Blog #9 Fiction and Non-fiction

Fiction and non-fiction books have distinct features.  There are specific features that might help ELL students learn English. 

Non-fiction has specific text features that can be taught independently and will therefore give the student background knowledge of that feature and why it’s a part of non-fiction.  If they student knows the purpose of the feature it will help them to focus on the content.

• Index
• Glossary
• Table of contents
• Captions
• Heading and subheading

Non-fiction may be more straightforward for students from another culture and native language.  Background knowledge and vocabulary may need to be front loaded so that the student has time to see pictures and have a concrete idea of what the content will be.  I see this as a benefit to non-fiction text, because it is concrete and with the technology today it is not difficult to find pictures and explanations to help ELL students become familiar with the topic. 

The one disadvantage to non-fiction that I can see is that when children are young they are often read fiction books so they may be less familiar with non-fiction formats and therefore more hesitant. 

Fiction texts have their own set of text features that can be taught, however they may not be as concrete as non-fiction.

·     Character

·     Setting

·     Beg/middle/end

·     Problem/solution

I think that even native English speakers can often have trouble with problem/solution because it does require the reader to make inferences from the reading.  Another thing that we ask student to do is tell us the author’s purpose, which is very difficult for students.  It is something that needs to be taught and I think can be looked over when teachers read because they focus on other aspects.  For ELL students it means having to understand the language and vocabulary but then go a step further and try to infer in a language that is not their own. 

Illustrations are usually helpful with fiction but again may not be as concrete.  They are there to add to the story and the pleasure of reading it, but may not give as many clues for an ELL reader.

One advantage I see to fiction texts is that they are often read to students from a young age and so students may be more familiar with them.  Also, I think that fiction can be fun and humorous and might be engaging for students.