本研究旨在探討讀者回應法在高中英詩教學上的效益。在探討中著重在比較兩種教學模式──讀者回應模式與傳統教學模式──的成效，更各別以實驗組與控制組進行研究。其重點針對以下五項：(1)學生的英文學習動機(2)學生對英詩的興趣(3)學生的寫作能力(4)學生的語言能力(5)同儕的互動和師生間的互動。 依據Dias和Hayhoe（1988）的論點，自1930年代起，新文評（New Criticism）、結構主義（Structuralism）和後結構主義（Post-structuralism）即影響著英詩教學，然而這股文評思潮，隨著讀者反應理論的興起，逐漸式微。起而代之的是強調以讀者為中心，重視讀者與文本間的互動，並允許讀者對同一文學作品有不同詮釋的教學模式，此教學模式已成為文學教師樂於採用的教學法。 本研究採用Rosenblatt（1978）為首的理論與建議，輔以各種活動，導引高中生解讀英詩，以實證讀者回應教學模式的具體成效，暨測試傳統的教學模式。 此研究以台北市立大同高中兩班七十七位高一學生為研究對象。兩班學生分成實驗組和控制組，教授同樣英詩，在為期四個月的教學活動中，實驗組接受讀者回應的教學模式，並參與討論，回應研究者所設計的題目和活動。控制組則採用傳統的教學模式，教授文本內容、結構為主。兩組皆以學生的問卷調查、GEPT成績、學習單和研究者的訪談、觀察做為本研究分析的基礎。 經由資料分析，茲將本研究發現之摘要條列如下： 1.整體而言，讀者回應教學模式比傳統教學模式更具效果。 2.實驗組學生對英文學習動機高於控制組學生。 3.實驗組學生比控制組學生對英詩更具濃厚興趣。 4.實驗組學生的寫作能力優於控制組學生。 5.實驗組學生的整體語言能力高於控制組學生。 6.依據問卷與研究者觀察，實驗組同儕間的互動與師生間的互動皆較控制組更具活力。 本研究結論發現，讀者回應法對學生的英文學習動機、英詩的興趣、一般寫作、語言的能力和同儕、師生的互動皆有良好的成效。 / Though New Criticism, Structuralism and Post-structuralism have dominated literature teaching since 1930s, reader response approach with its emphasis on the interaction between the text and the reader, has come into prominence and made a great impact on teaching literature over the last two decades. This research aimed to investigate the effects of reader response approach on English poetry teaching at a senior high school in terms of the students’ motivation in English, interest in poetry, writing ability, language proficiency, interaction, and teaching modes. A total of seventy-seven 10th graders at Taipei Municipal Ta-tung Senior High participated in the study. They were divided into two groups: the experimental group (37 students) instructed in the reader response approach with diverse activities, and the control group (40 students) taught in the traditional way of teaching. The experiment was done once a week, within the four class periods in the whole semester from September 8, 2003 to January 9, 2004 with a total of sixteen weeks. Instruments such as the GEPT, a questionnaire, interviews, observations, students’ worksheets and students’ poems were employed to evaluate the effects based on the quantitative basis. The results of this study were summarized as follows: 1.Overall, the response-based teaching gained much more popularity than the tradition way, which might suggest that the response-based teaching is more effective than the traditional one. 2.The experimental group showed higher motivation in learning English than the control one. 3.The experimental students displayed a deeper interest in poetry than the control students. 4.Students’ writing ability of the experimental group was superior to that of the control group, as evidenced by the t-test. 5.The language proficiency of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group. 6.According to the questionnaires, interviews and observations, the interaction in the experimental group was more dynamic than that in the control group. In conclusion, this study proposes some pedagogical implications for senior high school teachers in teaching English poetry, suggesting that the reader response approach achieved better effects in this aspect.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Lotta C. Larson / The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and identify the word consciousness and individual application of academic vocabulary through the use of vocabulary reader response journals, authentic discussions, and multigenre response projects from a thematic social studies unit using historical fiction and nonfiction literature that was integrated in the fifth-grade curriculum. This qualitative research study took place in a third-fifth grade school in a Midwest setting with 23 fifth-grade students over the course of 14 weeks. Data were analyzed from eight of the 23 students. Multiple data sources for each literature selection were analyzed to reveal how fifth-grade students’ written, oral, and visual response to historical fiction and nonfiction literature demonstrate word consciousness and individual application of academic vocabulary. Conclusions indicate that student participants prefer the opportunity to create a visual image or write a statement to confirm the meaning of an academic vocabulary word in their vocabulary reader response journals. While orally discussing the academic words, the participants chose the evaluation approach. This authentic discussion response option allowed the students the opportunity to share their personal understanding, opinion, or inference for each word. Written and visual response was also afforded through the multigenre response projects. These projects revealed the individual application through conventional and nonconventional usage of the academic terms from each literature selection.

