CC BY
274
Язык художественной литературы
ЯЗЫК ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ
OVERVIEW ON THE USE OF LITERARY TEXTS IN EFL CLASSES
Elvana Shtepani
(Tirana, Albania)
The aim of this paper is to point out the importance of using literary texts in the EFL classes. There is a new differentiated approach towards integrating literature in EFL teaching. This is related to advantages offered by literature. It is used as a useful technique for teaching both basic language skills such as reading, writing, listening and speaking and language aspects as vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Literary texts provide students with authentic language not adapted to a certain level. It helps to increase and improve learning; helps students with critical reading skills and cultural education. It makes the students familiar with the underlying reasons and criteria for language teachers ’ using and selecting literary texts. This paper gives the data analysis of a questionnaire given to 60 teachers and students in Master’s program about their beliefs and practice in using literature in teaching English as a foreign language. It also gives some suggestions on how to choose and use literary texts in ESL teaching in the Albanian education system.
Keywords: Literature, literary text, reading skills, teaching techniques, writing skills.
INTRODUCTION
It has been widely accepted that using literature in foreign language classes has a wide range of benefits. Literature has attracted renewed interest amongst curriculum planners, syllabus and material designers as well as practitioners in the areas of English as a Second Language and English as a Foreign Language worldwide (Lazar, 1999). Literature serves as an authentic source, where language structure and grammar usage come out in their original context. Literature enhances students‘awareness to language, provides cultural knowledge and skills. Due to the great possibilities it has to offer to a language class, it is being considered from another point of view. Albanian respective educational institutions have
7
Lingua mobilis № 6 (39), 2012
already taken some steps to introduce literary texts in EFL curriculum. However, difficulties and problems have been identified with regard to the integration of literature in the language curriculum and its application in the classroom environment. It is a challenge that our English teachers have to face nowadays.
AIM
The aim of this study is to identify beliefs and attitudes of teachers and students in using and integrating literature in English language teaching. It also aims to investigate good practices in teaching literature in EFL classes and to give some suggestions on how to select and use literary texts in EFL classes in the Albanian education system.
LITERATURE REVIEW
A new move has been identified that emphasizes on the need to use learning materials that can present emotionally engaging and intellectually stimulating experience for the language learners (Delanoy, 1997). This kind of experience can be gained only by using literature as an ideal source for our teaching materials. However, the function of literature in language learning and teaching has changed. It is not considered any more as the excellent model of language usage where readers can have merely and aesthetic reading; on the contrary, it is now considered as a way to promote interactions, critical thinking and language input. In other words, by encouraging and involving students to comment on different interpretations that one can give to a piece of literature, their critical thinking and language skills are promoted and developed.
Moreover, O’Sulivan (1991) points out that literary texts, too, can be interactive when they are approached in an integrated manner. The activities which are developed from the literary texts are interactive in the sense that they encourage students to respond creatively by developing the text in a way that employs communicative and purposeful language. Therefore, students’ interest and motivation to learn English language will increase by not being dependent on language accuracy as the determining factor.
Other scholars such as Widdowson (1975) consider that literature has as its principle aim the development of the capacity for individual response to language use. Hence, students who are supposed to have already developed awareness to literary discourse can convey unique personal messages. Teachers should ensure that students interact with the texts by bringing in their own experiences, while providing different reading to
8
Язык художественной литературы
the texts. Thus, when we use literature, we are promoting language learning and a three way interaction between the teacher, students and the texts selected. Nevertheless, the selection of the texts should be done by taking into consideration student‘s level of proficiency.
In terms of using literature to teach language, Brumfit and Carter (1986) asserted that literary texts not only can grip the reader’s imagination more strongly but they can also be promoted for the examination of language at work. Littlewood (2005) also observed that although such texts were predominantly valuable for developing reading skills, they could be exploited for purposes such as grammar and indicating various types of language usage. It is believed that literature enhances all language skills because it makes use of extensive and subtle vocabulary as well as a complex and quite perfect syntax. In literary texts, language is not merely used to convey some kind of information or make statements, which is also its primary function; on the contrary, the linguistic units bear some value beyond the linguistic one.
Generally, literary texts serve for different purposes during the process of language teaching. Therefore, language learning through literature may improve students’ acquisition of particular language skills such as inferring meanings from clues in the text, reading between the lines and coping with figurative and ambiguous language use. Teachers in language classroom therefore need to guide the students whenever necessary (Delanoy,1997).
