英語無字繪本對於台灣國小學生英語寫作發展之影響

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(1)國立台灣師範大學英語教學研究所碩士論文 Master Thesis Graduate Institute of English National Taiwan Normal University. 英語無字繪本對於台灣國小學生英語寫作發展之影響 Exploring the Use of English Wordless Picture Books on the Writing Development of EFL Young Learners in Taiwan. 指導教授：李宜倩博士 Advisor: Dr. Yi-Chien, Lee 研究生：劉宜佳 Graduate: Yi-Chia, Liu. 中華民國 101 年 6 月 June, 2012.

(2) 中文摘要. 本研究旨在探討使用無字書對於台灣第二外語英語初學者寫作發展與故事寫作發展之影響。此外，本研究也記錄了學生對於本無字書寫作課程的看法以及教師在發展及執行本課程的學習心得。本研究提出三個問題：〈一〉使用無字書對於台灣第二外語英語初學者整體寫作發展之影響為何？〈二〉使用無字書對於台灣第二外語英語初學者故事寫作發展之影響為何？〈三〉在本研究中，台灣第二外語英語初學者對於本無字書寫作課程的看法為何？〈四〉在本研究中，教師在發展及執行本課程的過程中得到的學習心得為何？在本研究中的九位參與者為新北市國小五至六年級生以及一位二十六歲的教師，他們在課後參與本無字書寫作課程。本課程每星期舉行一次，一次九十分鐘，共達六個月。為了提高本研究結果之可信度，本研究採用學生寫作分析、訪談、教室觀察、以及教師反思紀錄等多種資料蒐集方式。本研究結果顯示，使用無字書不僅在學生們的整體寫作發展上有所助益，也對學生們故事寫作能力有所幫助。此外，學生們認為此課程很有趣，並有助於發展寫作技巧、激發創造力且幫助攝取單字及文法知識。在寫作課程之後，學生們也對於英語寫作更有信心及動機。最後，教師在發展及執行此寫作課程中得知，為協助學生的學習發展，創造一個友善的寫作環境以提供學生英語輔助及情感支持是極為重要的；此外，設計多項閱讀、寫作及有意義的學習活動也是不可或 i.

(3) 缺的。然而，最後教師也對於無字書選擇有限、課程時間及組成教師學習團隊的必要性提出建議。本研究在最後根據研究結果提出此研究的限制、對於教師、教育者、學校及行政單位的建議，並提出未來相關研究的方向。. 關鍵字：第二外語寫作發展，第二外語寫作指導，早期第二外語寫作，故事寫作，無字繪本。. ii.

(4) ABSTRACT. This study aims to explore the use of wordless picture books on Taiwanese young EFL learners’ overall writing development and their story writing skills. Besides, the students’ self-perception of the writing program and the teacher’s learning and reflection from the development and implementation process are provided. Four research questions were addressed: (1) How does the use of wordless picture books influence Taiwanese young EFL learners’ writing development in English? (2) How does the use of wordless picture books influence Taiwanese young EFL learner's story writing development in English? (3) How do Taiwanese young EFL learners perceive the use of wordless picture books in their experience of learning story writing in English? (4) What is the teacher’s learning and reflection on the experience of developing and implementing the wordless picture book writing program? In the present study, the participants were nine elementary school students in New Taipei City and a twenty-six-year-old teacher. The study lasted for six months, and the writing sessions were held once a week, ninety minutes per session. Data from various sources were collected to validate the result, including students’ pretest and the writing samples, three semi-interviews, classroom observations, and the teacher’s reflexive journals.. iii.

(5) Findings showed that the students improved on their overall writing development as well as their story writing skills with the use of the wordless picture books for writing. In addition, the participants considered the writing program interesting and useful for their writing development, creativity, and vocabulary and grammar acquisition. They also believed that they enhanced their confidence and motivation toward English writing after the writing program. Finally, the teacher researcher learned that it was essential that the teacher should create a friendly writing environment by provide both linguistic scaffold and emotional support in the writing program. Besides, designing a variety of reading and writing activities as well as meaningful activities to facilitate the learning process was also indispensible. Finally, a wider range of book selection, a longer time for each session, and a need to build a learning community for interested teachers were also recommended. In the light of the present study, limitations of the present study, pedagogical implications for practitioners and schools or educational authorities, and suggestions for the future research are discussed.. Keywords: L2 writing development, L2 writing instruction, early L2 writing, story writing, wordless picture books. iv.

(6) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. First of all, I would like to give my most sincere gratitude to my advisor, Professor Yi-Chien Lee, who inspired me and guided me in researching the use of wordless picture books on young learners’ writing development. I learned a lot from the research process and from her instruction, and I would have never finished the thesis without her guidance, encouragement and feedback. In retrospect, Professor Lee patiently guided me to explore my possible interested topics, develop the topic for research and scrutinized the details of the work, and then constantly gave me many valuable suggestions for my thesis for the past few years. I learned a great deal from her, as a researcher and as a teacher. My deepest gratitude also goes to the committee members, Professor Yueh-Kuei Hsu and Professor Mae-Han Chen. I really appreciate their professional and valuable feedback for my thesis and their encouragement. Also, I want to thank my classmate, Allen Liu, for agreeing to be my second rater and spending a lot of time and effort grading the writing samples and discussing with me. I also appreciate my students, who participated in the study and worked so hard with me in the writing program. Last but not least, I would also like to express my gratitude to my family, my. v.

(7) boyfriend and my friends, who supported and encouraged me throughout the research process. I think I would have never had the strength to finish the work without their accompanying.. vi.

(8) TABLE OF CONTENTS Chinese Abstract........................................................................................................ i Abstract...................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements.................................................................................................... v. Table of Contents....................................................................................................... vii List of Tables.............................................................................................................. xv. Chapter One. Introduction........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem.............................................................................. 6 1.3 Purpose of the Study.................................................................................. 10 1.4 Research Questions.................................................................................... 11 1.5 Significance of the Study............................................................................ 12 1.6 Definitions of Terms.................................................................................. 13 1.6.1 Children’s Literature...................................................................... 13 1.6.2 Wordless Picture Books.................................................................. 14 1.6.3 The Narratives................................................................................ 15. Chapter Two. Literature Review............................................................................. 16 2.1 Second Language Writing Development and Instruction.......................... 16. vii.

