Teaching Literature in the EFL Classroom:
Many teachers often regard literature as inappropriate to the language classroom. These views reflect the historic separation between the study of language and the study of literature, which has led to the limited role of literature in the language classroom. However, the use of literary texts can be a powerful pedagogic tool. There are various approaches to teaching literature and a rationale for an integrated approach to teaching literature in the language classroom based on the premise that literature is language and language can indeed be literary.
As teachers of English as a Foreign Language our main concern is to help learners acquire communicative competence. For this reason we tend to focus on teaching standard forms of linguistic expression. However, despite acquiring linguistic accuracy, it is apparent that EFL speakers still have difficulties in comprehending the nuances, creativity and versatility which characterise even standard and transactional forms of English.
Communicative competence is more than acquiring mastery of structure and form. It also involves acquiring the ability to interpret discourse in all its social and cultural contexts. For this reason, the use of literature in the EFL classroom can provide a powerful pedagogic tool in learners’ linguistic development.
Focusing on Literature:
Language, both spoken and written, comes in a variety of discourse types and, as teachers of language, we attempt to introduce our learners to as many of these as possible. The variety and types of discourse are perhaps best represented by Kinneavy’s communication triangle (1983). This classification of discourse types includes:
1. Expressive, which focuses on personal expression (letters, diaries, etc.)
2. Transactional, which focuses on both the reader and the message (advertising, business letters, editorials, instructions, etc.)
3. Poetic, which focuses on form and language (drama, poetry, novels, short stories, etc.). Indeed, all these discourse types already play a significant role in teaching various aspects of language such as vocabulary and structure, or testing learners’ comprehension.
However, there is often reluctance by teachers, course designers and examiners to introduce unabridged and authentic texts to the EFL syllabus. There is a general perception that literature is particularly complex and inaccessible for the foreign language learner. The reasons why teachers often consider literature inappropriate to the language classroom may be found in the common beliefs held about literature and literary language. Firstly, the creative use of language in poetry and prose often deviates from the conventions and rules which govern standard, non-literary discourse, as in the case of poetry where grammar and lexis may be manipulated to serve orthographic or phonological features of the language. Secondly, the reader requires greater effort to interpret literary texts since meaning is detached from the reader’s immediate social context; one example is that the “I” in literary discourse may not be the same person as the writer.
The result is that the reader’s “interpretative procedures” may become confused and overloaded. What this means is that the reader has to infer, anticipate and negotiate meaning from within the text to a degree that is not required in non-literary discourse. Thus, in our efforts to teach our learners’ communicative competence there is a tendency to make use of texts which focus on the transactional and expressive forms of writing with the exclusion or restriction of poetic forms of language. There is a perception that the use of literary discourse deflects from the straightforward business of language learning, i.e. knowledge of language structure, functions and general communication.
Reasons for teaching Literature in the Language Classroom:
The classification of discourse types in this way would seem to suggest that there are distinct differences between literary and non-literary discourse. This reflects a historic divergence between language and literature. This divergence has resulted in the teaching of the two subjects as ‘disconnected pedagogic practices’. This is not to say there is no difference between literary and non-literary discourse; however, Carter and Nash (1990) suggest that rather than perceiving literary discourse as separate and remote from non-literary discourse, we ought to consider the variety of text types along a continuum with some being more literary than others. This view is part of the idea that the separation of literature from language is a false dualism since literature is language and language can indeed be literary. It is not difficult to find instances of standard transactional forms of discourse which make use of a whole array of literary devices. Headlines and advertisements are common examples of discourse which exploits literary language. The following examples make explicit use of alliteration, assonance, register, imagery, ellipsis and rhythm – stylistic devices which are more commonly associated with literature than with standard, transactional language.
The boundaries which are thought to exist between literary and non-literary discourse are not so distinct. Indeed, the procedures which are used to interpret literary discourse are essentially the same for interpreting any type of discourse.
