Literature as Content For ESL/EFL

introduction

Benefits of using literature as content

1.

2.

3.

Show the importance of form in communication. Good resource for integrating the 4 skills. Raises cross-cultural awareness.

Defining literary texts

What makes literary texts unique is that the WHAT and HOW of the text are inseparable. How to say something is important in 2 ways:
1.

2.

How something is said often contributes to speakers achieving their purpose in communication. Deciding how something is said, speakers often communicate something about themselves.

The writer have the choice of what to say and what not to say. The writer make grammatical and lexical choices to define spatial and temporal frames.

Examples

Novels Stories Advertisements Newspapers headlines Jokes Pun

Literary Text And The Reader

Rosenblatt(1978) defines literary texts in terms of how readers interact with them.
Interaction
Efferent

can be:

reading Aesthetic reading

Stylistics and its advantages

Stylistics: literary text analysis. Advantages:

key to decode the text Basing the interpretation of systematic verbal Analysis reaffirms the centrality of the language as the aesthetic medium of literature. Easy for non-native speakers since they already have the systematic knowledge of the language.

other researchers say the focus on stylistics will prevent the reader from enjoying the

Using literary text to develop language Students will enjoy reading literature only if the text is accessible to them. The teacher should make sure that:

the theme of the text is engaging The linguistic and conceptual level are appropriate for the students.

characterization

Readers assess characters in a story based on what the character says and dose. How to assess:
Listing

the adjectives they believe best describe each character. return to the text to justify their interpretations Examine the language of the text.

Point of view

Three types of point of view:

Spatio-temporal

point of view

tenses & order of

events Ideological point of view

Psychological

critical literacy &reading literacy

point of view

Using literary texts to integrate skills

Reading Listening Speaking writing

Using literary texts to develop cultural awareness

Four dimensions of culture:

1.
2. 3.

4.

The aesthetic sense The sociological sense The semantic sense pragmatic sense