16 Teaching Language through Literature

Dr. Neeru Tandon

Introduction

Literature not only educates but also delights. Teachings of language through Literature not only helps students to value diverse cultures apart from their own cultures, but also keep them engaged in the task in a refreshing way. Certain emotions like anger, greed, love, and jealousy are widespread. Literature gives permanent happiness to anyone who reads with diligence and passion. John McRae (1994) makes an earnest attempt to differentiate between classical literature and pulp fiction by using ‘L’ and ‘l’ respectively.

The rise of ELT led to the measured downgrading of Literature, as attention transferred to functional use of language. The revitalization of literature is inevitable as students find it hard to decipher the nuances of language in the ELT classroom. Language teaching is incomplete without literature. The earlier generations had solid foundation in language, because they learnt classics written by literary writers like Shakespeare, Wordsworth etc. Unfortunately, the modern generation does not have any exposure to classics. This severely hampers not only their intellectual growth but also emotional growth.

The primary focus of classroom activity is the task and language is the instrument, which the students use to complete it. The activity reflects real life and learners’ focus on meaning. Various genres of literature like short stories, poems, novels; plays etc. can be used effectively in the ELT classroom to make learning a euphoric participation for students. Rote learning can be replaced by participative learning. Students can be encouraged to participate in skits, one act plays, presentations, etc. Once they have a good command over the prescribed literary texts. Literature can be taught to students through audio-texts, music CDs, film clips etc that will help the students to understand the beauty of language without much difficulty. ELT experts lay emphasis on four skills- Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (LSRW). Through Literature, students can be taught all these four skills by paying attention to sentence structures and new vocabulary.

McRae (1994) is of the opinion that literary texts are representational rather than referential. Referential language is very informational and as a result, less appealing. On the other hand, representational language appeals to one’s emotions and as a result extremely interesting. Referential language appeals to the imagination of students and makes them empathetic towards the society as a whole. That’s why language used in popular songs or films can be retained for long, without a serious effort.

Literary texts may be chosen based on interest and relevance to students. The level of students should be checked thoroughly before recommending any literary texts. It is suggested that the texts be slightly shorter so that the students make finest use of them before the required time. Accurate preparation is essential to confirm that the learners get literary texts that are culturally suitable.

Duff and Maley (2007) raise a wide variety of questions in this regard. Some of the questions are:-

Is the material really interesting for the learners?
Is the literary style comprehensible?
Is it possible to complete the text within the schedule?

‘Duff and Maley (2007) also propose easy tasks to stimulate the interest of students. One should proceed gradually from easy tasks to difficult tasks. Teachers can completely exploit the material by conducting brainstorming sessions, pre-reading tasks etc for the benefit of students. Pulverness (2003) also supports this view and offers valuable advice for teachers to make learning English interesting.’

Values, character building, soft skills etc can be easily and effectively inculcated in students through literature. Professionalism without human touch is quite ominous. For example, the students should be exposed to literature from commonwealth countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc. This will help them to appreciate the cultures of different countries. Shaping the personality of the student is the need of the hour. Literature will play a pivotal role in this direction if it is inculcated in students right from the beginning.

Berardo (2006) and Wallace (1972) highlight the ‘importance of authenticity to make language learning a beautiful experience. In other words, students find it really fulfilling to read authentic texts instead of the artificial language used in certain sources. Certain factors should be taken into consideration while selecting authentic material in the ELT Classrooms. The factors are as follows:-

They should have a positive impact on students.
They should expose students to real language. (Language in day to day conversation).
They should cater to the different needs of the students.’

Literary texts will expose students to use the appropriate language according to the situation and condition. Cruz(2010) and Kramsch (1998) speak about the importance of fifth skill that is learning culture apart from the four skills – Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Students will really enjoy learning culture, which they firmly believe in and also accepted by society. Appropriate texts should be selected very cautiously, so that it can inculcate the desired cultural values in students. The important point to be noted is that the literature prescribed should be interesting and understandable. The ambience in the classroom changes dramatically with the introduction of literature.

