Understanding Cultural Narratives: Exploring Identity and the Multicultural Experience

By Linda Watkins-Goffman

Understanding Cultural Narratives focuses on the narrative as a tool for uncovering the individual stories of second language students. Narrative that reveals aspects of a student's experience in both a first and second culture can also reveal attitudes and expectations toward second language acquisition; this knowledge provides an invaluable bridge between student and educator and provides the educator with a context in which to develop an effective learning plan. Understanding Cultural Narratives features poems and excerpts from the work of well-known authors--including Isabel Allende, Gloria Anzaldúa, Jhumpa Lahiri, V.S. Naipul, Pablo Neruda, and Zadie Smith--to explore questions and feelings that are part of identity formation in a second culture. Questions for Writing and Discussion guide teachers and students through a rich examination of the passages presented. This is an excellent resource for educators and teachers in training interested in better understanding their students by first understanding their unique stories.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472030345
• ISBN13: 9780472030347
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press ELT
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.1" x 10.0"