Approaches to Teaching Literature:
Having decided that integrating literature into the EFL syllabus is beneficial to the learners’ linguistic development, we need to select an approach which best serves the needs of EFL learners and the syllabus. Carter and Long (1991) describe the rationale for the use of the three main approaches to the teaching of literature:
1. The Cultural Model
This model represents the traditional approach to teaching literature. Such a model requires learners to explore and interpret the social, political, literary and historical context of a specific text. By using such a model to teach literature we not only reveal the universality of such thoughts and ideas but encourage learners to understand different cultures and ideologies in relation to their own. This model is largely rejected by those in TEFL since not only does it tend to be teacher-centred but there is little opportunity for extended language work.
Teaching Literature in the EFL Classroom:
Many teachers often regard literature as inappropriate to the language classroom. These views reflect the historic separation between the study of language and the study of literature, which has led to the limited role of literature in the language classroom. However, the use of literary texts can be a powerful pedagogic tool. There are various approaches to teaching literature and a rationale for an integrated approach to teaching literature in the language classroom based on the premise that literature is language and language can indeed be literary.
As teachers of English as a Foreign Language our main concern is to help learners acquire communicative competence. For this reason we tend to focus on teaching standard forms of linguistic expression. However, despite acquiring linguistic accuracy, it is apparent that EFL speakers still have difficulties in comprehending the nuances, creativity and versatility which characterise even standard and transactional forms of English.
Communicative competence is more than acquiring mastery of structure and form. It also involves acquiring the ability to interpret discourse in all its social and cultural contexts. For this reason, the use of literature in the EFL classroom can provide a powerful pedagogic tool in learners’ linguistic development.
Focusing on Literature:
Language, both spoken and written, comes in a variety of discourse types and, as teachers of language, we attempt to introduce our learners to as many of these as possible. The variety and types of discourse are perhaps best represented by Kinneavy’s communication triangle (1983). This classification of discourse types includes:
1. Expressive, which focuses on personal expression (letters, diaries, etc.)
2. Transactional, which focuses on both the reader and the message (advertising, business letters, editorials, instructions, etc.)
3. Poetic, which focuses on form and language (drama, poetry, novels, short stories, etc.). Indeed, all these discourse types already play a significant role in teaching various aspects of language such as vocabulary and structure, or testing learners’ comprehension.
However, there is often reluctance by teachers, course designers and examiners to introduce unabridged and authentic texts to the EFL syllabus. There is a general perception that literature is particularly complex and inaccessible for the foreign language learner. The reasons why teachers often consider literature inappropriate to the language classroom may be found in the common beliefs held about literature and literary language. Firstly, the creative use of language in poetry and prose often deviates from the conventions and rules which govern standard, non-literary discourse, as in the case of poetry where grammar and lexis may be manipulated to serve orthographic or phonological features of the language. Secondly, the reader requires greater effort to interpret literary texts since meaning is detached from the reader’s immediate social context; one example is that the “I” in literary discourse may not be the same person as the writer.
The result is that the reader’s “interpretative procedures” may become confused and overloaded. What this means is that the reader has to infer, anticipate and negotiate meaning from within the text to a degree that is not required in non-literary discourse. Thus, in our efforts to teach our learners’ communicative competence there is a tendency to make use of texts which focus on the transactional and expressive forms of writing with the exclusion or restriction of poetic forms of language. There is a perception that the use of literary discourse deflects from the straightforward business of language learning, i.e. knowledge of language structure, functions and general communication.