Once the students get good command over the language, it will be easier for them to clear campus interviews, group discussions etc. There is no doubt that literature will help the learners to get good command over the language. In other words, language is something that has to be caught and not taught. If literature is made part of the curriculum in technical education, language learning will become a really enriching experience for the students.

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. Teaching English literature to SLL involves several important parts of English language like grammar, vocabulary, sentence structures, pronunciation, articulation, intonation, stress and of course language skills.

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. Literature in the form of prose provides information, apart from the knowledge of the concerned language in an interesting manner. The types of literary texts that can be studied inside and outside the ELT classroom include teaching of :

Prose/Short stories
Poems
Novels
Plays
Song Lyrics

Why use literature in the ELT classroom?

Literary texts provide occasions for multi-sensorial classroom experiences and can appeal to learners with different learning styles. Literature can help learners to develop their understanding of other cultures, awareness of ‘difference’ and to develop tolerance and understanding.

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.

How can literary texts be used?

Teachers can misuse literary texts in many ways in the classroom. Classroom work with literary works may involve pre-reading tasks, interactive work on the text and follow up activities.

Pulverness (2003) provides some useful advice:

Maximise pre-reading
Minimise the extent to which the teacher disturbs students’ reading.
Draw attention to stylistic peculiarity.
Help students to appreciate the ways that writers use language to achieve particular effects.
Provide frameworks for creative response.
Invite learners to step into the shoes of the writer or invite them to modify, extend or add to a text.’’

In recent years, the role of literature as a basic component and source of authentic texts of the language curriculum rather than an ultimate aim of English instruction has been gaining momentum. Among language educators, there has been a hot debate as to how, when, where, and why literature should be incorporated in ESL / EFL curriculum. Vigorous discussion of how literature and ESL / EFL instruction can work together and interact for the benefit of students and teachers has lead to the flourishment of interesting ideas, learning, and improved instruction for all. Many teachers consider the use of literature in language teaching as an interesting and worthy concern (Sage 1987:1).

Teaching Literature: why and what ?

The use of literature as a technique for teaching both basic language skills (i.e. reading, writing, listening and speaking) and language areas (i.e. vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation) is very popular within the field of foreign language learning and teaching nowadays. Moreover, in translation courses, many language teachers make their students translate literary texts like drama, poetry and short stories into the mother tongue. Since translation gives students the chance to practice the lexical, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic and stylistic knowledge they have acquired in other courses, translation both as an application area covering four basic skills and as the fifth skill is emphasized in language teaching. In the following section, why language teachers use literary texts in the foreign language classroom and main criteria for selecting suitable literary texts in foreign language classes are stressed so as to make the reader familiar with the underlying reasons and criteria for language teachers’ using and selecting literary texts.

Reasons for Using Literary Texts in Foreign Language Classes: According to Collie and Slater (1990:3), there are four basic reasons of using literature to teach language.

Valuable authentic material In reading literary texts, because students have also to cope with language intended for native speakers, they become familiar with many different linguistic forms, communicative functions and meanings.
Cultural enrichment: For many language learners literary works accelerate understanding of verbal / nonverbal aspects of communication how communication takes place in that country. A reader can discover the way the characters in such literary works see the world outside (i.e. their thoughts, feelings, customs, traditions, possessions; what they buy, believe in, fear, enjoy; how they speak and behave in different settings. This colorful created world can quickly help the foreign learner to feel for the codes and preoccupations that shape a real society through visual literacy of semiotics.
Language enrichment: Students also become more productive and adventurous when they begin to perceive the richness and diversity of the language they are trying to learn and begin to make use of some of that potential themselves. Thus, they improve their communicative and cultural competence in the authentic richness, naturalness of the authentic texts.
Personal involvement: Once the student reads a literary text, he begins to inhabit the text. He is drawn into the text. Understanding the meanings of lexical items or phrases becomes less significant than pursuing the development of the story. The student becomes enthusiastic to find out what happens as events unfold via the climax; he feels close to certain characters and shares their emotional responses. This can have beneficial effects upon the whole language learning process. At this juncture, the prominence of the selection of a literary text in relation to the needs, expectations, and interests, language level of the students is evident. In this process, he can remove the identity crisis and develop into an extrovert.

