EFL teachers’ narrative pedagogy to cultivate EFL learners’ critical thinking skills and narrative writing development

Abstract

While previous studies often overlook the role of EFL teachers in fostering learners’ critical thinking and narrative writing development. This case study attempted to explore more comprehensively on how teacher’s narrative pedagogy promoted students’ critical thinking and narrative writing development. Research participants involved an experience narrative teacher as a local novelist (male 53) from a reputable public university in Indonesia and six junior high school students (3 males and 3 females, aged between 16.1-16.8) who participated in a semester narrative writing project to preserve the existence local narrative writers. The first data were collected from classroom observations and interviews based on teachers’ frequently prompt students (analysis of characters' motives, inference plot developments, and evaluate narrative texts) which helps them develop their critical thinking skills. Additionally, the second data were collected from students’ narrative writing development and interviews. The results indicates that the teachers often assigned the students to discuss motives and actions of the story from multiple perspectives, compare traditional beliefs to contemporary perspectives of the story, problem solving and create a space for debate toward a moral and social values of the story. Teachers’ narrative pedagogy also was also reflected in the students’ narrative writing through expanding the themes, altering the setting and ending of the story, exploring character’ complexity, connecting the themes into personal and societal issue, incorporating moral into new views, and language selection.