Reasons for teaching Literature in the Language Classroom:
The classification of discourse types in this way would seem to suggest that there are distinct differences between literary and non-literary discourse. This reflects a historic divergence between language and literature. This divergence has resulted in the teaching of the two subjects as ‘disconnected pedagogic practices’. This is not to say there is no difference between literary and non-literary discourse; however, Carter and Nash (1990) suggest that rather than perceiving literary discourse as separate and remote from non-literary discourse, we ought to consider the variety of text types along a continuum with some being more literary than others. This view is part of the idea that the separation of literature from language is a false dualism since literature is language and language can indeed be literary. It is not difficult to find instances of standard transactional forms of discourse which make use of a whole array of literary devices. Headlines and advertisements are common examples of discourse which exploits literary language. The following examples make explicit use of alliteration, assonance, register, imagery, ellipsis and rhythm – stylistic devices which are more commonly associated with literature than with standard, transactional language.
The boundaries which are thought to exist between literary and non-literary discourse are not so distinct. Indeed, the procedures which are used to interpret literary discourse are essentially the same for interpreting any type of discourse.
Approaches to Teaching Literature:
Having decided that integrating literature into the EFL syllabus is beneficial to the learners’ linguistic development, we need to select an approach which best serves the needs of EFL learners and the syllabus. Carter and Long (1991) describe the rationale for the use of the three main approaches to the teaching of literature:
1. The Cultural Model
This model represents the traditional approach to teaching literature. Such a model requires learners to explore and interpret the social, political, literary and historical context of a specific text. By using such a model to teach literature we not only reveal the universality of such thoughts and ideas but encourage learners to understand different cultures and ideologies in relation to their own. This model is largely rejected by those in TEFL since not only does it tend to be teacher-centred but there is little opportunity for extended language work.
2. The Language Model
The most common approach to literature in the EFL classroom is what Carter and Long (1991) refer to as the ‘language-based approach’. Such an approach enables learners to access a text in a systematic and methodical way in order to exemplify specific linguistic features e.g. literal and figurative language, direct and indirect speech. This approach lends itself well to the repertoire of strategies used in language teaching – cloze procedure, prediction exercises, jumbled sentences, summary writing, creative writing and role play – which all form part of the repertoire of EFL activities used by teachers to deconstruct literary texts in order to serve specific linguistic goals. Carter and McRae (1996) describe this model as taking a ‘reductive’ approach to literature. These activities are disconnected from the literary goals of the specific text in that they can be applied to any text. There is little engagement of the learner with the text other than for purely linguistic practice; literature is used in a rather purposeless and mechanistic way in order to provide for a series of language activities orchestrated by the teacher.
3. The Personal Growth Model
This model attempts to bridge the cultural model and the language model by focusing on the particular use of language in a text, as well as placing it in a specific cultural context. Learners are encouraged to express their opinions, feelings and opinions and make connections between their own personal and cultural experiences and those expressed in the text. Another aspect of this model is that it helps learners develop knowledge of ideas and language – content and formal schemata – through different themes and topics. This function relates to theories of reading (Goodman, 1970) which emphasise the interaction of the reader with the text. As Cadorath and Harris point out “text itself has no meaning, it only provides direction for the reader to construct meaning from the reader’s own experience”. Thus, learning is said to take place when readers are able to interpret text and construct meaning on the basis of their own experience.
These three approaches to teaching literature differ in terms of their focus on the text: firstly, the text is seen as a cultural artefact; secondly, the text is used as a focus for grammatical and structural analysis; and thirdly, the text is the stimulus for personal growth activities. What is needed is an approach to teaching literature in the EFL classroom which attempts to integrate these elements in a way that makes literature accessible to learners and beneficial for their linguistic development.
Rationale for an Integrated Model for Teaching Literature:
According to Duff and Maley (1990), the main reasons for integrating these elements are linguistic, methodological and motivational.
- Linguistically, by using a wide range of authentic texts we introduce learners to a variety of types and difficulties of English language.
- Methodologically, literary discourse sensitises readers to the processes of reading e.g. the use of schema, strategies for intensive and extensive reading etc.