In addition to these four main reasons, universality, non-triviality, personal relevance, variety, interest, economy and suggestive power and ambiguity are some other factors requiring the use of literature as a powerful resource in the classroom context.

Maley (1989:12) lists some of the reasons for regarding literature as a potent resource in the language classroom as follows:

Universality
Non-triviality
Personal Relevance
Variety
Interest
Economy and Suggestive Power
Ambiguity

Literature as a Model for Writing: Literature and Writing Literature can be a powerful and motivating source for writing in ESL / EFL, both as a model and as subject matter. Literature as a model occurs when student writing becomes closely similar to the original work or clearly imitates its content, theme, organization, and /or style. However, when student writing exhibits original thinking like interpretation or analysis, or when it emerges from, or is creatively stimulated by, the reading, literature serves as subject matter.

There are three main kinds of writing that can be based on literature as a model:

1.Controlled Writing: Controlled model-based exercises which are used mostly in beginning-level writing typically require rewriting passages in arbitrary ways to practice specific grammatical structures. For instance, students can be reporters doing a live newscast, or they can rewrite a third person passage into first person from a character’s point of view.

2. Guided Writing: This activity corresponds to intermediate-level ESL / EFL. Students respond to a series of questions or complete sentences which, when put together, retell or sum up the model. In some cases, students complete the exercise after they receive the first few sentences or the topic sentence of a summary, paraphrase, or description. Guided writing exercises, especially at the literal level, enable students to comprehend the work. Model approach and scenario approach are very beneficial in this respect.

3.Reproducing the Model: This activity comprises techniques like paraphrase, summary, and adaptation. These techniques are very beneficial for ESL / EFL writing exercises. In paraphrasing, students are required to use their own words to rephrase the things that they see in print or hear aloud. Since paraphrase coincides with the students’ trying to make sense of the poem, it is a strikingly useful tool with poetry.

Summary work goes well with realistic short stories and plays, where events normally follow a chronological order and have concrete elements like plot, setting, and character to guide student writing. Adaptation requires rewriting prose fiction into dialog or, reversely, rewriting a play or a scene into narrative. This activity enables students to be aware of the variations between written and spoken English (Stern 1991:333).

Literature as Subject Matter for Writing: Finding appropriate material for their writing classes is sometimes difficult for composition teachers since writing has no subject matter of its own. One benefit of having literature as the reading content of a composition course is that the readings become the subject matter for compositions. Thus, they learn how to think creatively, freely and critically. Such training helps them in other courses, which require logical reasoning, independent thinking, and careful analysis of the text (Spack 1985:719).

There are mainly two kinds of writing based on literature as subject matter: writing “on or about” literature, and writing “out of ” literature. These categories are suitable and useful for ESL / EFL.

Writing “On or About” Literature Writing: “On or about literature” comprises the traditional assignments – written responses to questions, paragraph writing, in-class essays, and take-home compositions – in which students analyze the work or in which they speculate on literary devices and style. The teacher generally discusses its theme or an issue it raises, and the students write about it with reference to their own life experience. This helps interest them in the work and makes them ready for reading and writing about it. Most writing assignments done during as well as after the reading, however, derive from class discussion.

Writing “Out of” Literature Writing: “Out of” literature means making use of a literary work as a springboard for composition – creative assignments developed around plot, characters, setting, theme, and figurative language. Adding to the Work, Changing the Work, Drama-Inspired Writing and A Letter Addressed to Another Character, etc are its examples.

Adding to the Work: This comprises writing imaginary episodes or sequels, or, in the case of drama, “filling in” scenes for off-stage actions that are only referred to in the dialog.

Changing the Work: Students can make up their own endings by comparing the author’s ending to their own. Short stories can be rewritten in whole or in part from the point of view of a character versus a third person narrator or of a different character.