(9) 2.2 The Narratives........................................................................................... 20 2.2.1 Children’s Narrative Development.............................................. 23 2.2.2 Narrative Ability of Different Stimuli........................................... 25 2.2.3 Narrative Evaluation...................................................................... 26 2.2.4 Narrative Elements........................................................................ 27 2.2.4.1 Cohesion and Coherence................................................. 28 2.2.4.2 Topic Continuity and Tense Usage................................. 30 2.2.5 Narrative Assessment Profile (NAP).......................................... 31 2.3 Children’s Literature and Picture Storybooks............................................ 34 2.3.1 Literacy Development through Children’s Literature.................. 35 2.3.2 The Use of Literature in L2 Contexts............................................. 37 2.3.3 Storybooks and Shared Reading................................................. 39 2.3.4 Children’s Literature Applied in Writing Curriculum................ 47 2.4 Wordless Picture Books.............................................................................. 49 2.4.1 Values of Wordless Picture Books................................................ 52 2.4.2 Criteria for the Selection of Wordless Picture Books.................. 57 2.4.3 Application of Wordless Picture Books in L1 and ESL Contexts.. 59 2.4.4 Application of Wordless Picture Books in Taiwan......................... 66 2.4.4.1 Using Wordless Picture Books to Explore Visual Literacy ................................................................................... 66 2.4.4.2 Using Wordless Picture Books in Teaching Context......... 66 2.4.4.3 Using Wordless Picture Books to Examine Narrative viii.

(10) Ability........................................................................ 70 2.4.5 Application of Wordless Picture Books in Writing Development in Taiwan................................................................................... 73 2.4.5.1 Writing about Wordless Picture Books............................. 74 2.4.5.2 Picture-Elicited Writing................................................... 77. Chapter Three. Methodology................................................................................... 83 3.1 Participants................................................................................................. 83 3.2 Setting.......................................................................................................... 84 3.3 Procedure..................................................................................................... 85 3.3.1 Prior to the Program..................................................................... 86 3.3.1.1 Pilot study.............................................................................. 87 3.3.1.2 Pretest.................................................................................... 90 3.2.2 During the Program...................................................................... 90 3.3.3 After the Program........................................................................ 93 3.4 Selection of Wordless Picture Books.......................................................... 94 3.5 Data Collection............................................................................................ 99 3.5.1 Wordless Picture Book Writing Sample Collection....................... 99 3.5.2 Class Observations....................................................................... 100 3.5.3 Semi-Structured Interviews.......................................................... 100 3.5.4 Teacher’s Reflexive Journals....................................................... 102 3.6 Data Analysis............................................................................................ 103 ix.

(11) 3.6.1 Analysis of the Writing Samples.................................................. 103 3.6.1.1 The Adapted ESL Composition Profile............................... 104 3.6.1.2 Narrative Assessment Protocol........................................... 106 3.6.2 Analysis of the Interviews............................................................ 108 3.6.3 Analysis of the Class Observations and the Teacher’s Reflexive Journals...................................................................................109 3.7 The Role of the Researcher....................................................................... 110 3.8 Validity/ Provisions for Trustworthiness................................................... 112 3.8.1 Prolonged Engagement................................................................. 112 3.8.2 Persistent Observation.................................................................. 113 3.8.3 Triangulation................................................................................ 114 3.8.4 Thick description.......................................................................... 114. Chapter Four. Results and Discussion................................................................... 115 4.1 The Use of Wordless Picture Books on Overall Writing Development.... 115 4.1.1 Content......................................................................................... 116 4.1.1.1 Results................................................................................. 117 4.1.1.1.1 Word Count................................................................. 117 4.1.1.1.2 Content Development................................................. 118 4.1.1.1.3 Creativity.................................................................... 122 4.1.1.2 Discussion........................................................................... 126 4.1.2 Organization............................................................................... 128 x.

(12) 4.1.2.1 Results................................................................................. 128 4.1.2.2 Discussion........................................................................... 134 4.1.3 Vocabulary.................................................................................... 136 4.1.3.1 Results................................................................................. 136 4.1.3.2 Discussion........................................................................... 148 4.1.4 Language Use............................................................................... 150 4.1.4.1 Results................................................................................. 150 4.1.4.2 Discussion........................................................................... 158 4.1.5 Mechanics.................................................................................... 160 4.1.5.1 Results................................................................................. 161 4.1.5.2 Discussion........................................................................... 163 4.2 The Use of Wordless Picture Books on Story Writing Development....... 164 4.2.1 Topic Maintenance...................................................................... 165 4.2.1.1 Results................................................................................. 165 4.2.1.2 Discussion........................................................................... 172 4.2.2 Event Sequencing......................................................................... 174 4.2.2.1 Results................................................................................. 174 4.2.2.2 Discussion........................................................................... 178 4.2.3 Informativeness........................................................................... 179 4.2.3.1 Results................................................................................. 179 4.2.3.1.1 The Development of Writing the Setting................... 181 4.2.3.1.2 The Development of Writing the Problem................. 183 xi.

(13) 4.2.3.1.3 The Development of Writing the Solution................. 187 4.2.3.2 Discussion........................................................................... 189 4.2.4 Referencing.................................................................................. 191 4.2.4.1 Results................................................................................. 192 4.2.4.1.1 The Use of Articles..................................................... 193 4.2.4.1.2 The Use of Pronouns.................................................. 196 4.2.4.1.3 The Use of Demonstratives........................................ 200 4.2.4.2 Discussion........................................................................... 201 4.2.5 Conjunction Cohesion.................................................................. 203 4.2.5.1 Results................................................................................. 203 4.2.5.2 Discussion........................................................................... 212 4.2.6 Fluency......................................................................................... 214 4.2.6.1 Results................................................................................. 215 4.2.6.2 Discussion........................................................................... 218 4.3 The Participants’ Self-Perception of the Wordless Picture Book Writing Program................................................................................. 220 4.3.1 Attitudes toward the Wordless Picture Book Writing Program.... 222 4.3.2 Responses to Writing about the Wordless Picture Books............. 224 4.3.3 Attitudes toward Reading the Wordless Picture Books................ 227 4.3.4 Responses to the Selected Wordless Picture Books..................... 229 4.3.5 Self-Perceptions of Difficulties during the Writing Program....... 232 4.3.6 Responses to the Most Useful Teaching Activities...................... 235 xii.

(14) 4.3.7 Suggestions for the Wordless Picture Book Writing Program..... 237 4.3.8 Discussion.................................................................................... 239 4.4 The Teacher Researcher’s Learning and Reflection on the Development and Implementation of the Wordless Picture Book Writing Program. 240 4.4.1 To Create a Supportive Writing Environment.............................. 241 4.4.1.1 Provide Linguistic Scaffold................................................. 242 4.4.1.2 Provide Genuine Emotional Support................................... 251 4.4.2 To Develop a Variety of Activities............................................... 253 4.4.2.1 Reading Activities............................................................... 254 4.4.2.2 Writing Activities................................................................ 260 4.4.2.3 Meaningful Activities.......................................................... 263 4.4.3 Challenges Encountered in the Writing Program........................ 266 4.4.3.1 Limited Selection of Wordless Picture Books Available..... 267 4.4.3.2 Time Constraint................................................................... 268 4.4.3.3 A Need for a Learning Community..................................... 270 4.4.4 Discussion.................................................................................... 271. Chapter Five. Conclusion...................................................................................... 274 5.1 Summary of the Findings.......................................................................... 274 5.2 Pedagogical Implications.......................................................................... 279 5.3 Limitations of the Present Study............................................................... 284 5.4 Suggestions for Future Research............................................................... 285 xiii.

