TY - JOUR
T1 - A quantitative and a qualitative analysis of the effect of culture and language on Arab students' response to authentic literature in english
AU - Al-Mahrooqi, Rahma I.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Reading in a foreign language is laborious (Gorsuch & Taguchi, 2008), involving interaction between bottom-up and top-down movement in the process of creating meaning. When reading authentic literature, students must grapple not only with the text's linguistic code but with the cultural code as well. Thus, language and culture can have profound effects on how students respond to and comprehend literature. The aim of this article, therefore, is to investigate the effect of these two factors on Arab student response to authentic American literature. Part of a major study, the article analyses quantitatively and qualitatively the responses of 23 female students while reading the American short story "I Want to Be Miss America". The analysis shows clearly how students' native culture and language come into play during the process of reading and understanding the text. Appreciating the effect of these factors offers literature teachers an insight into the sources of student difficulties with native literature. This in turn enhances their ability to negotiate meaning with their students and arrive at a plausible understanding of the target text. A further consequence is improved language acquisition by the students (Cheon, 2003).
AB - Reading in a foreign language is laborious (Gorsuch & Taguchi, 2008), involving interaction between bottom-up and top-down movement in the process of creating meaning. When reading authentic literature, students must grapple not only with the text's linguistic code but with the cultural code as well. Thus, language and culture can have profound effects on how students respond to and comprehend literature. The aim of this article, therefore, is to investigate the effect of these two factors on Arab student response to authentic American literature. Part of a major study, the article analyses quantitatively and qualitatively the responses of 23 female students while reading the American short story "I Want to Be Miss America". The analysis shows clearly how students' native culture and language come into play during the process of reading and understanding the text. Appreciating the effect of these factors offers literature teachers an insight into the sources of student difficulties with native literature. This in turn enhances their ability to negotiate meaning with their students and arrive at a plausible understanding of the target text. A further consequence is improved language acquisition by the students (Cheon, 2003).
KW - Authentic literature
KW - Foreign language
KW - Native culture
KW - Reader response
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U2 - 10.4304/tpls.1.11.1561-1570
DO - 10.4304/tpls.1.11.1561-1570
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84901038442
SN - 1799-2591
VL - 1
SP - 1561
EP - 1570
JO - Theory and Practice in Language Studies
JF - Theory and Practice in Language Studies
IS - 11
ER -