Drama-Inspired Writing: It is possible to derive drama-inspired writing activities from plays, short stories, novels, and sometimes poetry. The student steps into the consciousness of a character and writes about that character’s attitudes and feelings.

A Letter Addressed to Another Character: The student can write a letter to one of the characters, in which he / she gives the character personal advice about how to overcome a particular problem or situation (Stern 1991: 336).

Literature Promoting Speaking, and Listening: The study of literature in a language class, though being mainly associated with reading and writing, can play an equally meaningful role in teaching both speaking and listening. Oral reading, dramatization, improvisation, role-playing, pantomiming, reenactment, discussion, and group activities may center on a work of literature. Oral Reading Language teachers can make listening comprehension and pronunciation interesting, motivating and contextualized at the upper levels, playing a recording or video of a literary work, or reading literature aloud themselves. Having students read literature aloud contributes to developing speaking as well as listening ability. Moreover, it also leads to improving pronunciation. Pronunciation may be the focus before, during, and / or after the reading. Drama, needless to say, literature-based dramatic activities are valuable for ESL / EFL. They facilitate and accelerate development of the oral skills since they motivate students to achieve a clearer comprehension of a work’s plot and a deeper comprehension and awareness of its characters. When teaching English through literature, some of the group activities used in language classroom are general class discussion, small-group work, panel discussions, and debates. All of these group activities both develop the speaking abilities of the students and give importance to pronunciation practice. Teachers indicate pronunciation errors of the students during the act of such activities so as to correct such errors (Stern 1991:337).

Benefits of Different Genres of Literature to Language

Benefits of Using Poetry to Language Teaching:

Because most poetry consciously or unconsciously makes use of metaphor as one of its primary methods, poetry offers a significant learning process.
Students develop sensitivity for words and discoveries that may later grow into a deeper interest and greater analytical ability.
It provides readers with a different viewpoint towards language use by going beyond the known usages and rules of grammar, syntax and vocabulary.
It evokes feelings and thoughts in heart and in mind
It makes students familiar with figures of speech (i.e. simile, metaphor, irony, personification, imagery, etc.) due to their being a part of daily language use.
Students become familiar with stress, pitch, juncture, and intonation by studying poetry.
Through poetry, students can also study the semiotic elements in the target language. Semiotic elements constitute a cultural training as well.

Benefits of Using Short Stories to Language:

Teaching Short fiction is a supreme resource for observing not only language but also life
The world of short fiction both mirrors and illuminates human lives (Sage 1987:43).
It makes the students’ reading task easier due to being simple and short when compared with the other literary genres.
It facilitates teaching a foreign culture (i.e. serves as a valuable instrument in attaining cultural knowledge of the selected community,
It helps students to go beyond the surface meaning and dive into underlying meanings,
The use of a short story seems to be a very helpful technique in today’s foreign language classes. As it is short, it makes the students’ reading task and the teacher’s coverage easier.
Short fiction, like all other types of literature, makes contribution to the development of cognitive analytical abilities by bringing the whole self to bear on a compressed account of a situation in a single place and moment (Sage 1987:43).

Benefits of Using Drama to Language Teaching:

Using drama in a language classroom is a good resource for language teaching. It is through the use of drama that learners become familiar with grammatical structures in contexts and also learn about how to use the language to express, control and inform.
The use of drama raises the students’ awareness towards the target language and culture. In this context, the use of drama as a tool rather than an end gains importance in teaching a foreign language.
To put it differently, language learning should be culture-free but entirely not culture-biased. For this reason, the new language and the context of the drama should fuse into a language learning process with high interest, relevance and enjoyment.
Teaching of drama promotes language development and heightens effective listening skills.
It also strengthens comprehension and learning retention by involving the senses as an integral part of the learning process.
Drama is known for increasing creativity, originality, sensitivity, fluency, flexibility, emotional stability, cooperation, and examination of moral attitudes, while developing communication skills and appreciation of literature,
Benefits of Using Novel to Language Teaching The use of a novel is a beneficial technique for mastering not only linguistic system but also life in relation to the target language.
In novel, characters reflect what people really perform in daily lives. Novels not only portray but also enlighten human lives. Using novel in a foreign language class offers the following educational benefits:
It offers real life / real life like settings.
It paves the way for teaching the target language culture and enables students to go beyond what is written and dive into what is meant,
Presents a unique way of teaching reading by getting students involved and excited about the reading process and motivates students to become a lifelong reader.