(15) References................................................................................................................ 288. Appendices.............................................................................................................. 304 Appendix A: The First Interview Questions.................................................. 304 Appendix B: Pretest........................................................................................ 306 Appendix C: The Story Map........................................................................... 307 Appendix D: The Second Interview Questions............................................... 308 Appendix E: The Third Interview Questions.................................................. 312 Appendix F: The Adapted ESL Composition Profile................................... 316 Appendix G: Narrative Assessment Protocol............................................... 319 Appendix H: A Scale for Scoring the Inclusion and Quality of the Parts of a Story....................................................................................... 321 Appendix I: Observation List for Wordless Picture Book Writing Program... 323 Appendix J: Three Writing Samples as an Illustration of the Participants’ Content Development.................................................................. 331 Appendix K: The Different Conjunction Types and Numbers in the Story Writings.................................................................. 336 Appendix L: An Example Worksheet............................................................ 337. xiv.

(16) List of Tables. Table 3.1. Schedule of the Wordless Picture Book Writing Sessions........................... 85 Table 3.2. The Study Procedure................................................................................... 93 Table 4.1. The Length and Mean of the Pretest and the Six Story Writings.............. 117 Table 4.2. The Distribution of the Levels of Content in the Story Writings............... 119 Table 4.3. The Distribution of the Levels of Organization in the Story Writings...... 129 Table 4.4. The Distribution of the Levels of Vocabulary in the Story Writings......... 137 Table 4.5. The Distribution of the Levels of Language Use in the Story Writings.... 151 Table 4.6. The Distribution of the Levels of Mechanics in the Story Writings.......... 161 Table 4.7. The Distribution of the Levels of Topic Maintenance in the Story Writing................................................................................................165 Table 4.8. The Distribution of the Levels of Event Sequencing in the Story Writings............................................................................................... 174 Table 4.9. The Distribution of the Levels of Informativeness in the Story Writings.. 180 Table 4.10. The Distribution of the Levels of Referencing in the Story Writings...... 192 Table 4.11. The Distribution of the Levels of Conjunction Cohesion in the Story Writings............................................................................................. 204 Table 4.12. The Distribution of the Levels of Fluency in the Story Writings.......... 215. xv.

(17) CHPATER ONE INTRODUCTION. 1.1 Background Nowadays, elementary school children in Taiwan have to start learning English at school since grade three. According to the guidelines of the Nine-Year Integrated Curriculum (NYIC) established by the Ministry of Education (MOE), English teaching at the elementary school level in Taiwan should enable children to develop and integrate the four skills, speaking, listening, reading and writing, equip students with learning strategies, and cultivate their cultural knowledge and awareness. Besides, the development of communicative competence is the top priority and the goal of English education. Nevertheless, for elementary school students, the focus is more on the development of speaking and listening skills. Reading and especially writing instruction is often delayed until junior high. However, the lack of exposure to and experience of written literacy activities in English at the elementary school level might not only cause problems as students make the transition to junior and senior high school, but also influence students’ overall English language and literacy development. With limited opportunities to engage in writing activities at the. 1.

(18) elementary school level, students are expected to combine or complete sentences, and even write paragraphs in junior high schools. Such discrepancy between the early learning years and English learning beyond junior high level may lead to students’ low proficiency of English writing, and poor performance in writing assessment, as often indicated in college entrance exams. Besides students’ academic performance, the deferral of written literacy instruction deprives students of opportunities to participate in reading and writing activities in early learning years, which are important for overall English language and literacy development. The developments of the four skills are interrelated and equally important. Research on second language literacy has suggested that engaging learners in meaningful literacy activities in both oral and written forms is essential in learners’ overall language and literacy development (Chen & Chen, 2006; Huang, 2006; Pellegrini and Galda, 1993; Graves 1983; Sulzby 1985; Dyson1988). The instruction on the four language skills thus should not be carried out in compartmentalization. According to Hansen (2001),”writing and talk about writing need to be made commonly…early in the children’s career as readers, learners, and writers” (p. 51). Likewise, Curtain and Dahlberg (2004) also claimed that writing should be introduced early in a foreign language environment to accelerate children’s language development. However, nowadays teachers in elementary schools are. 2.

(19) uncertain about the effects of systematic writing instruction on students’ English learning due to limited evidence in related research in Taiwan (Lin, 2009). The English education in elementary schools in Taiwan focuses mainly on the development of listening and speaking instead of integrating the four skills (Chen et al, 2002). Many of the teachers share the idea proposed by Hudelson (1989) that language learning should be developed step by step; writing should be de deferred since it is considered the most difficult and challenging. However, this myth has been criticized and rebutted over the years by literacy research of various theoretical underpinnings. One pedagogical belief that is of salient contrast to Hudelson’s (1989) thoughts comes from the advocators of the Whole Language Approach. They propose that language learning should be viewed as a whole and four skills should be developed at the same time through exposing to authentic materials for a meaningful purpose. The same belief is held by many other researchers (Davies & Pearse, 2000; Paul, 2003). Davies & Pearse (2000) claimed that for second or foreign learners, it is the most appropriate to offer English instruction that integrates four skills since they are reciprocal, as indicated, “it is best to reflect this integration when teaching a second or foreign language” (Davies & Pearse, 2000, p. 99). Paul (2003) further proclaimed that integrated language teaching is more suitable for Asian English learners to make them “read and write in order to speak beyond a basic level” (Paul,. 3.

(20) 2003, p. 83). Therefore, writing instruction at the elementary school level is not impossible but required more constructive guidance for both teachers and students. In order to provide children with a more guided, practical and friendly writing environment, writing instruction, materials selected, and students’ psychological factors should be paid attention to (Taniguchi, 1990). Previous research has shown that using children’s literature in teaching context can be one of the ways to serve this purpose. In fact, the advantages of using children’s literature to enhance children’s literacy development are many (Burke, 1990; Mckay, 1982; Norton, 1993; Nuba, 1990; Oster, 1989; Sage, 1987; Spack, 1985). First, using literature in class provides a whole language environment and exposes language learners to authentic materials. Teachers can choose the storybooks which are suitable and interesting to their students. Second, during the storybook reading or in the follow-up activities, the development of oral language, phonological awareness and print awareness can be enhanced. Third, it can help to develop students’ reading habits and emergent literacy in the early stages which will benefit their future learning performance as well. In addition to language development, creativity, imagination, and cultural knowledge are also developed with the aid of using literature in class. Among all kinds of children’s literature, wordless picture books are considered one of the most helpful and practical in guiding and promoting writing due to the lack of. 4.

