A World of Fiction 1 and 2 are both explicitly designed with this two-reading system in mind.ĥ. I read each new story between three to five times before teaching it, and I tell my students that it is crucial for them to read a story twice: the first time for plot and vocabulary, the second time for themes and style. A quick reading may give the impression that a story is about one thing, but after a second or third reading it becomes clear that something entirely different is taking place beneath the surface. Good short stories are sometimes deceptively simple. In A World of Fiction 1 and A World of Fiction 2,the goal has been to offer stories with the variety to engage students’ diverse interests and the depth to stimulate meaningful critical analysis.
When I wrote the first edition of A World of Fiction twenty years ago, I hoped that a collection of teachable, richly-layered stories and exercises would be helpful to teachers wanting to bring literature into the ESL classroom. I might read as many as 50-100 stories before finding one that I’m excited to use in class. Stories that initially appeal to me often don’t have enough complexity for intensive analysis and discussion. It’s not enough to love a story it needs to have the right length, layering, and subject matter.
Reading and discussing stories in English can free students to reveal parts of themselves that they were reluctant to explore when operating in their native language.Ĭhoosing stories can be difficult and time-consuming. They have laughed, cried, and opened their hearts. Over the years, my students have related in intense and unexpected ways to the characters, themes, and conflicts presented in short stories. Literature isn’t just about close reading and careful inference. I’ve had students begin the semester thinking literature might be an inefficient use of their time, but in 40 years of teaching I’ve almost never seen one who felt that way after a few weeks of class. When you believe in literature as a meaningful and fun way to build language skills, you can persuade even skeptical students to take it seriously. The ten tips below are designed to help teachers create and implement an exciting, relevant short-story course. Best of all, they can be used to enrich all language skills in imaginative and unexpected ways. Good stories engage both teachers and students. That’s a pity since short stories are perfect for teaching language and critical thinking skills. This can teach students to listen for directions from the Master and act out what is being said.Teachers often hesitate to use literature in the classroom. This script has a lot of flexibility for cast size and students can act out the Master's story. But it has added topics for discussion such as conquering other races and the prejudice against people who are different. Stronger readers can be given bigger parts and readers who struggle can have small parts where they feel successful. And having students read a script breaks up the reading burden throughout the group. These three scripts introduce students to a variety of American slang and engages students with humor. Here are some short scripts that you can use in your ESL (English as a Second Language) lessons with older students and adults that have been used by other teachers.