- Motivationally, literary texts prioritise the enjoyment of reading since, as Short and Candlin assert (1986), ‘if literature is worth teaching…then it seems axiomatic that it is the response to literature itself which is important’. Interpretation of texts by learners can bring about personal responses from readers by touching on significant and engaging themes. An integrated model is a linguistic approach which utilises some of the strategies used in stylistic analysis, which explores texts, literary and non-literary, from the perspective of style and its relationship to content and form. This involves the systematic and detailed analysis of the stylistic features of a text – vocabulary, structure, register etc. in order to find out ‘not just what a text means, but also how it comes to mean what it does’. This suggested model (O’Brien, 1999) integrates linguistic description with interpretation of the text although for the benefit of the foreign language learners it is not as technical, rigorous or analytical as the stylistics approach. With the careful selection of the text, it can be adapted for all levels.
Stage 1: Preparation and Anticipation
This stage elicits learners’ real or literary experience of the main themes and context of text.
Stage 2: Focusing
Learners experience the text by listening and or reading and focusing on specific content in the text.
Stage 3: Preliminary Response
Learners give their initial response to the text – spoken or written
Stage 4: Working at it – I
Focus is on comprehending the first level of meaning through intensive reading.
Stage 5: Working at it – II
Focus is on analysis of the text at a deeper level and exploring how the message is conveyed through overall structure and any special uses of language – rhythm, imagery, word choice etc.
Stage 6: Interpretation and Personal Response
The focus of this final step is on increasing understanding, enhancing enjoyment of the text and enabling learners to come to their own personal interpretation of the text. This is based on the rationale for the personal growth model.
Justification of the use of the literary text in the cultural-communicative methodology:
The presence of literature is essential in the syllabus of a second language and its methodology. The insertion of literature in a cultural-communicative methodology demands a justification of the objectives we want to achieve.
There are 2 attitudes that must be set aside:
1. To subordinate the teaching of language to literature and giving privilege to the study of literature as the only linguistic model to imitate.
2. Just the opposite, to privilege the teaching of language as a means of communication and leaving apart any kind of contact with the literary text. The supporters of this theory state that the literary text can only find a justification for a writing syllabus and that literature can only be approached after getting a certain linguistic competence.
The attitude we prefer is the one that makes room for the literary text in the teaching of a second language.
Both languages, oral and written, are developed in a situational context, where there is a communicative exchange the addressor and the addressee of the message (writer and reader in the written language and speaker and listener in the oral language.
For a long time with the traditional approach in the teaching of a second language, there was an abusive use of the literary text, showing it as the model of a good use of language.
Later on, as a reaction against this tendency, there was an emphasis on the communicative side of a second language teaching and they disregarded almost completely the literary text.
Nowadays, with the increase of the oral language and the development of the audiovisual methods, it seems there is not much place for literature in class. However, there is a new tendency in the teaching of a second language that neither comes back to the oldest system nor gets rid of the technical developments, but gives a certain importance to the literary texts and it is inserted in a complete syllabus of a second language teaching.
The students of a second language read a literary text or a literary work to widen their knowledge or to acquire new aptitudes, whereas the natives read from the knowledge they have already acquired or the innate ones.
The literary text in the classroom:
The literary text has a double function:
1. It favours the language of a foreign language
2. It enables us the access to a new culture
We don´ t have to teach a foreign language from literature but to integrate it with the literary texts in the teaching of a second language
The literary text is the ideal means to convey at the same time the linguistic and cultural messages in a very natural and harmonious way.
The exploitation of a literary text will be done in class, whereas the reading of works such as novels, plays etc. will be done at home by the student
The selection of the literary text or literary work is recommended to be of the 20th century, but the teacher will decide on it because there can be an interesting text from other centuries. The texts are chosen depending on the objectives, theme and level to which they are addressed. We also have to take into account the possibilities for exploitation and the difficulty. For instance if we are dealing with a lesson about London, we can deal with a literary text on a novel placed in London.
The selection of texts must be adapted to the students´ interests, motivation and needs. It is not the same if they adults or adolescents.
