Reading as an intellectual competence opens the way to explore culture and knowledge, to participate in cultural life and to enjoy literature. Culture and knowledge are parts of our education and are central to our ability to think critically on any topic. Studying literature plays a central role in developing these skills. According to Hesse (2002, p.50f.), there are some elementary goals of literacy teaching, such as (1) focussing on specific parts of the text, (2) the use of methods which support an active and productive reading behaviour, (3) a change of intensive and extensive phases of reading and (4) the relation to students’ interests.
Literature studies offer students opportunities to work on carefully chosen texts provided by the teacher. Results from the PISA studies of 15-year-old poor readers in Germany illustrate the importance of finding adequate literature for the EFL classroom. In our term paper, we want to examine how far Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street is relevant for the EFL class. The questions which chances and opportunities the novel bears and for which purpose its plot is useful to discuss different topics are in the centre of interest.
Therefore, the term paper shows didactical and methodological aspects, i.e. how the book relates to the curriculum as well as to the students’ lives, which learning strategies and social forms can be applied. Therefore, we have provided several tasks to be used in the EFL class which all bear a differentiated analysis. On the one hand, the tasks have a tendency towards creating a relationship between the text and its reader, on the other hand, they enlarge students’ abilities to use various learning strategies and methods.
We can draw the conclusion that "The House on Mango Street" provides numerous essential topics and aspects for teenagers and is, therefore, highly relevant for students in the EFL class. As the book consists of many short stories, it can be used either as a whole entity or partially, a fact which makes the novel attractive to teachers and students as well.
Table of Contents
I. General Introduction
II. Main Part: Class Activities
a) Talk Show and Attitudes
b) Writing Circle
c) Completing a Chapter
d) Ideas and Mind Maps on “My Name”
e) Debate on Friendship
f) Advising Sally
g) Vocabulary Training
III. General Conclusion
IV. References
Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the relevance of Sandra Cisneros’ novel "The House on Mango Street" for the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom, focusing on how its plot and themes can be used to engage teenagers. The primary research goal is to demonstrate that the novel provides significant opportunities to foster reading comprehension, identity development, and communicative competence through didactical and methodological tasks.
- The intersection of author biography and protagonist experience
- Methods for integrating literary texts into the EFL curriculum
- Development of creative, student-centered, and action-oriented tasks
- Application of cognitive and meta-cognitive learning strategies
- Exploration of identity, social belonging, and personal growing up
Excerpt from the Book
A RICE SANDWICH
The special kids, the ones who wear keys around their necks, get to eat in the canteen. These kids at lunch time go there because their mothers aren’t home or home is too far away to get to. My home isn’t far but it isn’t close either, and one day I asked my mother to make a sandwich and write a note to the principal so I could eat in the canteen too. ”No, next time everybody will want a bag-lunch. You kids just like to invent more work for me” she said.
But Nenny, Kiki and Carlos don’t want to eat at school ever. Besides, I know how to make my own lunch. After three days of this, my mother accepted. And the following morning, I get to go to school with my mother’s letter and a rice sandwich.
Lunch time came finally and I got to get in line with the stay-at-school kids. Everything is fine until the nun who knows all the canteen kids by heart looks at me and says: You, who sent you here?...
Summary of Chapters
I. General Introduction: This chapter highlights the intellectual and cultural value of studying literature in the EFL classroom, emphasizing the need for adequate texts for teenage learners.
II. Main Part: Class Activities: This section introduces various didactic activities such as talk shows, writing circles, and debate formats designed to engage students with specific chapters of the novel.
III. General Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes the paper's findings, confirming that the novel is a highly relevant, authentic, and versatile tool for teachers to motivate students through varied methodological approaches.
IV. References: This section provides a list of academic sources and literature used to support the pedagogical and theoretical framework of the paper.
Keywords
EFL classroom, Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street, Esperanza Cordero, reading comprehension, literary studies, didactics, identity, social form, learning strategies, creative writing, student-centered learning, classroom activities, teenage education.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic paper?
The paper explores the pedagogical potential of using Sandra Cisneros' "The House on Mango Street" within an EFL classroom setting, focusing on how its themes resonate with teenagers.
What are the primary thematic areas addressed?
Key themes include identity formation, the immigrant experience, the struggles of growing up, gender roles, and the desire for self-realization.
What is the ultimate goal of the research?
The goal is to show how specific, action-oriented teaching tasks can link the novel's content to students' real lives, thereby fostering better reading and communication skills.
Which teaching methodology is primarily employed?
The authors suggest a variety of methods including cooperative learning, role-plays, creative writing, and the use of graphic organizers like mind maps.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main part provides practical, ready-to-use lesson plans and exercises designed for specific chapters, complete with methodological instructions and analysis of expected student outcomes.
Which terms best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as learner-centered, action-oriented, didactic, cooperative, and reflective.
How is the "Writing Circle" task structured?
It is a non-verbal creative writing activity where students pass a paper around to collaboratively build a dialogue based on themes from the book, fostering silent, cooperative interaction.
What does the "Linoleum Roses" chapter analysis reveal about Sally?
The analysis reveals Sally's desperate situation, characterized by social isolation, control by her husband, and the false security of material possessions, which provides a basis for students to act as "advisors" to the character.
Why is "A Rice Sandwich" considered significant for student transfer?
This chapter is used because the desire to belong to a specific group—the "special kids"—is a common social experience that students can easily relate to, making it an effective entry point for personal reflection.
How is the "Vocabulary Training" on the chapter "Hairs" designed?
It utilizes visual aids and matching exercises to help students learn descriptors for hair in a communicative, teacher-moderated environment, moving beyond traditional rote memorization.
- Quote paper
- Tobias Kollmann (Author), Tobias Herbst (Author), 2005, Sandra Cisneros "The House on Mango Street" - A description, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/41910