For teachers of freshman English composition, the most time-consuming aspect of teaching is responding to student papers (Anson, 2012; Straub, 2000b). Teachers respond in various ways, but most teachers agree that they should offer written feedback to students (Beach & Friedrich, 2006). However, little research has been conducted to determine how teachers’ written feedback practices reflect their beliefs about the purpose of such feedback. This qualitative study explores the relationship between English composition teachers’ beliefs about written feedback and their actual written feedback practices. The participants were a sample of four instructors of freshman English composition at a mid-sized metropolitan public university. Interviews, classroom observations, course documents, and samples of teachers’ written comments were analyzed to determine teachers’ written response practices and their beliefs related to the purposes of freshman writing and their roles as writing teachers. Results suggest that teachers were aware of their beliefs, and their written response practices were consistent with their beliefs. Teachers utilized different approaches to respond to student writing, but those approaches are consistent with current recommendations for responding to student writing. Three major themes emerged from the study. First, teachers must be given the opportunity to reflect about and articulate their beliefs about written response so they will know why they respond in the way they do. Second, teachers work within the boundaries of their specific writing program to organize their written responses to student writing. Third, teachers must respond to student writing from varying perspectives as readers of the text. The findings support studies which indicate that written response is a sociocultural practice and teacher beliefs are just one aspect of the complex nature of teacher written response. The study should add to the fields of response theory and the formation of teacher beliefs.

This master’s thesis investigates the contextualized relation between a reader and a text, in a non classroom-oriented situation. I am studying the questions of (a) in what way a persons education, personal experiences and opinions, and (b) how the text; its design (language) and message, holds a function in – and forms – the reader-text relation. At the same time I am testing the theoretical framework of Louise Rosenblatt, for the purpose of finding an adequate method to analyze this relation. Using semi-structured interviews, six participants have read and answered questions about two texts. Exploring the theories of Rosenblatt, the participants take part in an ‘experiment’ where their communicated text transactions are the crucial foundation of the study. The analysis of their statements has been carried out with the help of Rosenblatts’ efferent-aesthetic continuum, together with a field model of Berntsen and Larsen, which survey different types of text interaction. The result of the study shows, that we are able to conduct an analysis on the reader-text relation, with the help of the framework that the above-mentioned tools offer. The methods help us to identify and understand both individual and contextualized – as well as more general – elements in the reader-text relation. In this way, we can learn how the relation takes form and develops during the transaction. This comes to help in the larger issue of understanding reading as a phenomenon. Also, the study shows that Rosenblatt's theoretical framework serves a study conducted outside of a classroom-related context well.

This Master’s thesis explores three contemporary Swedish poets’ – Lars Mikael Raattamaa, Anna Hallberg and Johan Jönson – understanding of their work as a political activity. By using Jonathan Culler’s theory on literary competence and literary conventions as a theoretical tool for an idea analysis, the three poets' arguments for or against certain literary techniques, and their ideas about readers and reading, are explored and discussed. In what ways are established literary methods questioned by the three poets? In what ways are established theories on readers and reading questioned? In what way can their poetic work be regarded as political? As a background, the debate about poetry in Swedish newspapers and literary magazines is presented, as well as the common focus on readers and reading in social sciences and in humanities and arts. The trend is to interpret the reader as active and creative. Following this trend, and surpassing it, the three Swedish poets challenges established literary techniques and established theories on readers and reading. The ideas of the three poets can be summarized as follows: The poet must be very conscious about different literary techniques and their effects. Poetry and literature must not be written in ways that is hierarchic or undemocratic. That is: literary competence is actually not important. The meaning of the poem or the text is in the mind of the reader, not in the mind of the poet or the writer. The poets aim and goal must be to write a kind of poetry that is accessible to all people, unregarded literary competence or such things as literary conventions. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Hans Robert Jauss is a professor of literary criticism and romance philology at the University of Constance in Germany. Jauss co-founded the University of Constance and the Constance group of literary studies. Hans Robert Jauss's version of reception theory was introduced in the late 1960s, a period of social, political, and intellectual instability in West Germany. Jauss's reception theory focused on the reader rather than the author or text. The original reception of a text was compared to a later reception, revealing different literary receptions and their evolution. Jauss's Rezeptionsgeschichte (history of reception) illustrated the evolution of the reception of texts and the evolving paradigms of literary criticism that they were a part of. However, Jauss's essays proved to be more of a provocation for change in literary criticism than the foundation for the next literary paradigm. The empirical studies discussed in this thesis reveal the.idealism of Jauss's theory by testing main ideas and concepts. The results show the inapplicability of Jauss's theory for practical purposes. The intent of this study is to illustrate the origins, development and impact of Jauss's version of reception theory. The interrelationship between the social environment, the institutional reforms at the University of Constance, and the methodology of reception theory are also discussed. The new social values in West Germany advocated individualism and questioned status quo institutions and their authority. This facilitated the establishment of the University of Constance, which served as the prototype for the democratization of German universities and the introduction of Jauss's reception theory. With the democratization of the university, old autonomous faculties were broken down into interdisciplinary subject areas. The Old Philology and New Philology department were made into the sciences of language and literature and ultimately introduced as the all-encompassing literaturwissenschaft. Five professors from the Slavic, English, German, Classics and Romance language departments gave up direction of these large departments to work together under the Constance reforms in an effort to form a new concept of literary studies. The result was the socalled theories of "reception" and "effect" which they continue to research.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-339).