We have to point out that the literary text must not compulsorily reflect the written language. We can find it in the different registers of language: popular, familiar, vulgar etc.
Exercises that can be done with a literary text:
First of all we have the reading of the text. The reading has an important role in the learning of a second language and in the acquisition of cultural knowledge. The reading can be done in different ways: it can be done by the teacher without having the students the text. We can also play a tape. With this first reading that has been done, the students can draw the gist of the text (extensive reading). Then the teacher gives the text to the students and they do the second reading in aloud voice. In this step we will insist on the correction of pronunciation and intonation and now we study it for detail (intensive reading).
We can also give them the paragraphs of the text out of sequence and they have to order them
Linguistic study of the text:
Depending on the text and the level to which it is addressed, we will insist on the grammatical structures, either to review them or to explain them in detail if they are new or if they have any kind of difficulty. We will study if sentences are simple, complex, related in coordination (copulative, adversative, disyunctive) subordination (nominal, relative and adverbial).
Then we will move onto the study of the text at a lexical level to ease the understanding to widen vocabulary. We have to check if the students know the meaning of the easiest words, if they have a special interest we can insist on them. Then we will explain the meaning of the unknown words in the detail in the context. We can give students synonyms and antonyms and find them in the text. We can make semantic fields to widen vocabulary, polysemy, homonyms, false friends, borrowings.
Next we will study morphology: affixation (suffixes and prefixes), compounds, conversion, blends, abbreviations, clippings, acronyms etc. and lastly phonetics: homophones, silent letters etc.
Exercises derived from a literary text: (related to the 4 skills)
1. Oral Exercises: We can make a conversation, a debate, a dialogue, a roleplay from the topics or characters of he text. We can play a listening or a video related to the text (intensive and extensive listening)
2. Written Exercises They can be done at home or in class. The summary of the text or main idea or title has a double interest, it develops the understanding and the written expression, true and false statements, questions on the text to check comprehension. It can also be followed by a composition on the topic of the text, a personal commentary or a continuation of the passage. We can also make structural exercises as rephrasing and cloze texts. The literary text favours the learning of orthography and it can also be translated into Spanish.
Due to their great variety and wealth, the literary text has a wide range of exploitation. The literary text is very important in the process of teaching and learning a second language. That is why the presence of literature is essential if we want to have a complete syllabus.
Poetry in the teaching of a second language:
1. Arguments against poetry: Teachers and students have a negative attitude towards poetry because a good text from a didactic pint of view is the one that offers an interesting context, that is, a current topic and has a great utility. All these factors are very rarely found in poetry.
The priority of the oral over the written in the latest didactic tendencies sets aside all the activities that are based on the individual reading such as poetry
2. Arguments in favour of poetry: Poetry can be used at every step of the learning of a second language and with all the skills of linguistic competence.
Poetry is not a synomym of difficult language: there are many pomes that have been written in an easy language from a lexical and a morphosyntactic point of view in almost all poets and literary tendencies and times.
Its condition of autonomous and complete literary work with a limited extension makes poetry very useful to be exploited in the reduced time of a lesson. It is not a fragmentary approximation such as in the novel or play but a complete one.
Linguistic skills in poetry:
1. Listening: The students will listen to the poem. As the poem is usually short hey don´t have to pay attention for a long time. We can also play a tape with sung poetry and so it will be more pleasant.
2. Reading: The individual reading favours the global comprehension of the text because each one gives his own rhythm but we can also make a collective reading.
3. Speaking: Once the poem has been explained, we can repeat it and dramatize it. We can also comment on any aspect of the poem, the topic or a line which can e interesting.
4. Writing: It is in the written activity that poetry has its full application. The students can make lipograms (texts where a letter can´ t be used) or alphabetic stories (each line begins with a letter of the alphabet following its order). Another activity can be the collective writing of a poem with the surrealistic technique of “cadavers exquis” where the students produce shocking sentences with folded pieces of paper.