(21) written texts in the story (Fields & Spangler, 2000; Norton, 1999). A large number of previous studies done in L1 context have shown that wordless picture books are valuable in enhancing literacy development for learners of different ages and background (Appelt, 1984; Cassady, 1998; Flatley & Rutland, 1986; Perry, 1997; Rigg, 1977; Sinatra, 1981). Wordless picture books have been successfully used to support the development of vocabulary, creativity, story writing, and higher-order thinking of learners of different levels and ages. When employing wordless picture books in classroom teaching, the most interesting and encouraging way is to have students write a story (Morrow, 2004). Children can write a whole story based on the series of picture prompts in the wordless picture books and pictures can serve as a blueprint for story construction. Fang (1996) described the main functions the pictures in a storybook could serve. They can (a) establish setting, (b) determine the mood, (c) define and develop characters, (d) extend or develop plot, (e) provide a different viewpoint, (f) contribute to textual coherence, and (g) reinforce the story. That is, pictures can help writers enrich their content, organizing the events, and have them aware of the story grammar.. Moreover, Reese (1996) stated that “through discussion and critical. examination of the details of the illustrations, students wrote sentences that effectively complemented the picture.” and “students were able to build their reading and writing. 5.

(22) skills and strategies to ultimately produce a unique book” (p. 172–173). In such a learning context, students do not have to worry about making mistakes in creating a story, since the story is constructed based on everyone’s interpretations of the pictures. Children of different ages, backgrounds, levels of proficiency can interpret and respond to one story differently. That is, “wordless picture books provide a basis on which storytakers and storymakers can construct meaning and build their own narratives” (Crawford & Hade, 2000, p. 66). To sum up, wordless picture books can provide L2 writers learning to write with a meaningful, guided and friendly writing environment, and at the same time, give children opportunities to develop literacy skills and higher-order thinking skills in their early years of English learning. Therefore, the present study intends to explore the use of wordless picture books in developing young Taiwanese English language learners’ writing ability.. 1.2 Statement of the Problem Though a large number of previous studies in L1 or ESL context have shown that wordless picture books provide learners with a more guided, meaningful, and nonthreatening writing environment (Crawford & Hade, 2000; Fields & Spangler, 2000; Norton, 1999), the use of wordless picture books for developing writing ability in the. 6.

(23) EFL context has not yet been widely investigated or implemented. Raines and Isbell (1988) claimed that although wordless picture books are valuable in many aspects, they are less used by ESL teachers due to the following three reasons. First, wordless picture books are less available in the libraries. Second, teachers do not know how to select a suitable wordless picture book. Third, teachers do not know how to use wordless picture books as a teaching material. Similarly, wordless picture books are less used in elementary schools in Taiwan, an EFL context, because they are less available in the market and in the library (Lin, 2006). Apart from this, many Taiwanese elementary school teachers do not know how to select wordless picture books or use them in teaching context for they are not well-informed from empirical studies done in the context of Taiwan, especially in writing instruction (Chang, 2007). As a result, according to Chang (2007), while teachers in Taiwan may appreciate the value of wordless picture books in teaching children to write in L1 context, they might still be hesitant to use those books in their own classrooms because they are not sure whether and how this teaching method is applicable to the EFL context. She also pointed out that studies, especially qualitative studies, done to investigate the use of wordless picture books in English development at the elementary school level in Taiwan are relatively few, and previous research in the context of Taiwan has focused on the nature and features of the wordless picture. 7.

(24) books. The story grammar, narrative structure, and plots in wordless picture books were investigated by Ho (2004) and Liu (1992). In addition, how these books enhance learners’ storytelling abilities in Chinese (Chen 1997, 2004; Chang, 2005; Cheng, 2003; and Wong, 1998) and inference skills (Chen, 2004) was also explored. In addition to the available studies on wordless picture books in relation to first language literacy at the elementary school level, there are a few studies exploring the use of wordless picture books with students of different ages or levels. For example, Hung (2005) conducted an action research to explore the use of wordless picture books in kindergarten visual art education. The author concluded that wordless picture books not only cultivated children’s aesthetic skills, but because of its lack of written text, it could be helpful for children to learn visual literacy, higher level-thinking, and expressions in the kindergarten language curriculum. Among all the studies conducted in Taiwan related to wordless picture books, Huang (2009) and Chang (2007) are probably two of the few that focus on English development. With 40 college students of low English proficiency, Huang (2009) was interested in the effects of writing wordless picture books on facilitating English writing. The researcher reported a significant improvement in students’ writing abilities, oral and visual literacy, creativity, and more positive learning attitudes after the five-month intervention. Although there were some difficulties encountered in the. 8.

(25) study, such as students’ limited oral language skills and the teacher’s limited time for instruction and evaluation, the researcher still endorsed the use of wordless picture books to enhance writing abilities of the Taiwanese college students. With a different age group, the use of wordless picture book to teach writing in the elementary context was investigated by Chang (2007). She probed the effect of the use of wordless picture books and the story mapping strategy on the English story writing of 36 Taiwanese elementary school students. She concluded that story writing is feasible for Taiwanese elementary school students. In her study, students of different levels of proficiency all showed improvement in their story writing skills. They learned the conventions of story writing and the way of narrating. The students also expanded their vocabulary through brainstorming and discussion with their peers. Besides, the study showed that wordless picture book writing effectively inspired the students’ imagination to interpret the pictures and to create their own story freely. The researcher argued that stories of wordless picture books are one of the suitable and friendly tools for elementary students to make the first contact with writing. As for the recommendations for future study or pedagogical implications, the author made some suggestions for a wider-ranging selection of the wordless picture books and a longer time for students to write. To sum up, most previous studies related to the use of wordless picture books done. 9.

(26) in the context of Taiwan have examined the nature and features of wordless picture books and the effect on students’ aesthetic development and the narratives in their first language. Studies done to provide a more in-depth investigation on the use of wordless picture books on English writing development of elementary school students in Taiwan and its pedagogical implementation process are relatively few. Therefore, the intention of the study is to explore how a teacher can develop and implement a wordless picture book writing program and investigate its role in developing Taiwanese young EFL learners’ writing development.. 1.3 Purpose of the Study The main purpose of the study is to explore the use of wordless picture books in developing Taiwanese young EFL learner's overall writing and story writing development. Also, how these elementary school students perceive the use of wordless picture books in their experience of learning story writing will be investigated. In addition, how a wordless picture book writing program can be developed and implemented will be described and discussed. The purpose of the present study is summarized as follows: 1. To explore the use of wordless picture books on Taiwanese young EFL learners’ overall writing development and their story writing skills. 2. To understand how Taiwanese young EFL learners perceive the use of 10.

(27) wordless picture books in their experience of story writing in English. 3. To provide a more in-depth and qualitative study on the use of wordless picture books in the context of Taiwan with young EFL learners. 4. To explore how a wordless picture book writing program can be developed, and provide pedagogical implications for classroom teachers. It is hoped that the present study could contribute to our present knowledge of the use of using wordless picture books and its effect on enhancing English writing development of elementary school students in Taiwan.. 1.4 Research Questions On the basis of the study purposes, four research questions are proposed: 1. How does the use of wordless picture books influence Taiwanese young EFL learners’ writing development in English? 2. How does the use of wordless picture books influence Taiwanese young EFL learner's story writing development in English? 3. How do Taiwanese young EFL learners perceive the use of wordless picture books in their experience of story writing in English? 4. What is the teacher’s learning and reflection on the experience of developing and implementing the wordless picture book writing program? These research questions are to explore children’s writing development through. 11.

