This paper presents original research which investigates university students' perceptions of identity, rights and duties in relation to four novels at a public-sector university in Sindh, Pakistan. Reader-response framework and model of citizenship are used as theoretical frameworks guiding this study. The findings are based on data supplied by 26…

This study addressed how picture books featuring international characters could potentially support international students in their transitions to a new Western cultural and social context. Drawing on culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, 2012), community of practices (Lave, 1996), and reader-response theory (Rosenblatt, 1982), this article…

This study explores the use of backchannels, real-time online conversations taking place simultaneously with spoken discussions (the front channel), as one approach to meaning-making through discussion. Using transcripts of front and backchannel discussions, we examine how undergraduate preservice teachers utilize backchannels to talk about…

We argue that to understand how readers process narrative, it is necessary to distinguish between psychological stance (i.e., how the narrator evaluates events and characters) and physical perspective (i.e., the angle of view from which events are described). Although these are metaphorically related, the cognitive processes that produce such a…

Teaching literature through new techniques and judging its relevance in terms of students' perceptions in an under-researched and significant area of study. This study aims to explore students' response to new teaching methodologies being used in a literature classroom, as part of an international research project. This international project was a…

As a component of dialogic writing response, question posing is an essential strategy for crafting meaningful writing experiences. The author used qualitative content analysis to explore the question-posing feedback provided by eight secondary English teacher candidates in response to literary essays by ninth graders. Findings indicate that…

This article draws on research with elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in a children's literature course focused on understanding and appreciating picturebooks as esthetic objects through multimodal analysis and multimodal response. PSTs received explicit instruction on picturebook and visual design elements then designed digital/multimodal…

In this article, the author introduces the notion of the balloon metaphor, an exercise she created for preservice writing teachers, in which they reflect upon their writing mentors and their writing journey. The author also discusses three very important issues facing the field of literacy today: teachers are not taught to write, teachers of…

This study aims to analyze preservice teachers' opinions about children books through a literature circle (LC) approach in multicultural learning environments. The data of the present study were collected from the children literature course offered for preservice classroom teachers during the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 spring semesters at Hacettepe…

The Reader-Response Theory considers the learner as an active participant in extracting meaning from a literary work depending on his/her prior experience. Teaching literature critically allows the reader to create a sense, and compare the previous experience with the written text. Second-year students cannot decode and scrutinize a short academic…

In this article, the author discusses how teachers can develop empathy in students through reading and writing about literature, which contributes to their development as citizens in a global community. By choosing texts that trigger empathic reactions, English teachers can help students better understand others' experiences with oppression and…

This research focuses on the ways in which preservice teachers evolve in their beliefs and understandings of literature while they are enrolled in a semester-long course, TLS 480, Children's Literature in the Classroom. I was the instructor of the course and served as a teacher researcher using qualitative research and Louise Rosenblatt's…

This study investigates the implicit reading beliefs (RBs) of a cohort of diverse English-as-a foreign language (EFL) undergraduate university students and their responses to a narrative text. Sixty-two (n = 62) students enrolled in an introductory reading education course participated in the study. The participants completed a demographic…

Engaging students in completing assigned reading material, particularly textbooks, is a challenge faced by many college professors. Further, research has demonstrated student compliance is typically low with reading course textbooks. This study explores the impact of assigning content-specific books written for popular audiences and having…

My argument is that a literary education should build on a primary level of responsivity towards literature, involving empathy and immersion in the world of the text. To engage with literary works from the past involves a play between familiarity and strangeness, and this play should be located as part of a reader's response to texts, rather than…