Chapter 4. Transforming readings
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David Peplow
Abstract
In this chapter, book group discourse is analyzed, with the view of considering how literary interpretation happens across short extracts of talk. The book group is seen as a learning environment, a community of practice in which the ‘private’ readings that readers bring to meetings can be transformed through discussing the text with others. Readings are analysed in terms of Allan Bell’s interpretative arc, as this model sees the incremental nature of literary interpretation. Extracts from one particular reading group meeting are considered and the transcript data is approached in a sociolinguistic fashion. Analysis demonstrates that interpretation in this context is more than the sum of its parts, so that what is produced in the talk is group reading rather than isolated, individual action.
Abstract
In this chapter, book group discourse is analyzed, with the view of considering how literary interpretation happens across short extracts of talk. The book group is seen as a learning environment, a community of practice in which the ‘private’ readings that readers bring to meetings can be transformed through discussing the text with others. Readings are analysed in terms of Allan Bell’s interpretative arc, as this model sees the incremental nature of literary interpretation. Extracts from one particular reading group meeting are considered and the transcript data is approached in a sociolinguistic fashion. Analysis demonstrates that interpretation in this context is more than the sum of its parts, so that what is produced in the talk is group reading rather than isolated, individual action.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Contributors xv
- Chapter 1. Empirical approaches to the study of literature in learning environments 1
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Part I. Reading processes in communities of practices
- Chapter 2. Learning from literature 19
- Chapter 3. Authorizing the reader in the classroom 39
- Chapter 4. Transforming readings 57
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Part II. Reading processes in EFL/L2 contexts
- Chapter 5. Enhancing responses to literary texts with L2 learners 83
- Chapter 6. Empirical stylistics in an EFL teaching context 105
- Chapter 7. Literary themes across cultures 125
- Chapter 8. Of learning and poetics 151
- Chapter 9. Literature and the role of background knowledge for EFL learners 169
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Part III. Creative writing, corpus, and empirical stylistics as learning tools
- Chapter 10. Effects of creative writing on adolescent students’ literary response 193
- Chapter 11. ESL students’ perceptions of creative and academic writing 213
- Chapter 12. Empirical stylistics as a learning and research tool in the study of narrative viewpoint 227
- Chapter 13. Point and CLiC 253
- Chapter 14. Literary awareness in a high-school EFL learning environment 271
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Contributors xv
- Chapter 1. Empirical approaches to the study of literature in learning environments 1
-
Part I. Reading processes in communities of practices
- Chapter 2. Learning from literature 19
- Chapter 3. Authorizing the reader in the classroom 39
- Chapter 4. Transforming readings 57
-
Part II. Reading processes in EFL/L2 contexts
- Chapter 5. Enhancing responses to literary texts with L2 learners 83
- Chapter 6. Empirical stylistics in an EFL teaching context 105
- Chapter 7. Literary themes across cultures 125
- Chapter 8. Of learning and poetics 151
- Chapter 9. Literature and the role of background knowledge for EFL learners 169
-
Part III. Creative writing, corpus, and empirical stylistics as learning tools
- Chapter 10. Effects of creative writing on adolescent students’ literary response 193
- Chapter 11. ESL students’ perceptions of creative and academic writing 213
- Chapter 12. Empirical stylistics as a learning and research tool in the study of narrative viewpoint 227
- Chapter 13. Point and CLiC 253
- Chapter 14. Literary awareness in a high-school EFL learning environment 271
- Index 303
