Aesthetic vs. efferent reading in reading comprehension courses in the Iranian EFL context

Authors

  • Mohammad Forouzani University of Nizwa

Keywords:

aesthetic, efferent, interaction, transaction, reading comprehension, EFL, Iran

Abstract

Even though literature has been suggested for use as a means of teaching language in reading comprehension courses, it has been viewed from an efferent perspective (what can be gleaned from the content), not an aesthetic one (what can be gained from the experience). This paper discusses whether aesthetic reading can lead to aesthetic transaction and more engagement of readers with texts in EFL reading courses. The effect of the aesthetic transaction and all its components (6 factors) on the dependent variable of reading comprehension was studied with two groups of participants. The control group received non-literary texts and the experimental group received literary texts during the 8 weeks of the research. The results indicated that (1) the aesthetic transaction components are requirements for appreciating literary texts in particular and reading comprehension skills in general, and (2) aesthetic reading is a suitable alternative for the efferent reading mostly practiced in reading comprehension courses.

Author Biography

  • Mohammad Forouzani, University of Nizwa
    Mohammad Forouzani is an assistant professor of ELT and Literature at the Department of Foreign Languages, University of Nizwa, Oman. His areas of interest and practice are Critical Pedagogy, Semantics, and Literature.
The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Volume 4. Issue 2. October 2017

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Published

2017-10-31

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2017)

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

Aesthetic vs. efferent reading in reading comprehension courses in the Iranian EFL context. (2017). The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 211-227. https://caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/article/view/449