Using literature circles in the ESL college classroom: A lesson from Puerto Rico

Abstract

<em></em><strong></strong><p align="center"><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>This paper will use data collected from a case study of a basic English course at the University of Puerto Rico where literature circles were used to promote understanding of a novel dealing with issues of race, class and privilege. The article will trace both the implementation of the literature circles and the use of students’ first language to facilitate the reading of <em>The</em> <em>Boy Without a Flag </em>by Abraham Rodríguez Jr. Special attention will be paid to the use of literature circles to promote student participation, both orally and in written form, as well as in discussion of topics relevant to students. Furthermore, such implementation of literature circles in the classroom provided students with diversity, self-choice and student initiative, as they worked together to mediate meaning and discuss what they felt was important. Findings suggest that students benefited from the use of their first language, since it served as a cognitive tool that allowed them to collaboratively scaffold while also enabling the instructor to gauge reading comprehension. Moreover, selecting a text whose content tapped into students’ funds of knowledge promoted classroom participation about topics and issues students deemed relevant both inside and outside the English classroom.</p><p><em>Key words: literature circles, ESL, adult learners, mother tongue, relevancy</em></p><p align="center"><strong>Resumen</strong></p><p>El artículo utilizará datos recopilados a través de una monografía llevada a cabo en un curso de Inglés básico en la Universidad de Puerto Rico, donde se incorporaron círculos literarios para promover la comprensión de una novela que trata sobre los conceptos de raza, clase y privilegio. El artículo trazará la implementación de círculos literarios y el uso del primer idioma de los estudiantes para facilitar la lectura del libro <em>The</em> <em>Boy Without a Flag </em>por Abraham Rodríguez Jr. Se prestará atención especial al uso de círculos literarios para promover participación por parte de los estudiantes, tanto escrita como oral, así como en la discusión de temas relevantes para los estudiantes. Además, dicha implementación de círculos literarios en el salón proveyó oportunidades de diversidad, libre elección e iniciativa para los estudiantes mientras estos trabajaban juntos para mediar significado y discutir lo que a estos le parecía más importante. Los resultados sugieren que los estudiantes fueron beneficiados al utilizar su primer idioma, ya que este sirvió como una herramienta cognoscitiva que les permitió practicar andamiaje colectivo mientras permitió al instructor medir comprensión de lectura. Por último, seleccionar un texto que conecta con los fondos de conocimiento de los estudiantes promovió participación y discusión grupal de temas y asuntos que los estudiantes consideraron relevantes tanto dentro como fuera del salón.</p><p><em>Palabras claves: círculos literarios, ESL, estudiantes adultos, primer idioma, relevancia</em><strong></strong></p><p><em><br /></em></p>

The Influence of Literature Circles Strategy on the Development of EFL Students` Oral Fluency

“…The results of the study are in agreement with the the results of the studies conducted by (Daniels ,2002 ;Reppert ,2004;McElvain ,2005;Hsu & Liu ,2005, Beeghly ,2005, Lin ,2006Daniels ,2006, Duff & Maley ,2007Mark ,2007;Clarke & Holwadel ,2007;Dasilva Iddings, Risko & Ramplulla ,2009;Lopez ,2010;Avci &Yuksel ,2011, Whittaker ,2011Shelton-Strong ,2012;Azmi ,2013;Clarke ,2013;Calmer &Straits ,2014;Thomas ,2014 ;Sagan ,2015;Sambolin & Carroll ,2015& Ragland & Palace ,2017.…”

“…In the area of investigating the influence of literature circles strategy on the development of foreign language skills, several studies have been conducted and thay all assert and confirm its positive influence on the development of EFL language skills, among them, (Daniels ,2002 ;Reppert ,2004;McElvain ,2005;Hsu & Liu ,2005 ;Beeghly ,2005;Lin ,2006;Daniels ,2006;Duff & Maley ,2007;Mark ,2007;Clarke & Holwadel ,2007;Dasilva Iddings, Risko & Ramplulla ,2009;Lopez ,2010;Avci &Yuksel ,2011;Whittaker ,2011;Shelton-Strong ,2012;Azmi ,2013;Clarke ,2013;Calmer &Straits ,2014;Thomas ,2014 ;Sagan ,2015;Sambolin & Carroll ,2015& Ragland & Palace ,2017. The following is an explanation of some of these studies: Reppert (2004) investigated the use of literature as materials for helping advanced ESL adult learners develop their oral fluency skills.…”

“…In an attempt to overcome and tackle this problem, literature circles strategy is proposed in this study as an effective solution that has been proved to be effective in developing foreign language skills and this can be noticed from the results of the studies that were conducted in this area (i.e., Daniels ,2002 ;Reppert ,2004;McElvain ,2005;Hsu & Liu ,2005 ;Beeghly ,2005;Lin ,2006;Daniels ,2006;Duff & Maley ,2007;Mark ,2007;Clarke & Holwadel ,2007;Dasilva Iddings, Risko & Ramplulla ,2009;Lopez ,2010;Avci &Yuksel ,2011;Whittaker ,2011;Shelton-Strong ,2012;Azmi ,2013;Clarke ,2013;Calmer &Straits ,2014;Thomas ,2014 ;Sagan ,2015;Sambolin & Carroll ,2015& Ragland & Palace ,2017.…”

“…The study revealed that literature circles that focus on conversation and discussion were useful and effective for ELLs as they developed the students` oral skills, writing skills and critical thinking skills. Sambolin & Carroll (2015) conducted a case study of a basic English course at Puerto Rico University where LCs were used and implemented in order to develop the students` oral and written communication through understanding of a novel dealing with issues of race, class and privilege that were derived from the novel " The Boy Without a Flag" which was written by Abraham Rodriguez Jr. The results of the questionnaires, the interviews and the analysis of field notes revealed that LCs were useful and beneficial in developing the students` oral and written communication.…”

Anglo-Saxon Advertising: The Search for Sound

“…Emphasizing alliterative speech patterns has been demonstrated to help both child and adult ESL learners retain idioms and other language clusters (Boers & Lindstromberg 2005;Boers et al, 2012;Cekaite & Aronsson 2005;Eychmans & Lindstromberg 2017). There is good evidence to suggest that ESL students increase their English language learning by combining literary study and composition classes with traditional English language classes (Sambolin & Carroll 2015;Zielinska, 2003;Zitlow, 2004). And the discerning use of multiple technologies has proved effective in ESL instruction (Traore & Kyei-Blankson, 2011).…”