Another argument which scholars use in favor of literature integration in language teaching is that it provides students with the opportunity to read different varieties of the same language in a single piece of writing. A literary text uses authentic text or real language in context that students can respond to directly. They examine languages in context by exploring and discussing the text. Literary texts provide examples of language resources being used to the full, and the reader is placed in an active interactional role in working with and making sense of this language (Brumfit and Carter, 1986)
The same beliefs are shared by Van (2009), who believes that studying literature in the EFL classroom has many advantages because it provides meaningful contexts; it involves a profound range of vocabulary, dialogues and prose; it develops cultural awareness and encourages critical thinking.
Furthermore, researchers have also identified a wide range of strategies used by students when reading literary texts. Two different processes
9
Lingua mobilis № 6 (39), 2012
may be used by students when dealing with a literary text; the bottom-up process, as Goodman and Carrell suggest, is a rather passive process, where the student is not required to use all of the textual clues and he can use different kind of cues such as the syntactic or semantic ones to predict the meaning.
Whereas, in the second process called the top- down process, students are asked to make use of their relevant background of knowledge (Carrell and Eisterhold, 1988). They think the immediate goal for EFL/ESL teachers is to minimize reading difficulties and to maximize comprehension by providing culturally relevant information to students before they embark on their reading assignments.
Students may also approach a literary text aesthetically. This approach is a rather active way of understanding the text making students detach from the real world and enter a secondary world mapped out by the literary text. Thus, the aesthetic approach to literature has a strong emotional appeal because students are invited to live through what the speaker, narrator or characters experience in their textual worlds (Delanoy, 1997).
The above-mentioned approaches may be summarized as four major steps that students take in order to understand a text. Firstly, students make the initial contact with the text, with its genre, content, structure and language by using their prior knowledge and surface features. Secondly, students are immersed in their understanding and by using their prior knowledge and the text itself, they continue further with the creation of meaning. Thirdly, they step back and reflect on their previous knowledge or understandings. Lastly, students react to the text or to the reading experience itself.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
Literature has been studied as a separate course in University; therefore, many EFL teachers see it as something belonging to the upper levels of teaching a foreign language. They hesitate to integrate literature in the teaching process for two main reasons. Firstly, they fear the lesson will fail because of student’s language skills. Secondly, they lack the proper teaching skills to teach literature, because they haven’t had the adequate pre-service and in service training in doing this. In addition, even in cases when a poem, a short story or an extract from a play appear in the course book, it is seen only as a language material without paying attention to the aesthetic and cultural values it conveys. Some teachers see themselves simply as a language teacher thus ignoring that literature in itself can be
10
Язык художественной литературы
summarized as follows: “Writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest. The body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age. (Webster, 3d Ed retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ literature)
METHODOLOGY
The study is based on two sets of questionnaires distributed to 50 students on their second year of master’s program who have taken classical literary courses and ten teachers who have taught these classes in both undergraduate and graduate level. The students were male and female students and they had different proficiency levels. Teacher’s background ranged from experienced teachers to new ones. Qualitative and quantitative methods of research were used, such as interviews and questionnaires. Questionnaires consisted of two parts related to the teachers’ attitude and perception of literature in the class; approaches and activities, and the choice of texts as well. The questionnaire handed out to students contained questions related to their attitudes, perceptions and practices in learning literature; different activities; problems they faced; texts used and the knowledge obtained from the course and their further needs.
The following table provides results of the questionnaire handed out to the groups of students. It shows general results on areas of difficulty they face when using literary texts in EFL classes. Results were analyzed by the use of Likert‘s scale. 11
QUESTIONS MEAN
I have read literary texts in high school 2.2
I have taken literature as a course in my undergraduate studies 3
I have difficulty in understanding literary texts based on other cultures 1.8
I have difficulty in identifying literary elements 1.6
The language used in poetry is difficult to understand 1.7
The language used in short stories is difficult to understand 1.6
I like to learn literature by watching movies or plays 1.4
I like to learn literature through discussions with friends 1.7
I like the teacher to explain the content of the literary text in detail 1.9
11
Lingua mobilis № 6 (39), 2012
I think it is important for teachers to motivate students to learn literature 2.9
I like teachers who ask for our views and interpretation of literary texts in class 2.1
The following table deals with the perceptions and attitudes of teachers while teaching literature to students of different proficiency levels.
