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Started by BentonGrey, September 11, 2012, 06:45:52 PM

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BentonGrey

Howdy guys, as some of y'all may have seen in my previous posts of mine, I'm teaching ESL composition this semester.  The class is going pretty well, and I have a really fantastic group of students.  I'm really struggling with putting together a list of readings for them, though.  As my other thread indicated, I was able to get a lot of great materials for the ESL library, but these students are facing a good deal of work, so I want their reading assignment to be fairly short.  They'll be writing a responsive paper, and I want them to have interesting things to write about.  However, reading takes them a while, since they're translating as they go, so their texts need to be pretty brief. 

I've been looking at short stories, but...well, there is a reason I hate American literature, and the well-regarded short stories that you'll find in most anthologies are pretty fantastic examples of why.  They're almost universally awful and depressing.  Ha, I'm not finding much help there.  I've got some nice graphic novels to help fill in the gaps, but I'm looking for some other short format works to add to the list of their options.  Do y'all have any suggestions?
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Mr. Hamrick

Quote from: BentonGrey on September 11, 2012, 06:45:52 PM
Howdy guys, as some of y'all may have seen in my previous posts of mine, I'm teaching ESL composition this semester.  The class is going pretty well, and I have a really fantastic group of students.  I'm really struggling with putting together a list of readings for them, though.  As my other thread indicated, I was able to get a lot of great materials for the ESL library, but these students are facing a good deal of work, so I want their reading assignment to be fairly short.  They'll be writing a responsive paper, and I want them to have interesting things to write about.  However, reading takes them a while, since they're translating as they go, so their texts need to be pretty brief. 

I've been looking at short stories, but...well, there is a reason I hate American literature, and the well-regarded short stories that you'll find in most anthologies are pretty fantastic examples of why.  They're almost universally awful and depressing.  Ha, I'm not finding much help there.  I've got some nice graphic novels to help fill in the gaps, but I'm looking for some other short format works to add to the list of their options.  Do y'all have any suggestions?

Going for the non-traditional route here.

Not sure if it qualifies as "American Literature" since he is British but... try "Fragile Things" by Neil Gaiman.  :)  In particular, the piece "A Study in Emerald" though there are several worthwhile ones in there.   You could probably grab a few of Neil's other short stories from his other collections too.  They may be up on his website. 

As for some other short stories...  I'd go the direction of Ray Bradbury,  for starts.  I'd also recommend some American poetry.  If you want to go the latter route, I could probably be "coerced" into coming up with a list for you.  Another idea might be "Lonesome Traveler" by Jack Kerouac but the material is kind of a hard read.  That said, Kerouac's "Book of Pomes" is highly recommended but it is beat poetry not prose.  (Yes, it's Pomes not Poems.)  If you want to go the "Non-Fiction route" then try "Medium Raw" by Anthony Bourdain.  It is a collection of articles written by Bourdain while doing his "No Reservations" TV show.

Edgar Allen Poe is largely consider the "father" of both the mystery genre and was primarily known for writing short stories.  You should be able to find a collection of his stuff pretty easily.



catwhowalksbyhimself

I would not recommend Bradbury at all.  He's a fantastic writer, but his writing style uses a lot of colorful and complicated imagery that isn't hard for native English speakers but would be pretty baffling for someone trying to learn it.

C. S. Lewis did not write much in short fiction, but he is known for a very clear simple writing style that nonetheless can convey some pretty complex ideas using very simple straightforward language.  Maybe some of his writings could be suitable.  Yeah, he's British too, but his language isn't really any different.

Robert Frost has always been a favorite of mine, and the only poet who I really like.  His language also tends to be relatively simple to read but often rather deep in terms of meaning while sometimes being very whimsical and easy to relate to.

I haven't read O Henry's works in a while, but I'd think he'd be a solid choice.  Both humorous and often not depressing.  The Ransom of Red Chief would likely be a fun choice.
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thalaw2

Why not do essays?  Virginia Wolf, Fredrick Douglas, Martin Luther King, Walter Benjamin, Paulo Freire, etc.

If you want short story then: Alice Waker, Maxine Hong Kingston,  and some of the other literary staples I can't think of right now...darn I wish I could teach them. 

Anyway, the point is these aurthors have stuff that is just a few pages long and very profound.  Good looks into the cultures that make up America.
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detourne_me

You may want to look into some graded readers, but I have a question for you BG, what level are your students?

They really shouldn't be translating the text as they go, ideally the text would be just slightly higher than their comfortable level so they could readily understand about 70- 80% and then employ prediction and inference making strategies to fill in the gaps.

The Oxford Book Club has numerous authentic chapter books and graded readers that may work well. Other authentic texts that are helpful could be magazine articles and blog posts, but I believe you are focusing on literature.


laughing paradox

Some of my favorite short stories include:

The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

The Lady or The Tiger? by Frank Stockton (have them write a conclusion!)

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

detourne_me

Quote from: laughing paradox on September 12, 2012, 02:59:26 AM

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

I've used both of these in a reading program before.  it was teacher training though, and they were quite high level... regardless they really liked the lottery. and a bit of personal bias here, but harrison bergeron is my all time favorite short story

BentonGrey

Thanks for the suggestions guys!  Several of those sound good.  I'm reading a few of them, so I'll let y'all know what I think.

Hammrick: Of course, the Purloined Letter!  That's a good one!  I'll check into some of the others.  Gaiman is an interesting choice.

Good suggestiosn LP, thanks.  I'm definitely thinking I'll use "The Lady or the Tiger."

I think I'll definitely use Bradbury as an option, but only for the very most advanced.  He is probably over the heads of most of these students, if only in his use of figurative language. 

Cat, Lewis is probably on my list, at least as a possibility.  He's one of my all-time favorit authors, and as you said, a master of simple but profound writing.

Thanks Thalaw, I'll check those out.

DM, I was hoping you'd chime in!  Yeah, I don't mean the translating thing literally.  They're "high intermediate" level, for what that's worth.  I'm new to all of this. :)  I've got a few graded readers of short fiction, but I'm fairly unimpressed with them.  That, of course, stems from my distaste for what is hailed as literary in modern fiction in general, and short fiction especially, more than any real failings in the texts themselves.  I'll look into what Oxford UP has.

God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Deaths Jester

Aside from Bradbury, I'd say some of Harlan Ellison's shorter works along with Richard Mathesion's works.  Maybe some Lovecraft for the fun of it.  (Yes, I read a lot of "horror" based stories...sue me!!!)
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BentonGrey

Howdy guys, I just assigned this essay today, and I wanted to thank all of y'all for your help!  Thanks to your suggestions, I think I ended up with a very nice list for students to choose from.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/