There are many benefits to using literature in the EFL classroom. Apart from offering a distinct literary world which can widen learners’ understanding of their own and other cultures, it can create opportunities for personal expression as well as reinforce learners’ knowledge of lexical and grammatical structure. Moreover, an integrated approach to the use of literature offers learners strategies to analyse and interpret language in context in order to recognize not only how language is manipulated but also why. An integrated approach to the use of literature in the language classroom offers foreign language learners the opportunity to develop not only their linguistic and communicative skills but their knowledge about language in all its discourse types. The use of literary texts in the language classroom can be a potentially powerful pedagogic tool.
2. The Language Model
The most common approach to literature in the EFL classroom is what Carter and Long (1991) refer to as the ‘language-based approach’. Such an approach enables learners to access a text in a systematic and methodical way in order to exemplify specific linguistic features e.g. literal and figurative language, direct and indirect speech. This approach lends itself well to the repertoire of strategies used in language teaching – cloze procedure, prediction exercises, jumbled sentences, summary writing, creative writing and role play – which all form part of the repertoire of EFL activities used by teachers to deconstruct literary texts in order to serve specific linguistic goals. Carter and McRae (1996) describe this model as taking a ‘reductive’ approach to literature. These activities are disconnected from the literary goals of the specific text in that they can be applied to any text. There is little engagement of the learner with the text other than for purely linguistic practice; literature is used in a rather purposeless and mechanistic way in order to provide for a series of language activities orchestrated by the teacher.
3. The Personal Growth Model
This model attempts to bridge the cultural model and the language model by focusing on the particular use of language in a text, as well as placing it in a specific cultural context. Learners are encouraged to express their opinions, feelings and opinions and make connections between their own personal and cultural experiences and those expressed in the text. Another aspect of this model is that it helps learners develop knowledge of ideas and language – content and formal schemata – through different themes and topics. This function relates to theories of reading (Goodman, 1970) which emphasise the interaction of the reader with the text. As Cadorath and Harris point out “text itself has no meaning, it only provides direction for the reader to construct meaning from the reader’s own experience”. Thus, learning is said to take place when readers are able to interpret text and construct meaning on the basis of their own experience.
These three approaches to teaching literature differ in terms of their focus on the text: firstly, the text is seen as a cultural artefact; secondly, the text is used as a focus for grammatical and structural analysis; and thirdly, the text is the stimulus for personal growth activities. What is needed is an approach to teaching literature in the EFL classroom which attempts to integrate these elements in a way that makes literature accessible to learners and beneficial for their linguistic development.
Rationale for an Integrated Model for Teaching Literature:
According to Duff and Maley (1990), the main reasons for integrating these elements are linguistic, methodological and motivational.
- Linguistically, by using a wide range of authentic texts we introduce learners to a variety of types and difficulties of English language.
- Methodologically, literary discourse sensitises readers to the processes of reading e.g. the use of schema, strategies for intensive and extensive reading etc.
- Motivationally, literary texts prioritise the enjoyment of reading since, as Short and Candlin assert (1986), ‘if literature is worth teaching…then it seems axiomatic that it is the response to literature itself which is important’. Interpretation of texts by learners can bring about personal responses from readers by touching on significant and engaging themes. An integrated model is a linguistic approach which utilises some of the strategies used in stylistic analysis, which explores texts, literary and non-literary, from the perspective of style and its relationship to content and form. This involves the systematic and detailed analysis of the stylistic features of a text – vocabulary, structure, register etc. in order to find out ‘not just what a text means, but also how it comes to mean what it does’. This suggested model (O’Brien, 1999) integrates linguistic description with interpretation of the text although for the benefit of the foreign language learners it is not as technical, rigorous or analytical as the stylistics approach. With the careful selection of the text, it can be adapted for all levels.