(28) the use of wordless picture books for EFL elementary school students, how the teacher used the wordless picture books in her teaching of writing, and what challenges and difficulties the teacher encountered when implementing the program.. 1.5 Significance of the Study The present study aims to examine the feasibility of using wordless picture books for writing development in the elementary school in an EFL context, Taiwan. First, the study aims to provide pedagogical implications for the use of wordless picture book in developing young learners’ story writing for interested practitioners or educators. Second, the study intends to provide an alternative writing instruction for teachers teaching EFL young learners or learners of different levels of proficiency. Third, the present study hopes to show the value of wordless picture books in an foreign language learning context and that elementary school students can learn to appreciate children’s literature while learning English and teachers can appreciate the value of children’s literature in teaching English in elementary schools in Taiwan. Lastly, the present study hopes to contribute to the limited knowledge of using wordless picture books in EFL contexts.. 1.6 Definitions of Terms This section provides various definitions of the three terms, children’s literature, 12.

(29) wordless picture books, and the narratives and how they are defined in the present study. For a better understanding of the present study, definitions of the following terms are described for clarification:. 1.6.1 Children’s Literature Most of the time, children’s literature is defined as books intended for children of different social-cultural and individual characteristics (Galda & Cullinan, 2002; Hunt, 1996; Lesnik-Oberstein, 1999; McDowell, 1973; Weinreich & Bartlett, 2000). Also, children’s literature is defined based on purposes, for information, entertainment or empathy (Norton, 1999; Tomlinson & Lynch-Brown, 1996, 2002; Winch, Johnson, March, Ljungdahl & Holliday, 2004; Huck, Helper, Hickman & Kiefer, 2001; Saxby, 1997). The purpose of children’s literature can be providing information about the world, simply a pleasure or entertainment, or a perspective into others or the world. Finally, children’s literature is categorized based on the style and quality intended for children.. 1.6.2 Wordless Picture Books Wordless books are “pure” picture books (Hillman, 1995). Also, wordless picture books have been defined as “books which have no text, but present their 13.

(30) message through pictures only” (Glazer, 1981, p. 4), “with no written text, but in which there is narrative told through illustrations alone” (Cain, 1985, p. 11), and “stories are conveyed without words” (Williams, 1994, p. 38). In a high-quality wordless book, “the pictures tell it all” (Lukens, 1999, p. 51). Other terms for wordless picture books are “text-less picture books”, “books without words,” and “non-print books” (Brown, 1988, p. 2). Wordless picture books have been claimed to have a positive influence on writing development (D’Angelo, 1979; Lukasevich, 191; Purcell-Gates, 1989; Rigg, 1977; Ritchie, 1988). They are excellent teaching tools to the learners of all ages as well as of different language levels (Norton, 1995; Raines & Isbell, 1988a). In the present study, the six selected wordless picture books included five picture books containing not words at all and one, Good Night, Gorilla, with the sentence “Good night” recurring. But Good Night, Gorilla is still considered a wordless picture book in the present study because although it contains a few words, these sentences are not meant to narrate the story to readers; instead, readers still have to interpret the story based on the pictures alone. 1.6.3 The Narratives There are various definitions of what narratives are in the present literature. Labov (1972) defined narratives as a way to narrate past experiences in a. 14.

(31) chronological order as events that actually happened. Labov (1972) claimed there are “high points” and “suspension points” in narratives to make them interesting and exciting (Peterson & McCabe, 1983). Typically, a narrative structure should organize the events and build up to a climax, elaborate on it, and resolve it. Another definition is provided by Mandler and Johnson’s (1977). They considered narrative as processes of problem-solving, and the goals and activities are the focus of a narrative. In the present study, narratives are defined as a narration of a problem-solving experience expressed in chronological order that contains a setting, events, a climax, and an ending. The narrator has to establish a setting and main characters in the beginning, explain the problem or goal of the following actions or events, and end the narrative with a proper ending or even some evaluation of the characters or the events.. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW. 15.

(32) The purpose of the chapter is to provide a review on the related literature. In this chapter, studies related to the following field will be examined: L2 writing development and instruction, children’s literature and picture storybooks, wordless picture books, and wordless picture books and writing development. L2 writing development and instruction will also be reviewed about the current knowledge of how second language learners develop their writing skills and how language teacher can enhance their writing development. Since the present study is aimed to see how wordless picture books can influence Taiwanese young language learners’ writing development and narrative writing, the review on narrative writing, children’s literature, wordless picture books and its application will be included.. 2.1 Second Language Writing Development and Instruction Zamel (1976) pointed out that the writing research for teaching ESL students composition is “almost totally non-existent” (p. 67). Although research on second language literacy development has received more attention nowadays, there is still relatively limited scholarly knowledge available on this topic. As a result, teachers are not well informed of the adequate theoretical knowledge and pedagogical strategies and many of them are hesitant to teach writing. Also, among the four skills, writing may be the most difficult and challenging to teach, especially in second or foreign. 16.

(33) language teaching context. According to Leki (1992), practitioners of ESL writing instruction in the early 1980s largely imitated L1 classroom practices in their own classroom based on presumed and observed similarities between L1 and L2 composing processes. However, it is known that second or foreign language learners do not experience exactly the same when learning to write due to the differences in their learning context or linguistic and cultural backgrounds. One has thus to be cautious when implementing and adapting L1 teaching writing practices in the ESL or EFL context (Raimes, 1985). As Silva (1993) observed, “L2 writing is strategically, rhetorically, and linguistically different in important ways from L1 writing” (p. 669). Moreover, Rivers (1989) stated, “learning to write is not a natural development like learning to speak.” This means ESL and EFL learners need a more guided, helping and friendly writing environment when they start learning to write. Many researchers have argued for the importance of communicative skills and purposes in teaching writing (Elbow, 1998; Murray, 1985; Omaggio, 1994). Students do not write just to demonstrate their language ability. They write for a real communicative purpose, and they need certain writing skills to produce a socially acceptable and understandable piece of work. According to Elbow (1998) and Murray (1985), many writing teachers from liberal arts backgrounds see their classroom goals as fostering L2 students’ expressive abilities, encouraging them to find their own. 17.

(34) voices to produce writing that is fresh and spontaneous. They believe writing is personal, and it is crucial for learners to develop their personal writing style. However, this is not to say that expressive abilities are the only things matter in writing, accuracy and forms of the use of the language should also be paid attention to when learning to write. Dvorak (1986) declared that writing includes focusing on both form and communication of ideas. Therefore, as a teacher teaching students to write, they should first of all give them a need to communicate and to write, and equip them with adequate writing skills both on fluency and accuracy. Besides meaningful communicative purposes and writing skills, attention should be paid to the creativity and imagination one demonstrates and develops during the writing process. Zamael (1976) claimed that “the primary emphasis of writing instruction should be upon the expressive and creative process of writing” (p. 74), criticizing the prevailing conception that “writing entails grammar proficiency” (p. 69). In addition, Kroll (1978) stated that “while product methods emphasize conforming to specified algorithms, process methods place more emphasis on such Aristotelian considerations as discovery and invention” (p. 179). Creative writing or personal writing takes into account thoughts, attitudes, observations as well as feelings (Durham, 1970). Many researchers conduct creative writing to help students enhance self-esteem (Chandler, 1990), examine ego development (Viorst, 1980), and. 18.

