Theme: To put the matter simply, theme is the meaning of the story. Theme is the meaning the story discovers. By theme, we mean the necessary implications of the whole story, not a separate part os the story. In the story the students read at the workshop, the theme could be: "Education should bring on commitment". Sometimes the theme could coincide with the message taught by the story. Let's take another example:
In Hemingway's "A Clean Well-Lighted Place", the theme could be the story of an old man's life and the message could be:
"Try to help or understand old and lonely people" or "We are all going to be old and we may all experience a feeling of solitude at a certain point of our lives"
Symbolism: A symbol in a story is the representation of something else. A symbol may also predict something that will happen in the future. In "Cat in the Rain", Hemingway has used the kitten to represent somebody who is very unprotected and lonely, the rain may symbolize life, hope, nature, future, etc. "The Great Gatsby" by Fitzgerald is a festival of symbolism in American literature. The city representing corruption versus the countryside representing purity and sincerity is only one example of the many ones presented in the novel.
Character analysis: To put it simply, character may be divided into 2 groups:
a- Flat characters: they are the "typical" representation of a stereotyped character: the typical greengrocer, the typical teacher responding to a standard characterization.
b- Round characters are the ones with a complex personality that change and evolve as the action develops. A round character is the one affected by what happened to him or her. The Catherine that appears at the beginning of "Wuthering Heights" is not the same person who dies in Heatcliff´s arms. She is a completely different person.
To put all these ideas into practise, the students read the story "Free at last" (in a loud voice) and analysed exhaustively in the terms explained above.
The experience was fruitful, motivating and gratifying for everybody started regarding the reading of short stories as a new adventure worth to be explored in depth, not only for themselves but for their students as well.
IV- Conclusion
Teaching reading is difficult work. Teachers must be aware of the progress that students are making and adjust instruction to the changing abilities of students. It is also important to remember that the goals of reading stories is to understand the texts and be able to learn from them.
Reading stories is a skill that will empower everyone who learns it. They will be able to benefit from the store of knowledge in printed materials and, ultimately, to contribute to that knowledge. Good teaching enables students to learn to read and read to learn. In real life we read for different purposes. Teaching stories, therefore, reflects what takes place in real life.
A student may read out of interest, necessity or both. We have discussed the teaching of reading stories as well as the importance of the teacher's role in creating expectations and enthusiasm for the text that is to be read. Through this representation, we have tried to explore some of the many ways of helping students acquire this receptive skill.
Also, as a conclusion, I read the following quotation:
Reasons why the Civil War took place
TEACHING ESL: its Barriers and Remedies
English through music
Volcán Chaitén
Storytelling in the Classroom
USA States
The Roots of Revolution
“How To” Congress Workshop Abstract: “Breathing Life into Words”
“Some notes about the writing skill"
“El Evangelio según Agnes"
Short Stories
Short Stories II
Short Story: The Visit
The Yellow Wallpaper
The Manchester Marriage
..............................................................................
"STORYTELLING IN THE CLASSROOM"
(The value of teaching stories for EFL)
Index:
1. What is a short story?
2. Reading in a loud voice: Advantages.
3. How to analyse a short story.
4. Conclusion
I - What is a short story?
Short fiction is a very old form of writing, its recorded history going back to a collection of Egyptian stories entitled "The Tales of the Magicians", which may have been composed as long ago as 4.000 B.C. Subsequently the tradition of short fiction in prose and verse brought forth such notable collections as "The Thousand and One Nights" (10th century A.D.), Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" (1397), to name only a few. Short fiction is as old as literature itself.
Yet, the form of short fiction we know today as the short story is essentially a product of the 19th century, for it was during the early decades of the 1800s that writers in various major countries of the Western world first began to recognize and talk about the short story as a particular genre in its own right, sharply distinguishable from other forms of short fiction such as tales, sketches, brief narrative and so on. But what is the difference between a short story and a novel?
We have to say that a story has unity which a novel cannot have. A short story shows an action in one place and in one day. Also, a short story must have an effect of totality that a novel does not have. The writer of a short story must be concise and also a vigorous compression is essential. Short stories must have originality and ingenuity. Compression, originality, ingenuity and sometimes a touch of fantasy. (Poe's stories) are the elements that differentiate a short story from a story that is short.
The difference between a short story and a sketch is that a sketch may be still-life whereas in a short story, something always happens. A sketch may be an outline of character or even a picture of a mood or mind but in a short story, there must be action.
II- Reading in a loud voice: Advantages
Reading in a loud voice in an EFL class has often been neglected, unfairly neglected especially during the last decades. This technique should be taken into consideration again for a number of reasons:
1) By reading in a loud voice, students may practise pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, voice-volume and expressionism.
