An experimental study of the effect of close reading versus casual reading of social drama on the stimulation of the cognitive capacity of empathy

The current study investigates whether the mode of reading practice has an effect on the degree of readers’ empathic response to social drama, using Enda Walsh’s Chatroom (2015), tackling contemporary adolescents’ problems, as an experimental example. The experiment conducted in this paper hypothesizes that in contrast with casual reading, the conscious techniques of close reading are more effective in promoting participants’ empathic engagement with the dramatic text and improving their capacity of problem discovery and solution. Accordingly, the close reading of social drama can reinforce social integration and work as an antidote to the ostracism of one social group from their community. Moreover, the L2 students’ stimulated empathic response is translated into a written output which is richer in quantity and quality.