My advanced conversation group (5 adults) voted to read and discuss short stories. Dear me. We listened to a story by Charles Dickens followed by a lenghty and tiring discussion mainly about sentence structures (yawn). Next up is a humorous short story by Wodehouse. I have no clue how to teach this, to start an interesting discussion. This is no literature class and I don´t want to dwell on text structure or vocabulary. I tried to come up with reading comprehension questions but can´t think of any and the internet doesn´t seem to help here. Ideas are appreciated.
Text Analysis for advanced students
Posted by jellybeanenglisch · November 26, 2008 · 2 replies
2 Replies
Why Dickens and Wodehouse? I don't have anything against either author, but I would have chosen more modern short stories. In this respect, you can incorporate the culture and daily life discussions/nuance of an English-speaking country. News arrticles may not convey this point, so stories can be a benefit.
Of course you can discuss sentence structure, vocabulary, etc., but I would use the stories as a jumping off point to discuss relevant issues. Take a look at some syllabi for high school English courses, many of which often have handouts too.
Let me know what you think.
Hello HUE
thanks for your comments. The authors were chosen by the class.
We talked some about the life and the times of the authors and I found some reading comprehension questions on the net on one short story we read 😗. That was the start of a lively discussion and so much more interesting than grammar/vocabulary. I´ll try to look for the syllabi you mentioned. Thanks again!