(35) inspect the role of friendship in collaborative writing (Sutherland & Topping, 19999). Besides, the role of the teacher in creative writing has also been discussed. According to Norton (1993), the teacher’s role, the proper stimulation, the example of creative writing and the development of the writer are the important aspects that accelerate creative writing. That is to say, teachers should act as a creative writing model by discussing, planning, analyzing, and editing with the students in class. Creative writing is “a process rather than a skill-based curriculum;” that is, the process of creative writing is teachable. Writing is a process instead of a product, and it is the teachers’ responsibility to bring the students to explore the process of writing. Finally, a friendly, relaxing writing environment is needed when students are learning to write. Taniguchi (1990) suggested that even though it is paramount to release students from the fear of making errors, means of coping with errors should be taken into account. Most of the time, students are reluctant to write because they are afraid to make errors and mistakes. Their writing outcomes are often corrected or graded by teachers, and they see their writing as the product of their learning outcomes. As a result, they are likely to feel anxious and frustrated when they have linguistic problems in finding the right word or phrase to express their real meaning. Jarvis (2002) affirmed that “the key to learning to write is feeling confident” (p. 3). As a result, it is crucial that teachers provide students with a low-anxiety writing. 19.

(36) environment by selecting an interesting writing topic, encouraging trials and errors, and choosing tasks catering to learners’ level of proficiency. Therefore, in the study, wordless picture books are used for writing because it creates a need to communicate in the children, encourages creative thinking due to the lack of texts in the books, and builds a low-anxiety writing environment since those books help build a sense of authorship.. 2.2 The Narratives There are various definitions of what narratives are in the present literature. Labov (1972) defined narratives as a way to narrate past experiences in a chronological order as events that actually happened. Labov (1972) claimed there are “high points” and “suspension points” in narratives to make them interesting and exciting (Peterson & McCabe, 1983). Typically, a narrative structure should organize the events and build up to a climax, elaborate on it, and resolve it. Another definition is provided by Mandler and Johnson’s (1977). They considered narrative as processes of problem-solving, and the goals and activities are the focus of a narrative. They stated that a narrative should contain setting and events. Setting refers to the background knowledge which is similar to the orientation in Labov & Waletzk, (1967). And events are composed of three parts: beginning, development, and ending. Beginning is defined as the cause of the following actions. Development 20.

(37) contains reaction, goal, attempt, and outcome. Reaction is how the protagonist reacted to the trigger. Goal and attempt refers to what the protagonist wishes for and what he/she is intended to achieve. As for outcome, it is how the story ends, as the result or resolution in Labov & Waletzk (1967). Finally, instead of focusing on the content of the narratives, Deese’s dependency analysis (Deese, 1984) focused on the linguistic complexity; that is, the syntactic relations among the propositions. Deese posited that in the discourse, these propositions could create a hierarchal structure by coordinating or subordinating with another proposition. The analysis of the hierarchal structure is crucial to the dependency analysis. One can fully understand the meaning of the discourse by analyzing how the propositions are related to one another. Thus, in the present study, the organization and conjunction cohesion of students’ narrative writing will be examined. Story writing gives students a purpose for writing, and a time to show their creativity free from anxiety. According to Norton (1995), story writing is one type of the imaginative writing as well as creative writing. Children love stories. They often respond to the storytellers or the reading actively. During reading or writing a story, their imagination goes wild and they are eager to share their ideas and creativity with others. According to Brill (2004), “story writing is often regarded as the most. 21.

(38) satisfying arena for encouraging children to write imaginatively and develop a sense of empathy” (p. 83). For young children or ESL students, writing stories through story books seems more fun than writing a scientific report (Strickland, Galda & Cullinan, 2004). Griffith and Ruan (2007) also suggested that the story innovation strategy is an ideal tool for guiding ESL students to enjoy reading as well as writing. During the creative story writing, students focus on expressing their meaning and ideas. They activate not only their linguistic knowledge but also their personal or background knowledge related to the story. They tend to be less tense and nervous during the writing process because the main focus is on sharing and communicating fluently instead of on accuracy. Many studies have been conducted to examine the nature of narrative and story writing and factors that influence story development of learners with different backgrounds. One of the major factors that can influence children’s narrative findings found in previous studies is age. Berman and Slobin (1994) suggested that age difference can be observed in the ability to connect the information into a complete sentence. Young kids were able to produce fragmental statements; however, older children were capable of connecting the whole story. Karmiloff-Smith (1981) added that children above eight were able to pay attention to the overall structure of the story instead of a series of single pictures.. 22.

(39) 2.2.1 Children’s Narrative Development A large number of studies have been done to look into children’s narrative development in the recent decades. According to Chang (2006), there is a strong correlation between narrative abilities of children and their literacy skills. Besides, their developmental problems can be predicted by examining their narratives. In addition, children’s real thoughts can be understood by looking into their narratives. Last, narratives can reflect the process of socialization and enculturation of the children. Narratives are often seen as “an arena for the social construction of autonomous selves” (Wiley, Rose, Burger & Miller, 1998, p. 833). A better understanding of children’s narrative development provides us with a clearer picture of the developmental process of language acquisition. Many researchers have explored L1 children’s narrative development. They focus on their development of the narrative skills since infancy. It has been found that children had the ability to describe something with an adult around age 2 (Eisenberg, 1995; Sachs, 1982). Chang (2004) posited at the age of 3 to 4, children developed their narrative skills quickly by showing their discourse markers and deixis. When they reach five or six, they will have a better control of these skills (Bamberg, 1987; Hickman, 1980; Karmiloff-Smith, 1980, 1981; Applebee, 1978; Botvin & Smith,. 23.

(40) 1977). However, Kemper (1984) and Mandler & Johnson’s (1977) found that the development of each element of the narratives does not occur synchronously. For example, the ability to describe the character’s emotions and feelings will be emerging in children’s narration by the age of eight. As for the ability to produce a coherent narrative, Zhang & Chang (2002) maintained that children at the age of 7 were able to provide more information in a more coherently way and were able to use more expressions to connect their narratives. As for the development of syntactic complexity in their narratives, according to Botvin & Smith (1977), children’s narrative development is similar to their verbal development, from words, sentences to compound sentences and embedded structure (Brown, in Botvin & Smith, 1977). The findings showed that children at age 3 were able to put related things together without many statements, but children around 3 to 4 years old were able to produce some fragmental statements. At the age of 4 to 5 they were able to produce simple narratives and they were able to elaborate on them at the age of 6. At age 7, children were able to employee sequential conjunctions. Finally, they were unable to use the more complicated sentence structure such as embedded structures until 11 or 12 years old (Botvin & Smith, 1997). In addition to the complexity of syntactic structures, how children develop the use of the narrative elements in their narratives has also been investigated. In a study done. 24.