2) A feeling of sharing something arises in class, this feeling often turns to be highly motivating.
3) Students can also imitate the teacher reading in loud voice. When reading, the teacher should somewhat exaggerate the techniques and skills he wants his students to acquire rapidly.
The efficient reader predicts what he is going to read. The process of understanding a text is the process of seeing how the context of the text matches up to these predictions. It is very important for the teacher to predict, to talk and give and elicit information about the topic he is going to read about. In the first instance, his prediction will be the result of the expectations he has. As he continues to read, however, his predictions will change as he receives more information from the text. Therefore the equation Predicting + Exchange of ideas + Reading in a loud voice has the power to be highly effective to ameliorate reading skills in an EFL class.
III- How to analyse a short story
A short story should be analysed in terms of the following elements:
1) setting
2) conflict
3) climax
4) anticlimax
5) denouement
6) theme
7) message or morale
8) symbols
9) character analysis
The setting indicates time and place, when and where did the action take place?
A further function of setting is the creation of atmosphere.
Atmosphere has been more talked about than defined because it refers to the suggested rather than the stated. In the novel "Wuthering Heights" for example, the atmosphere at the beginning, the presence of grey sky, thunderstorms, dark and solemn rooms, coldness etc, reflects a feeling of disorder, confusion, troubles, illnesses etc, which predict the factual chain in the story.
Conflict means complication. Once the setting has been presented, something happens that will determine a certain course of action. There should be an element of instability in the initial situation. In "Young Goodman Brown" for example, the conflict arises when Brown encounters a strange man in the forest
Climax: It is the highest point of interest. The element of instability has led on to the climax. For example in O'Henry´s "The Gift of the Magi", the conflict arises when husband and wife exchange the "special" gifts they have bought for each other.
The Anti-climax: It happens when that highest point of interest falls down and the situation is solved.
Denouement: How does the story finish? Was it an expected or unexpected denouement? Several times, this is a point for further discussion.
Theme: To put the matter simply, theme is the meaning of the story. Theme is the meaning the story discovers. By theme, we mean the necessary implications of the whole story, not a separate part os the story. In the story the students read at the workshop, the theme could be: "Education should bring on commitment". Sometimes the theme could coincide with the message taught by the story. Let's take another example:
In Hemingway's "A Clean Well-Lighted Place", the theme could be the story of an old man's life and the message could be:
"Try to help or understand old and lonely people" or "We are all going to be old and we may all experience a feeling of solitude at a certain point of our lives"
Symbolism: A symbol in a story is the representation of something else. A symbol may also predict something that will happen in the future. In "Cat in the Rain", Hemingway has used the kitten to represent somebody who is very unprotected and lonely, the rain may symbolize life, hope, nature, future, etc. "The Great Gatsby" by Fitzgerald is a festival of symbolism in American literature. The city representing corruption versus the countryside representing purity and sincerity is only one example of the many ones presented in the novel.
Character analysis: To put it simply, character may be divided into 2 groups:
a- Flat characters: they are the "typical" representation of a stereotyped character: the typical greengrocer, the typical teacher responding to a standard characterization.
b- Round characters are the ones with a complex personality that change and evolve as the action develops. A round character is the one affected by what happened to him or her. The Catherine that appears at the beginning of "Wuthering Heights" is not the same person who dies in Heatcliff´s arms. She is a completely different person.
To put all these ideas into practise, the students read the story "Free at last" (in a loud voice) and analysed exhaustively in the terms explained above.
The experience was fruitful, motivating and gratifying for everybody started regarding the reading of short stories as a new adventure worth to be explored in depth, not only for themselves but for their students as well.
IV- Conclusion
Teaching reading is difficult work. Teachers must be aware of the progress that students are making and adjust instruction to the changing abilities of students. It is also important to remember that the goals of reading stories is to understand the texts and be able to learn from them.
Reading stories is a skill that will empower everyone who learns it. They will be able to benefit from the store of knowledge in printed materials and, ultimately, to contribute to that knowledge. Good teaching enables students to learn to read and read to learn. In real life we read for different purposes. Teaching stories, therefore, reflects what takes place in real life.
A student may read out of interest, necessity or both. We have discussed the teaching of reading stories as well as the importance of the teacher's role in creating expectations and enthusiasm for the text that is to be read. Through this representation, we have tried to explore some of the many ways of helping students acquire this receptive skill.
Also, as a conclusion, I read the following quotation:
"I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes have seen what no man should witness: gas chambers built by learned engineers, children poisoned by educated physicians, infants killed by trained nurses, women and babies shot and burned by high school graduates. So I am suspicious of education. My request is this: keep your students to become humane. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing and mathematics are important orly if they serve to make our children more humane".
Haim Ginott
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