The aim of this essay is to show how to use William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies in the ESL classroom to teach democratic values. Such values include: respect, empathy and the right to free speech. According to Reader-Response theory, the reader brings expectations and knowledge about the subject matter (in this case democracy and its values) to the texts, which influence his/her interpretation. I have applied two different styles of analyzing a text: a Content-Based Approach and Simpson's Communication Triangle. The Content-Based Approach, in accordance with Reader-Response Theory, builds on students' knowledge and previous experience and focuses on the content to be acquired. The Simpson's Communication Triangle, on the other hand, connects reading, discussing and writing. Both of the approaches are designed to enhance the students' reading responses by providing different forums for sharing, such as discussions and writing (diary entries) from one of the character's perspective. The idea of creating Reader-Response journals is supported by multiple forms of theoretical study, and the assignments explained in this essay have been designed upon this research.

Wu Wen-ying is not only an undoubtedly important figure in the history of ci poetry, but also a controversial ci poet. Since the late song dynasty, reviewers have been having different opinions about Wu Wen-ying's ci poetry, praising or criticizing. It is a special phenomenon in the history of ci criticism. This issue is worthy of further exploring both in the work itself, reader response, etc. Therefore, in this dissertation the author uses Wolfgang Iser¡¦s ¡§artistic¡¨ and ¡§aesthetic¡¨ concepts to discuss text and the reader response, researching in the art form of Wu Wen-ying's ci poetry and the reviewers¡¦ criticism. Since the latter involves the reader responses in different times, this dissertation further elaborates through Hans Robert Jauss¡¦ concepts of ¡§horizon of expectation¡¨ and ¡§reception history.¡¨ As for the art form, this dissertation discusses two parts in Wu Wen-ying's ci poetry, ¡§the organization of writing¡¨ and the ¡§diction,¡¨ in order to explore the nature of its art form. The structure and composition of ¡§the organization of writing¡¨ and the ¡§diction¡¨ are relevant to the overall organization and each word in the text; Therefore, in ¡§the organization of writing¡¨, it will research in the ¡§design of time and space¡¨ and the ¡§arrangement of fiction and reality.¡¨ As for the ¡§diction¡¨ is concerned, the creative approach is analyzed by the ¡§image,¡¨ ¡§allusion,¡¨ ¡§substitute word,¡¨ and so on, and their possible impacts on reading. Moreover, regarding the history of ci criticism, this dissertation shows the criticism of Wu Wen-ying's ci poetry by ci poetry schools and ci poet groups in different times, through ¡§synchronic¡¨ and ¡§diachronic¡¨ approach and Hans Robert Jauss¡¦ concept of ¡§reception history.¡¨ After discussing ci poets¡¦ criticism, the other chapter of this dissertation will further examine on why Wu Wen-ying's ci poetry is so controversial. Each ci poetry school has different aesthetic orientation and horizon of expectation which affect its criticism. Thus, in this chapter there is further discussion about the reasons through ¡§review standards¡¨ and ¡§reading mode.¡¨ Finally, the conclusion summarizes the preceding three parts, the art form, reviewers¡¦ criticism on Wu Wen-ying's ci poetry, and the reason why Wu Wen-ying's ci poetry is controversial.

In this thesis the roles of the sexually preadtory male character in Jane Austen&#039 / s Sense and Sensibility, Charlotte Bronte&#039 / s Jane Eyre, Anne Bronte&#039 / s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Elisabeth Gaskell&#039 / s Ruth and Mary Barton are analyzed, based on the theory of psychiatrist Karen Horney and the reader-response theory of Wolfgang Iser. The hypothesis is that the male sexual predator represents a reflection of the pursued heroine&#039 / s idealized image, an unrealistically idealized and preferred self-image in Horney&#039 / s terms, and makes the education and vindication patterns of the novels possible.