Letting the Story Out: Drawing on Children's Life Stories and Identities to Help Them Read Beyond and Enhance Their Comprehension

Abstract

This study aims to explore the nature of the identities constructed by EFL learners through picture-book read-alouds and the possible relationship between these identities and their literacy learning. Eight Korean students were encouraged to connect with stories through picture-book workshops. Before and after the picture-book read-alouds, tests were administered to examine whether there had been any change in the participants' comprehension. The main findings were the following: (a) McCarthey's frames of appropriation, transformation, and resistance, which characterize the identities of students as literacy learners, were able to explain the nature of the identities the students in this study constructed through the read-alouds and (b) the nature of these identities seemed to influence the students' comprehension. The results of this study suggest that teachers need to create literacy curricula that students can connect with in meaningful ways and that students should be encouraged to continually reconstruct their identities.