PROBLEMS: Literature plays an important role in the English programs of ELLs. However, language teachers encounter many problems within the area of teaching English through literature. First, there are very few pedagogically designed appropriate materials that can be used by language teachers in a language classroom. Second, there is a lack of preparation in the area of literature teaching in TESL / TEFL programs. Third, there is the absence of clear-cut objectives defining the role of literature in ESL /EFL. Many instructors try to include literature in their classroom, but lack the background and training in that field.

REMEDIES: The teacher has an important role in teaching English through literature. First, he should determine the aim of language teaching in relation to the needs and expectations of the students. Giving a questionnaire or interviewing with the students orally, the teacher can set up the aim and the objectives of the language teaching.

Second, he should select the appropriate language teaching method, teaching techniques, and classroom activities. Then, the teacher should select the literary texts relevant to the aim and the objectives of his teaching. While selecting literary texts to be used in language classroom, the students’ language proficiency, interests, age, sex, etc should be taken into account in order not to bore students with inappropriate materials. At elementary levels, for example, students should be given simplified or specially written stories. At advanced levels, however, students are given literature in its original form so that they can develop their literary competence in the target language. To put it another way, students learn practically the figurative and daily use of the target language in the literary texts and encounter different genres of literature (i.e. poems, short stories, plays, etc. ) at advanced levels. Observing how characters in a play or a short story use figures of speech, such as simile, metaphor, metonymy, etc so as to express their communicative intention, students learn how to write English more clearly, creatively, and powerfully. As Obediat (1997:32) states, literature helps students acquire a native-like competence in English, express their ideas in good English, learn the features of modern English, learn how the English linguistic system is used for communication, see how idiomatic expressions are used, speak clearly, precisely, and concisely, and become more proficient in English, as well as become creative, critical, and analytical learners. Custodio and Sutton (1998:20) explain that literature can open horizons of possibility, allowing students to question, interpret, connect, and explore. In sum, literature provides students with an incomparably rich source of authentic material over a wide range of registers. If students can gain access to this material by developing literary competence, then they can effectively internalize the language at a high level (Elliot 1990:198). Especially, for students with verbal / linguistic intelligence, the language teacher’s using literature in a foreign language class serves for creating a highly motivating, amusing and lively lesson. Literature is not only a tool for developing the written and oral skills of the students in the target language but also is a window opening into the culture of the target language, building up a cultural competence in Language teaching is a process whose aim changes not only from country to country and culture to culture but from individual to individual. The problems faced in teaching foreign languages forced the teachers to find out and develop some new methods and techniques. The so called “Communicative Language Teaching”, which is very popular nowadays, gives credit to the use of the “authentic language” as it is used in a real-life context whenever possible.

CONCLUSION: A literary piece is not an end in itself but the means of beginning a creative process in the minds and emotions of the student. For many students literature can provide a key to motivating them to read in English. For all students, literature is an ideal vehicle for illustrating language use and for introducing cultural assumptions. The success, of course, in using literature greatly depends on the selection of texts, which will not be difficult on either linguistic or conceptual level. The use of literary texts, from language teaching point of view, will be useful, because these texts show how language works in contexts. Literary texts will help to realize the individual and societal developments.

you can view video on Teaching Language through Literature

Reference

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 ‘I’, Macmillan Education.
Pulverness, A (2003) ‘Literature’ in English Teaching Professional, October, Issue 29, Modern English Publishing.
Berardo, S.A. (2006). The use of authentic materials in the teaching of reading. The reading matrix
Wallace, C. (1992). Reading Oxford. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cruz, J.H.R. (2010). The role of literature and culture in English language teaching.
Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and Culture. Oxford: Oxford University.