(41) by Umiker-Sebeok (1979), the result suggested that children were able to include elements like complicating actions, introduction, and temporal orientation in their narration. However, elements such as abstract, evaluation, and result or resolution were less frequently used by them. However, in Peterson and McCabe’s (1983) study, the findings showed that children from 4 to 9 were able to produce evolution without age differences. Finally, Huang & Shen (2003) claimed that evaluations were only included by learners’ of higher level of proficiency, such as fourth to sixth graders.. 2.2.2 Narrative Ability of Different Stimuli As shown in previous research, different modes or genres of narrative tasks would influence one’s narrative performance (Hudson & Shapiro, 1991; Pearce, 2003; Berman & Slobinm, 1994; Eisenberg et al., 2008). It was found that different topics and narrative genres can influence one’s narrative performance. One is able to produce a more complete narrative if the topic is more familiar to them. Hudson and Shapirl (1991) proposed three genres of the narratives: script narratives, personal narrative, and stories. According to MaCabe & Bliss (2003), script narratives are easier for children because they are often based on repetitive experiences. Personal narratives are one’s past experiences, and is usually narrated from the first person perspective. As for stories, they are unreal fictional narratives.. 25.

(42) Different genres of narratives have different functions and require different background knowledge and linguistic knowledge (Hudson & Shapiro, 1991; Hudson & Nelson, 1986). Narrators are required to adopt different perspectives based on different narrative genres (Chafe, 1994), and narrative structure and length differ as well (Allen, Kertoy, Sherblom, & Pettit, 1994).. 2.2.3 Narrative Evaluation To examine children’s development of narrative writing, previous studies have focused on two aspects; that are, narrative elements and linguistic knowledge and ability (Gutierrez-Clellen & Hienrichs-Ramos, 1993; Hudson & Shapiro, 1989; Labov, 1972; Pratt & MacKenzie-Keating, 1985; Stein & Glenn, 1979; Wu, 1992; Yu, 1996, 1997). For narrative elements, what is put in the narrative and the organization of it are emphasized. As for the linguistic knowledge, the linguistic abilities of using a language to tell a story, such as cohesion and coherence, topic continuity, tense, spatial and temporal development, and quantifier development, have to be looked into. After reviewing on narrative elements, literature on cohesion and coherence, topic continuity, and tense will be specifically reviewed because in the present study, one’s extended discourse ability in their narratives is paid more attention to and is evaluated.. 26.

(43) 2.2.4 Narrative Elements First, Labov (1972) and Labov & Waletzk, (1967) proposed that a complete narrative is composed of six elements: abstract, orientation, complicating action, evaluation, result or resolution, and coda. Abstract provides a general picture or a summary of the narrative. Orientations provide the readers or audience with background information and the context of the narrative. Complicating actions are the temporal sequenced events that are organized to produce a climax (Peterson & McCabe, 1983). Evaluations refer to the tone, attitude, or evaluation from the narrator. Results or resolutions provide information how the whole event was ended. Codas are the words, phrases, or sentences signaled the end of the narrative. However, according to Labov (1972), it is not necessary for a narrative to include all the six elements at the same time. Also, evaluation is the most essential and important among them. Evaluative devices, which convey the tone and main point of the story, can be divided into external and internal evaluation. The former refers to that the author jumps out of the story frame and makes a comment or statement on some point during or after the narration. And the latter refers to that the author does this implicitly during the storytelling. And according to Labov (1972), internal evaluation works better than external evaluation.. 27.

(44) Besides the narrative structure proposed by Labov (1972), the story grammar model proposed by Stein and Glenn (1979) has been used more often to analyze the story structure in the narratives of children (Appleeck, 1995; McGillivray & Schmidek, 1997; Stein & Glenn, 1997; Westby, 1984). Compared to Labov’s narrative structure, the story grammar proposed by Stein and Glenn (1979) provided a more complete framework to analyze the interrelationships between events, including the macrostructure of the story as well as the semantic relationships between episodes. A model episode may contain some or all of the components, such as setting, initiating event, reactions and attempts, consequence, reaction or resolution, and ending. According to Stein and Glenn (1979), a story can contain more than one episode, and episodes can be connected additively, temporally, casually, or contractively.. 2.2.4.1 Cohesion and Coherence To make a story understandable to the audience or reader, cohesion and coherence in a narration are indispensible. According to Coelho (2002), cohesion lies in the causal relations, including topic relationships between adjacent clauses that show continuation, subordination, or elaboration of ideas. On the other hand, Halliday and Hasan (1976) posited that cohesion is a semantic concept, which refers to “relations of meaning”, and “occurs where the interpretation of some element in the discourse is. 28.

(45) dependent on that of another” (p. 4). Cohesion refers to linking the clauses meaningfully by using a variety of cohesive markers and information related to the markers (Halliday & Hasan, 1989). Cohesive markers include reference, lexical ties, conjunctions, substitutions, and ellipsis. By strategic use of these, the audience or reader is able to understand the narration and gain information from it (Coelho, 1995). Many studies have been focused on the development in cohesion and coherence in children’s narratives so far (Gutierrez-Clellen & Hienrichs-Ramos, 1993; Hudson & Shapiro, 1989; Pratt & MacKenzie-Keating, 1985). Pratt & MacKenzie-Keating (1985) conducted a study to look into the use of references in twenty English speaking first graders and twelve preschoolers in L1 context. The results showed that preschool kids had “inappropriate phoric introductory (IPI)” and referential ambiguities, which decreased as their age increased or after they entered elementary school. Similar result was found in the later study done by Gutierrez-Clellen & Hienrichs-Ramos (1993). Less inappropriate references were seen in the older Spanish-speaking children’s narratives than in the younger children’s. What’s more, they found that older children used relatively more ellipsis referring to places in their narration. Overall, age and school experience is a significant factor in children’s knowledge about cohesion and coherence in narration.. 29.

(46) 2.2.4.2 Topic Continuity and Tense Usage For studies focusing on topic continuity, Wu (1992) conducted a study to look at how L1 and L2 students use different syntactical structures to achieve topic continuity in their narrative writing. The participants were 175 Chinese high school students and 35 native speakers of English in American high school in Taipei. The result showed that the differences found in their syntactical structures included zero anaphora, pronouns, passivization, existential construction, possessives, demonstratives, and the definite article. In the study, the researcher suggested that L1 inference, such differences in topic-marking construction specifically, might be the factor which caused this difference. So, the researcher also suggested teachers teaching Chinesespeaking students should inform students of these differences while teaching them to write in English. On the other hand, tense usage in students’ narrative writing was investigated by Yu (1996, 1997). Narrative essays from fifteen Taiwanese college freshmen’s and thirty-nine senior high school students were collected and analyzed. From the data collected, the researcher found that simple tense was preferred and frequently used in their narrative writing. Past tense was the most frequently used then the present tense, and then the future tense. Past tense was used in stories referring to a specific action or event, and present tense was used when students used direct quotes. However, the. 30.

