Narratives in the Middle School Language Arts

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Definition of Narratives
Advantages of Using Narratives in
Disadvantages of Using Only Narratives in the Classroom
Five Possible Uses of Narrative Literature
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

A narrative is a type of text; it is a text that tells a story. While narratives are not always used in classrooms, they have several benefits that make their usage in teaching very beneficial. In this paper, after defining the term “narrative” more clearly, we will describe the advantages of using narratives in the middle school language arts classrooms, and the disadvantages of using only them. We will then provide five examples of the utilization of narratives in the mentioned types of the classroom.

Definition of Narratives

A narrative is a retelling of a story – some events, imaginary or real, between which there exists a connection; the events are ordered in space and time (Howald 722-723). It is important to note that the narrative is not the story itself, but the event of telling the story; the narrative is not several happenings, but the act of communicating those events, possibly omitting a part of them as not important or not interesting and possibly stressing some of the others. This means that narratives transform the story, often adding opinions, nuances, or emphases (“Definition of Narrative” par. 1). Importantly, the narrative should be distinguished from other types of telling, such as an exposition of an idea, description of a place where no events take place, etc. (Abbott 261).

Narrative literature, therefore, can be defined as a literature that contains a description of some events. It also should be noted that literary texts that contain not only narrative but also non-narrative types of telling (description of an idea, etc.) are generally considered to be narrative literature as well (Abbott 261-262).

Advantages of Using Narratives in

Middle School Language Arts Classrooms

The use of narratives while teaching students in middle school language arts classrooms has several significant advantages. It is stated that “narrative is the natural way in which humans organize information, and storytelling is the most immediate (and fundamental) means by which that narrative is communicated” (Fojkar, Skela, and Kovac 21). Using narrative often allows us to better capture the students’ attention and make them interested in the materials, which, has a beneficial effect on the process of learning. When materials are difficult to understand, narratives can sometimes allow the teacher to explain them more easily, as well as to focus the students’ attention on some important aspects.

They permit to provide a meaningful and clear interpretation of the materials, letting the learners imagine some vivid happenings, and supplying the possibility of an additional perspective on things (Bunkers 306). This also creates the possibility of additional connotations and associations, which, as it is known, makes it easier to remember the materials. It is also noteworthy that the use of narratives provides the students with a chance to gain some additional social experience, for they live through the story; they also share emotions with their classmates (Fojkar, Skela, and Kovac 22). The narrative is also useful specifically in classes oriented at teaching language and topics related to it because it allows employing a large spectrum of words, which is of crucial importance for school students.

Disadvantages of Using Only Narratives in the Classroom

On the other hand, using only narrative texts is not recommended. There are several reasons for it, the most important ones being the lack of time and the difference in interpretations. Indeed, telling a story might be interesting, and it will be easy for students to remember it; but the process of narrating is time-consuming. Also, the students, as it was mentioned above, build their interpretation of the story which is told. Even though the teacher will attempt to put stress on the important aspects of the story, they will not be able to allow for the proper interpretation of the story by all the students.

It is also worth pointing out that in multicultural classes additional complications in the understanding and interpretation might also be caused by the cultural background of the learners. Therefore, the use of narratives on their own may be somewhat misleading, which means that the story that is being told should always be supplemented by proper theoretical instruction and a detailed discussion. Also, some students might not like narratives in the classroom, preferring clear and concise expository texts. Besides, the use of only narratives, focusing on just one way of presenting information, does not permit the teacher to let their students understand many important aspects of language and communication, largely depriving them of academic knowledge about the subject.

Five Possible Uses of Narrative Literature

It is possible to use narratives to design various activities in the classroom. For instance, after the teacher tells the students a story, or after the student read one from a book, it is possible to give them reconstruction tasks, to give them comprehension questions, to have them write a text evaluating the given piece, etc. (Gafu and Badea 195).
It also might be useful to use narratives to teach students the realities of a particular cultural epoch, or about the culture of a different region, etc. It might be especially beneficial in the classes related to the study of foreign languages, for it allows the learners to picture the culture of the country in question, the way the people there communicate with each other, etc. It makes learning a foreign language a much brighter experience, and is helpful in vocabulary instruction, for the learners see the new words in use (Westby 11-12).
It also can be produced to give the students tasks to create a narrative of their own. If the task is written, this will improve their writing skills; if it is oral, they will learn to communicate their thoughts via speech more clearly. They will also have to think of a situation and create a plot to make their story interesting, which develops the thinking skills of the learners.
A teacher may also want to use a narrative to give their students analytical or summarizing tasks. The students will learn how to extract important details from a text where the information is not concentrated, and summarize this information. It is also possible to teach students to distinguish between important and unimportant details.
Another situation when the utilization of narratives should be useful is when an educator is teaching students various stylistic and literary devices. Story-telling may prove useful in demonstrating these devices in practice.

Conclusion

As can be seen, the use of narratives in the classroom can yield several positive results for the learners. On the other hand, the utilization of only narratives or their overuse should not be practiced. There are several ways in which narratives can be successfully employed in the middle school language arts classrooms, and it is possible to think of even more ways of putting this instrument to use.

Works Cited

Abbott, H. Porter. What Do We Mean When We Say ‘Narrative Literature’? Looking for Answers across Disciplinary Borders.” Style 34.2 (2000): 260-273. Print.

Bunkers, S. S. “The Use of Narrative in Teaching-Learning Experiences.” Nursing Science Quarterly 18.4 (2005): 306. SAGE Journals. Web.

Definition of Narrative. n.d. Web.

Fojkar, Mateja Dagarin, Janez Skela, and Pija Kovac. “A Study of the Use of Narratives in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Young Learners.” English Language Teaching 6.6 (2013): 21-28. ProQuest. Web.

Gafu, Cristina, and Mihaela Badea. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Storytelling in Teaching English at Academic Level: A Case Study in the University of Ploiesti, Romania.” Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning (2011): 195-201. EBSCOHost. Web.

Howald, Blake Stephen. “A Quantitative Perspective on the Minimal Definition of Narrative.” Text & Talk 29.6 (2009): 705-727. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web.

Westby, Carol. “Classroom-Based Narrative and Vocabulary Instruction.” Word of Mouth 26.3 (2015): 10-12. SAGE Journals. Web.

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