'Students and their Reading: A narrative approach'

Abstract or Summary

This presentation reports on a narrative study of L2 students in a tertiary bridging programme. Using data gathered through narrative frames, reflections and interviews it explores the impact of participants’ social, cultural, educational and linguistic backgrounds on their reading attitudes and habits, initially in L1 and subsequently in English. Although connections cannot necessarily be expressed via direct correlations, narrative inquiry provides “evocative closure and provocative questions” if not “fixed answers” (Saldana, 2011, p. 134). This study highlights both common and unique features of participants’ stories and illustrates a wide range of first and additional language reading experiences and engagement.