Reading comprehension material based on ecuadorian annotated folk tales for high school learners of english as a foreign language.

Abstract

This conceptual research aimed at making local culture-based literary English texts available for EFL teachers and high school teenage students. Through digital and physical search of Ecuadorian literature written in English, it was evidentthat there was a lack of such literature.Therefore, the work undertaken consisted of addressing local culture-based EFL material scarcity, the poor diffusion of Ecuadorian culture in EFL classrooms, and the unbalanced use of foreign literary work through the translation of the book “Mitos y Leyendas Ecuatorianas” and the creation of reading comprehension resources. This project considered the different criteria for the selection of texts and the diverse translation approaches to prove the suitability of the communicative approach for the selected literary work. Subsequently,several excerpts of the text were extracted and analyzed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the communicative translation approach and to make evident the appropriateness of the chosen vocabulary that matches the learners’ proficiency level and lexical coverage. In addition, an online booklet was designed and proposed for future implementation in EFL classrooms. Thus, the significance of this project relies on the need to preserve students’ identity and culture, their capability to share their folklore, and the development of reading comprehension skills with content that is familiar to them.