QUESTIONS MEAN
I find teaching literature easy 2.5
I find integrating literature in English classes easy 2.2
I have integrated literature into language teaching 2.5
I have selected literary texts to integrate into language teaching 2.3
Students enjoy literary courses 1.6
Students enjoy learning literature in a language course 2.5
Teachers and students read literary texts 2.3
Teachers know how to integrate literary texts into the course 1.9
They have skills of selecting appropriate literary materials according to their life and language level 2.6
Students read a wide variety of literary texts 1.7
Teachers use e-books 2
I find it easy to use different teaching techniques in teaching literature 2.1
I use essay writing in my classes 2.8
As previously mentioned, the teachers were also interviewed in person to gather information on their way of selecting and using literary texts in their classes, the assessment techniques and further needs of classes in Albanian schools and universities. Following there is the list of questions addressed to teachers teaching in undergraduate and graduate level.
1. What forms of assessment do you use in your literary classes?
2. How do you select the texts?
3. What percentage do literary texts take in your teaching materials?
4. How do your students find literary texts?
5. What are the needs of both teachers and students related to literature?
12
Язык художественной литературы
6. What techniques do you use in the course?
7. Do they get skills for integrating literature in language teaching in other courses of their program?
8. Should you receive training before teaching literature in language classes?
In answer to the questions, teachers point out that they use the traditional way of assessment. Regarding the selection of texts, they pay attention to selecting texts from both classical and moden literature relevant to the language level, but it is to be pointed out that literary texts make up only 10% of the teaching materials used in language classes. Teachers still find them difficult to be used as a teaching source. 50% of the teachers ( five out of ten) state that their students find literary texts intersting and engaging, but other teachers say that the low level of language proficiency prevents students from understanding and enjoying literary texts used in the class. These students make use only of the bottom-up strategies.
Teachers need strategy training which we think must be done even at university level. As for the needs of both students and teachers related to literature, the interviewees think that if we introduce and use interesting pieces of literature and apply active techniques, students will take part actively in the class and will be used to freely express what they think of the literary text. They will be able to process and produce the foreign language without being afraid of being punished for the mistakes they may make.
As teachers in teacher education programs are working to integrate literature in the language programs, they themselves need some training to achive results. The interviewees think that they are giving some skills to teaching students but more training is needed especially for selecting the right literary text and for using it in the class.
CONCLUSION
The integration of literature in EFL classes is of great importance due to the advantages it offers. Literature is a useful technique for teaching both basic language skills and language aspects.
Literary texts provide students with authentic materials and their use in language classes helps students improve learning, develops their critical thinking and enhances their cultural education.
The everyday practice and the problems faced by both teachers and students show that EFL teachers need more training to transform their classes into an environment where students enjoy literature and learn English at the same time.
13
Lingua mobilis № 6 (39), 2012
Bibliography
Brnmfit, C.J & Carter.R 1986a. Literature and Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Carrell, P.L. & Eisterhold, J.C. (1983). Schema theory and ESL reading pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 17: 553-573.
Carrell, P. 1988. Introduction: Interactive approaches to second language reading. In P. Carrell, J. Devine, & D. Eskey (Eds.), Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading (pp. 1-7). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Carrell, P. & Eisterhold, J. 1988. Schema theory and ESL reading pedagogy. In P. Carrell, J. Devine, & D. Eskey (Eds.), Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading (pp. 73-92). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Delanoy, Werner.( 1997) Teacher Mediation and Literature Learning in the language classrooms. LCS.14
Lazar, G. (1999). A window on literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Littlewood, William. Literature in the School Foreign Language Course. In Brumfit and Carter (eds.).
O‘Sullivan, R. (1991). Literature in the Language Classroom. The English Teacher. Retrieved December 31, 2003 from http://www.melta.org. my/ET/1991/main6.html
Povey, J. 1972. Literature in TESL programs: The language and the culture. In H. Allen and R. Campbell (ed.) Teaching English as a second language. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1972.
Van, T.T.M. (2009). The relevance of literary analysis to teaching literature in the EFL classroom. English Teaching Forum, 3: 2-9.
Widdowson, H. G. 1978. Teaching language as communication. England, Oxford University Press.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literature
14