Stage 1: Preparation and Anticipation
This stage elicits learners’ real or literary experience of the main themes and context of text.
Stage 2: Focusing
Learners experience the text by listening and or reading and focusing on specific content in the text.
Stage 3: Preliminary Response
Learners give their initial response to the text – spoken or written
Stage 4: Working at it – I
Focus is on comprehending the first level of meaning through intensive reading.
Stage 5: Working at it – II
Focus is on analysis of the text at a deeper level and exploring how the message is conveyed through overall structure and any special uses of language – rhythm, imagery, word choice etc.
Stage 6: Interpretation and Personal Response
The focus of this final step is on increasing understanding, enhancing enjoyment of the text and enabling learners to come to their own personal interpretation of the text. This is based on the rationale for the personal growth model.
Justification of the use of the literary text in the cultural-communicative methodology:
The presence of literature is essential in the syllabus of a second language and its methodology. The insertion of literature in a cultural-communicative methodology demands a justification of the objectives we want to achieve.
There are 2 attitudes that must be set aside:
1. To subordinate the teaching of language to literature and giving privilege to the study of literature as the only linguistic model to imitate.
2. Just the opposite, to privilege the teaching of language as a means of communication and leaving apart any kind of contact with the literary text. The supporters of this theory state that the literary text can only find a justification for a writing syllabus and that literature can only be approached after getting a certain linguistic competence.
The attitude we prefer is the one that makes room for the literary text in the teaching of a second language.
Both languages, oral and written, are developed in a situational context, where there is a communicative exchange the addressor and the addressee of the message (writer and reader in the written language and speaker and listener in the oral language.
For a long time with the traditional approach in the teaching of a second language, there was an abusive use of the literary text, showing it as the model of a good use of language.
Later on, as a reaction against this tendency, there was an emphasis on the communicative side of a second language teaching and they disregarded almost completely the literary text.
Nowadays, with the increase of the oral language and the development of the audiovisual methods, it seems there is not much place for literature in class. However, there is a new tendency in the teaching of a second language that neither comes back to the oldest system nor gets rid of the technical developments, but gives a certain importance to the literary texts and it is inserted in a complete syllabus of a second language teaching.
The students of a second language read a literary text or a literary work to widen their knowledge or to acquire new aptitudes, whereas the natives read from the knowledge they have already acquired or the innate ones.
The literary text in the classroom:
The literary text has a double function:
1. It favours the language of a foreign language
2. It enables us the access to a new culture
We don´ t have to teach a foreign language from literature but to integrate it with the literary texts in the teaching of a second language
The literary text is the ideal means to convey at the same time the linguistic and cultural messages in a very natural and harmonious way.
The exploitation of a literary text will be done in class, whereas the reading of works such as novels, plays etc. will be done at home by the student
The selection of the literary text or literary work is recommended to be of the 20th century, but the teacher will decide on it because there can be an interesting text from other centuries. The texts are chosen depending on the objectives, theme and level to which they are addressed. We also have to take into account the possibilities for exploitation and the difficulty. For instance if we are dealing with a lesson about London, we can deal with a literary text on a novel placed in London.
The selection of texts must be adapted to the students´ interests, motivation and needs. It is not the same if they adults or adolescents.
We have to point out that the literary text must not compulsorily reflect the written language. We can find it in the different registers of language: popular, familiar, vulgar etc.
Exercises that can be done with a literary text:
First of all we have the reading of the text. The reading has an important role in the learning of a second language and in the acquisition of cultural knowledge. The reading can be done in different ways: it can be done by the teacher without having the students the text. We can also play a tape. With this first reading that has been done, the students can draw the gist of the text (extensive reading). Then the teacher gives the text to the students and they do the second reading in aloud voice. In this step we will insist on the correction of pronunciation and intonation and now we study it for detail (intensive reading).