(47) researcher also found that both the two groups of students had difficulties in using simple present. Besides, a majority of the participants used tense and aspect to indicate the temporal reference; however, they were seldom used for pragmatic or discourse functions. Yu (1997) concluded that a thorough understanding of the tense usage should be taught and introduced to students in the L2 writing curriculum.. 2.2.5 Narrative Assessment Profile (NAP) In the present study, Narrative Assessment Profile (NAP) will be used to analyze students’ story writing samples. McCabe & Bliss (2003) developed narrative assessment profile (NAP) to evaluate discourse coherence in narratives from a multicultural perspective. The NAP (McCabe & Bliss, 2003) is composed of six aspects of discourse coherence; they are topic maintenance, event sequencing, informativeness, referencing, conjunctive cohesion, and fluency. The first three, topic maintenance, event sequencing, and informativeness are the more general aspects of discourse coherence. Referencing and conjunctive cohesion serve more specific functions in the relationships between utterances. Fluency, which is also what many children and adult would have problems with when writing narratives, is also included to evaluate the manner of production. Topic maintenance refers to how well all the utterances in a narrative are centered. 31.

(48) on or related to a central topic (McCabe & Bliss, 2003). Topic maintenance can be achieved either by expansion, continuation, or contradiction. That is, utterances that are irrelevant, ambiguous, or vague should be avoided; otherwise, meaning can be obscured or confused. Event sequencing refers to whether the events in a narrative are organized in chronological or logic order or not (McCabe & Bliss, 2003). Generally speaking, there should be a correspondence between the ordering of the events in the narrative and the real-life ordering of events so that the listeners or the readers can easily keep track of events that have been described. Informativeness refers to the completeness and elaboration of the narratives (McCabe & Bliss, 2003). To achieve informativeness, we should consider whether sufficient information or details are provided by the author; that is, if the readers or listeners can make sense of the narrative from the information included. Also, how detailed should the narrative description be is another issue. Including adequate elaboration of the details can make the narrative more coherent; on the other hand, unelaborated details can lead to lack of coherence. Referencing, according to Halliday & Hasan (1976), involves the adequate identification of individuals, features, and events. Inappropriate referencing occurs when pronouns are used without proper references, when nouns which should be. 32.

(49) replaced by pronouns are reappearing, and when erroneous pronouns are used. Referencing is crucial in narratives, for it provides listeners and readers with the knowledge of characters, feature, and events in a narrative. Conjunctive cohesion refers to the use of conjunctions or phrases that link utterances of events (McCabe & Bliss, 2003). The conjunctions help listeners and readers understand the relationship between events, and thus, make the utterances coherent. Previous studies have focused on the use of cohesive ties including coordination (e.g., the description of a series of events), temporal links (e.g., segments in a time sequencing), causality (e.g., ties that establish the relationship between cause and effect), enabling (e.g., meanings that occur in which one event establishes preconditions for another event), and disjuncture (e.g., meanings that involve semantic contrasts between two clauses) (Hood & Bloom, 1979; Peterson & McCabe, 1991). The last one, fluency, refers to lexical or phrasal interruptions in utterances (McCabe & Bliss, 2003). Coherence is reduced if readers or listeners’ understanding of the message is interfered from dysfluencies. Fluency is crucial to our understanding of the narrative; however, it is often found impaired in the discourse of children and even adult. (Deese, 1984; Peterson & McCabe, 1983). In the present study, narrative assessment profile (NAP) by McCabe & Bliss (2002). 33.

(50) will be used to analyze the narratives of the elementary school students because it contains the evaluation of the story elements as well as their ability to organize discourse. Instead of overall language development, NAP investigated genre-specific features of narratives, such as topic maintenance, chronological sequencing, conjunction cohesion and referencing skills, which helps us to explore children’s narrative abilities specifically and more thoroughly.. 2.3 Children’s Literature and Picture Storybooks The following section will firstly focus on the effect of using children’s literature on children’s literacy development in various teaching contexts. Then, one of most used children’s literature with young learners, picture storybooks, will also be reviewed to further examine the value of children’s literature in children’s literacy development. At last, the application of the use of children’s literature as well as picture storybooks in writing curriculum will be reviewed. 2.3.1 Literacy Development through Children’s Literature In the context of English as L1, educators, especially whole language advocators, have recommended the use of literature and authentic materials in developing language skills (Goodman, 1992; Harste, Woodward, & Burke, 1984). Language acquisition or learning should be integrated and seen as a whole. The four skills of learning a language are reciprocal and should not be taught separately. 34.

(51) Teaching literature provides a whole language environment and exposes language learners to authentic materials around them. According to Moss (2002), “literature provides children with language experiences which enhance their ability to generate meaning from literary texts”. According to Sutherland (1997), children’s literature can meet children’s basic as well as high psychological needs, such as, “the need for security,” “the need to be loved,” and “the need to achieve” (p. 15). Children’s literature are claimed to help children explore the outer world or their inner self. Root (1971) stated that literature helps the readers better understand themselves, their world, and the aesthetic values of the written text. However, literature embodies models not only for personal growth, but also for language development (Carter & Long, 1991; Lazar, 1993). Many researchers posit that children’s literature benefits children’s development in academic fields (Burke, 1990; Norton, 1993; Nuba, 1990). Children are exposed to authentic language and language conventions while accessing children’s literature. Sage (1987) argued that literature represents various uses of the language, conventional and literary, displays a broader range of communication strategies than any other single language teaching component, and extends linguistic knowledge on the levels of usage and use. Moreover, in cultivating language skills, children’s literature is claimed to be beneficial for developing writing skills. Nicholson’s (2006) experiment showed that. 35.

(52) applying literature as the center of developing children’s literacy can help them become writers effectively. Norton (1995) concluded that the language model that literature provides could increase “language proficiency,” encourage “oral discussion,” and produce “creative writing” (p. 11). Besides, the use of literature has been acknowledged as contributive to not only academic, intellectual and linguistic learning, but also cultural learning, (McKay, 1982; Oster, 1989; Sage, 1987; Spack, 1985). That is, children also cultivate their cultural knowledge about the world or people through literature experiences. Palardy (1997) stated that through literature, student readers “will have the opportunity to develop insights and understandings of the cultures and people of the world; to develop their imaginary and visualization abilities; and to gain new perspectives by testing their ideas with those found in books” (p. 67). Presenting culture through literature cultivates students to value their own cultures of their time and trace back to appreciate the source of their culture, the heritage from history (Carter & Long, 1991). For children learning a language, especially for ESL and EFL learners, cultural knowledge about the target language or the world is an essential part of the learning process. Davidson (1985) affirmed that culture learning in the literature-based curriculum can help students show respect, and approval to the similar parts and diverse aspects among different cultures. Therefore, children’s literature has been. 36.