Article,
Narrative Inquiry: More Than Just Telling Stories
TESOL Quarterly, 36 (2): 207-213 (2002)
Abstract
Narrative inquiry rests on the epistemological assumption that we as human beings make sense of random experience by the imposition of story structures. That is, we select those elements of experience to which we will attend, and we pattern those chosen elements in ways that reflect
the stories available to us. Although the notion of story is common to every society, the stories themselves differ widely — one of the defining features of a culture is the story structures through which it makes sense of the world. The shape of our stories, the range of roles available, the
chains of causation, and the sense of what constitutes a climax or an ending are all shaped by the stories with which we were raised. A key way of coming to understand the assumptions held by learners from other cultures is to examine their stories and become aware of the underlying
assumptions that they embody. This makes narrative inquiry a particularly valuable approach for members of the TESOL profession, though narrative approaches to understanding are becoming increasingly popular in a wide range of disciplines
