Mother tongue teachers and E-readers; attitudes, feelings and opportunities.
Submitted by:
Andy Goodwyn
Abstract:
Teachers of literature are very fixated on ‘the book’, its materiality, its ‘feel’, even its smell. They have often expressed reservations about the way new technologies may threaten the life of the book, especially literary texts. However, the relatively new ‘E-readers’ which adopt many book like features, may provide a new set of opportunities for readers and teachers. Could it be that e-readers provide a way forward to offering a really positive literary reading experience to far more students from a range of backgrounds and cultures?
This paper reports on a study of mother tongue teachers in England and their views of E-Readers [e.g. The Kindle]. The project electronically surveyed a large number of teachers [120 returns] and then followed up with telephone interviews [25]. It seems that the majority of these English teachers are excited by the potential of E-reading and consider that it may well be an excellent device for broadening the appeal of literature to a range of diverse students. They are also excited by the way these devices are changing and enhancing their own reading experiences. They are curious to experiment with these devices in the classroom and to explore their potential for student readers