Using Literature in The English Class
Using Literature in The English Class
The purpose of this article is to provide some guidance through the wealth of available
materials and support, to provide a platform for sharing ideas and experiences and to
explore some areas that are at the cutting edge of what is, for many teachers, the most
powerful instrument in their school bag: literature as a tool for language learning.
Click on the headings below to find out more about available materials and support for teachers in
each area. The example Hyperfiction - based on a story by Louise Cooper - will be available soon!
Literature in ELT
The use of literature in the ELT classroom is enjoying a revival for a number of reasons.
Having formed part of traditional language teaching approaches, literature became less
popular when language teaching and learning started to focus on the functional use of
language. However, the role of literature in the ELT classroom has been re-assessed and
many now view literary texts as providing rich linguistic input, effective stimuli for
students to express themselves in other languages and a potential source of learner
motivation. On this site you can find a range of literary texts and supporting classroom
materials, on the BritLit pages.
Literary texts can be studied in their original forms or in simplified or abridged versions.
An increasing number of stories in English are written specifically for learners of other
languages. The types of literary texts that can be studied inside and outside the ELT
classroom include:
1 Short stories
2 Poems
3 Novels
4 Plays
5 Song Lyrics
Literary texts offer a rich source of linguistic input and can help learners to practise the four
skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing - in addition to exemplifying grammatical
structures and presenting new vocabulary.
Literature can help learners to develop their understanding of other cultures, awareness of
‘difference' and to develop tolerance and understanding. At the same time literary texts can
deal with universal themes such as love, war and loss that are not always covered in the
sanitised world of course books.
Literary texts are representational rather than referential (McRae, 1994). Referential
language communicates at only one level and tends to be informational. The
representational language of literary texts involves the learners and engages their emotions,
as well as their cognitive faculties.Literary works help learners to use their imagination,
enhance their empathy for others and lead them to develop their own creativity. They also
give students the chance to learn about literary devices that occur in other genres e.g.
advertising.
Literature lessons can lead to public displays of student output through posters of student
creations e.g. poems, stories or through performances of plays. So for a variety of
linguistic, cultural and personal growth reasons, literary texts can be more motivating than
the referential ones often used in classrooms.
What are some of the challenges to be faced when using literature in the classroom?
Literary texts can present teachers and learners with a number of difficulties including:
text selection - texts need to be chosen that have relevance and interest to learners.
linguistic difficulty - texts need to be appropriate to the level of the students'
comprehension.
length - shorter texts may be easier to use within the class time available, but longer
texts provide more contextual details, and development of character and plot.
cultural difficulty - texts should not be so culturally dense that outsiders feel
excluded from understanding essential meaning.
cultural appropriacy - learners should not be offended by textual content.
Duff and Maley (2007) stress that teachers can cope with many of the challenges that
literary texts present, if they ask a series of questions to assess the suitability of texts for
any particular group of learners:
Duff and Maley (2007) also emphasise the importance of varying task difficulty as well as
text difficulty:
Teachers can introduce the topic or theme of the text, pre-teach essential vocabulary items
and use prediction tasks to arouse the interest and curiosity of students.
In the rest of this section you will find ways in which you can develop your ability to use
literature in the ELT classroom through reading articles and books, attending workshops
and courses, visiting websites, and joining Special Interest Groups and discussion forums.
References
Duff, A & Maley, A (2007) Literature (Resource Books for Teachers), Oxford University
Press.
Maley, A (2001) ‘Literature in the language classroom' in The Cambridge Guide to
Teaching ESOL, Cambridge University Press.
McRae, J (1994) Literature with a small 'l', Macmillan Education.
Pulverness, A ( 2003) ‘Literature' in English Teaching Professional, October, Issue 29,
Modern English Publishing