Magdalena Sroka
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• paraphrase (e.g. rewriting a story as a newspaper article, a fairy tale,
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a haiku, a poem or a film scenario, rewriting a story from another character’s point of view, drawing the story, rewriting the ending of a story according to how the student thinks different characters would like the story to end), personal response (e.g. while reading recording expectations or thoughts about the plot or a character, writing a letter to the author of the story, writing about one’s associations with one chosen word from the story, writing about a point in life similar to that which a character is in), own literature (e.g. writing a poem inspired by the poem read, or a short story structured like the model). An incomplete list of expository assignments includes: argumentative essay (e.g. tracing the role of music in the development of the theme, comparing the story with another work dealing with the same theme, explaining a particular quotation from the story, examining the stereotypes in the story in terms of their relevance nowadays, tracing a given motif across stories, explaining why a particular image in the story is significant, or interpreting the story from the psychoanalytic, biographical or feminist perspective), persuasive essay (e.g. writing a letter to the character persuading him or her to do or not to do something), research report (e.g. writing a report on the social situation at the time, examining how modern technology affects storytelling, researching life in a given place at a given time, writing on the economic situation at a given time), summary of the text, description (e.g. writing a description of a character).
4. Literature as a vehicle for social and political development Kramsch and Kramsch (2000) show the diminishing role literature has come to play in second language classes, but advocate a reversal of that trend. It is literature that is credited with the ability to convey personal, social, political, class and gender attitudes. In multicultural settings, literature can be empowering by letting students safely articulate concerns, and express their thoughts and opinions on issues that affect their lives. In more