TEACHING LANGUAGE THROUGH
LITERATURE
Name: Bharti Dharaiya
M.A English semester: 4
Roll no: 03
Batch: 2019 - 2021
Enrollment No: 2069108420190008
Email id: bhartidharaiya123@gmail.com
Submitted to: Smt. S. B Gardi, Department of English, MKBU
Paper no- 16 : English Language Teaching 2
Topic : Teaching Language Through Literature
~ Introduction :
Language and Literature are the two sides of the same coin in the teaching and learning process in any language. Language skills like listening, speaking, reading and writing can be improved through Literature. The language process like pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary is learnt automatically when Literature is introduced in a natural process otherwise language learning becomes tough for the new learners. When the skills like listening and speaking involve the language study of grammar and vocabulary come in an easy way. Mother is the first teacher of us all in imparting the skill of making us speak our mother tongue. She never taught us the grammar separately. So easily we could pick up vocabulary when we learnt new words in meaningful activities.
~ What is teaching language through literature?
Teaching Literature needs the use of basic language skills like listening, speaking, reading and writing, and
language areas like vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, while teaching Grammar and translation teachers make their students translate literary texts like drama, poetry and short stories into the mother tongue.
Let us see why a language teacher is required to use literary texts in the language classroom and what type of literature language teachers are supposed to use in the class. We shall see the benefits as well.
# Views of Georgia's Rousseau, Immanuel Kant Ferdinand De Saussure And Noam Chomschyare :
Language is the ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication, The scientific study of language is called linguistics. Since Gorgias and Plato in Ancient Greece it has been debated whether words can represent experience as questions concerning the philosophy of language. Rousseau the great thinker has argued that language originated from emotions. Immanuel Kant was of the opinion that it originated from rational and logical thought. 20th-century philosophers such as Wittgenstein argued that philosophy is really the study of
language. Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomskyare the authorities for linguistics.
# Views of Collie And Slater :
Teaching Literature needs the use of basic language skills like listening, speaking reading and writing, and
language areas like vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, while teaching Grammar and translation teachers make their students translate literary texts like drama, poetry and short stories into their mother tongue.
# Views of Wordsworth and Dante:
Literature is the end and language is the means. Whenever we come in the close contact of the persons of
different tastes and nature, we are likely to have their some good or bad impression which needs our reaction
and when it becomes essential for us to put our ideas, we try to find some fine words and an impressive style to
make it literature. Our idea is based on some facts and when these facts are to be sprinkled on the paper, we
have to give them a tinge of imagination in order to give them a shape of literature. Wordsworth once said that “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” yet that spontaneous overflow requires a flowery language or appropriate words put in a unique style to make it literature. Hence Dante’s verdict is more correct when he says that “poetry and the language proper for it are an elaborate and painful toil.”
~ Why should literature be used in the language classroom?
If learners are to be encouraged to participate in a conversation in the classroom, they should be given meaningful content that will provoke their interest, capture their imagination and give them something important to talk about.
As Widdowson observes:
‘It’s not easy to see how learners at any level can get interested in and therefore motivated by a dialogue about buying stamps at a post office. There is no plot, no mystery, there is no character; everything proceeds as if communication never created a problem.
# Referential versus representational materials :
communicates on only one level, usually in terms of information being sought or given, or of a social situation being. It is the language used in everyday communication mainly for transactional purposes.
The texts presented in FL textbooks are usually expository in which information is given explicitly, words are used with their denotative meaning and there is almost no figurative language.
~ The Importance of Teaching English Through The Use of Literature :
Literature is full of good and bad examples that can help us to inspire our students while teaching English, and if you want to start digging this topic deeper.
EFL Teachers mainly focus on the development of their students’ skills according to what society demands, and as a consequence, we are forgetting about literature.
# Length of the text :
It would be manageable for students as well as teachers to select text shorter in length.
Literature can make the teaching of a language more fun. It helps us to talk about grammar and sentences with our students in an interactive way. We can talk about interesting topics, encourage our students to express their points of view and introduce controversial topics and more in depth topics, like Translations.
# Select the right text :
Selecting the right text for the students is the most important, yet most overlooked step.
The text should be engaging for the students, and this depends more on our class than on the Author. What 10 years olds find interesting is very different from what is interesting for 17 years olds, and again, adults have a completely different sensitivity than teenagers.
# Length of the text :
A text that is too short might fail to involve the students, but one that is too long could be boring or difficult to follow. Also, keep in mind that everyone has a different approach to reading and the topic selected makes a big difference.
# Language and culture :
Sometimes it is not possible for teachers to arrange meetings for their students with native speakers to learn their culture. Teaching literature can help them to partly solve this issue.
As language and culture are intertwined, learning any language implies also learning about a new culture.
Literature is the reflection of life. Writers write about their society and culture in different literary pieces. Any piece of literature can help students to learn the culture of that very language. This will help students to take interest in the target language and they will be able to communicate accordingly in different situations. This will be elaborated on through different examples.
# Learning proverbs with literature
Proverbs are an interesting and fun way to learn a language and discover the culture behind it.
Most of the proverbs in a language come from popular wisdom or pieces of literature that became so popular that they reached another level.
Through learning these proverbs, students can make their language more effective.
Examples:
Christopher Marlowe
Hell is just a frame of mind
Fools that will laugh on earth, most weep in hell
What nourishes me destroys me
Charles Dickens
It was the best of time, it was the worse of time
What greater gift than the love of a cat.
~ How Literature Can Influence the English Language Learning?
As far as we remember we used to look forward to the English Literature classes every week when we were in high-school. Were you as excited about new stuff and great information taken from the class?
Since English has become an internationally important language, more and more people are studying it. “ The study of literature allows people to develop new ideas and ethical standpoints, and can help individuals to present themselves as educated members of society. Studying literature can be an enriching, eye-opening experience”.
The next two points are to help teachers in the hard labour of keeping students interested in Literature.
# USEFUL QUESTIONS THAT TEACHERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF
€ What has been your experience, as a teacher, when using Literature?
€ Do you prefer using original literary texts or short versions for your students?
€ What kind of supplementary material, if any, would you use to raise students’ motivation?
€ How can you include the four skills when using Literature in class?
# SOME TIPS TO INCLUDE LITERATURE IN AN ELT CONTEXT
~ Students can learn about allusions and references to different aspects of English culture.
~ They can also learn the context and meaning of famous quotes and phrases.
~ When studying Literature, students can improve not only language such as vocabulary, but also the language that can be used for specific purposes.
~ The study of Literature can provide students with a fresh and creative angle with which they can approach their studies in particular and their lives in general.
~ Conclusion :
Literature has been proven as a great tool to approach English language and English culture. Even though there are students and teachers that consider it as too abstract or boring, we, as teachers now and students in the past, have experienced the situation and we can say that it works. It gets you closer to the language, culture as well as customs and it is always a way of learning how to write and spell correctly. Teachers should make literature interesting for students.
~ Reference :
~ Dr. Vivek Mehrotra. Teaching Language Through Literature, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D4DyY1k64gjJwDGzw9WHLC9zDW-Ms3Q_/view?usp=drivesdk
~ Formación Profesorado.
How Literature Can Influence the English Language Learning?
~ Shauna Aziz. The Importance of Teaching English Through The Use of Literature, https://galleryteachers.com/2021/03/the-importance-of-teaching-english-through-the-use-of-literature/
Comments
Post a Comment