We can also give them the paragraphs of the text out of sequence and they have to order them
Linguistic study of the text:
Depending on the text and the level to which it is addressed, we will insist on the grammatical structures, either to review them or to explain them in detail if they are new or if they have any kind of difficulty. We will study if sentences are simple, complex, related in coordination (copulative, adversative, disyunctive) subordination (nominal, relative and adverbial).
Then we will move onto the study of the text at a lexical level to ease the understanding to widen vocabulary. We have to check if the students know the meaning of the easiest words, if they have a special interest we can insist on them. Then we will explain the meaning of the unknown words in the detail in the context. We can give students synonyms and antonyms and find them in the text. We can make semantic fields to widen vocabulary, polysemy, homonyms, false friends, borrowings.
Next we will study morphology: affixation (suffixes and prefixes), compounds, conversion, blends, abbreviations, clippings, acronyms etc. and lastly phonetics: homophones, silent letters etc.
Exercises derived from a literary text: (related to the 4 skills)
1. Oral Exercises: We can make a conversation, a debate, a dialogue, a roleplay from the topics or characters of he text. We can play a listening or a video related to the text (intensive and extensive listening)
2. Written Exercises They can be done at home or in class. The summary of the text or main idea or title has a double interest, it develops the understanding and the written expression, true and false statements, questions on the text to check comprehension. It can also be followed by a composition on the topic of the text, a personal commentary or a continuation of the passage. We can also make structural exercises as rephrasing and cloze texts. The literary text favours the learning of orthography and it can also be translated into Spanish.
Due to their great variety and wealth, the literary text has a wide range of exploitation. The literary text is very important in the process of teaching and learning a second language. That is why the presence of literature is essential if we want to have a complete syllabus.
Poetry in the teaching of a second language:
1. Arguments against poetry: Teachers and students have a negative attitude towards poetry because a good text from a didactic pint of view is the one that offers an interesting context, that is, a current topic and has a great utility. All these factors are very rarely found in poetry.
The priority of the oral over the written in the latest didactic tendencies sets aside all the activities that are based on the individual reading such as poetry
2. Arguments in favour of poetry: Poetry can be used at every step of the learning of a second language and with all the skills of linguistic competence.
Poetry is not a synomym of difficult language: there are many pomes that have been written in an easy language from a lexical and a morphosyntactic point of view in almost all poets and literary tendencies and times.
Its condition of autonomous and complete literary work with a limited extension makes poetry very useful to be exploited in the reduced time of a lesson. It is not a fragmentary approximation such as in the novel or play but a complete one.
Linguistic skills in poetry:
1. Listening: The students will listen to the poem. As the poem is usually short hey don´t have to pay attention for a long time. We can also play a tape with sung poetry and so it will be more pleasant.
2. Reading: The individual reading favours the global comprehension of the text because each one gives his own rhythm but we can also make a collective reading.
3. Speaking: Once the poem has been explained, we can repeat it and dramatize it. We can also comment on any aspect of the poem, the topic or a line which can e interesting.
4. Writing: It is in the written activity that poetry has its full application. The students can make lipograms (texts where a letter can´ t be used) or alphabetic stories (each line begins with a letter of the alphabet following its order). Another activity can be the collective writing of a poem with the surrealistic technique of “cadavers exquis” where the students produce shocking sentences with folded pieces of paper.
There are many benefits to using literature in the EFL classroom. Apart from offering a distinct literary world which can widen learners’ understanding of their own and other cultures, it can create opportunities for personal expression as well as reinforce learners’ knowledge of lexical and grammatical structure. Moreover, an integrated approach to the use of literature offers learners strategies to analyse and interpret language in context in order to recognize not only how language is manipulated but also why. An integrated approach to the use of literature in the language classroom offers foreign language learners the opportunity to develop not only their linguistic and communicative skills but their knowledge about language in all its discourse types. The use of literary texts in the language classroom can be a potentially powerful pedagogic tool.