Assignment on significance of Literature for language teaching.

Provide some ways to

use literature for developing task for language teaching

Farhan Shafi
M.A (ELT) 4th semester
17 ETM-28
Paper: Teaching Grammar and Usage- B
Submitted to: Prof. Mohd Rizwan Khan

“ Literature just adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary
competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts
that our lives have already become” C.S.Lewis (British Scholar and Novelist, 1898-1963).

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 international 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 enriching, eye-opening experience” ( Joshua Cruz, eHow contributor,
www.eHow.com).

Traditionally, the role of Literature was not taken into consideration in English Language
Teaching programs due to the importance given only to functional language. Today, Literature
in second language classes has a very important linguistic input for students and it is a valuable
source for learners’ motivation.

* Usually, students who study only English Language emphasising on reading and writing skills,
sometimes fail to see the point of studying English literature, especially if they have no plans to
study English or Translation at University. But English Literature can introduce students to a
range of aspects, not only of the English Language but also of the English culture.

There are parts of the English culture that are “encapsulated” by English Literature. Of course
this is quite evident when studying the works of Shakespeare or other writers, poets and
playwrights of last centuries.

Teachers are the basic pillars to reach students through literature trying to attract them to this
field that can be interesting to everyone. Teachers should think about everything that they are
going to do without falling in boredom and keep their students interested in the topic. Also we,
as teachers, consider that we are the ones who must make students get closer to Literature so
that they can realise that it is not as abstract as they think, trying to avoid their frustration. Also it
is useful to have literary texts and their analysis easier made for students.
The next two points are to help teachers in the hard labour of keeping students interested in
Literature.

SOME TIPS TO INCLUDE LITERATURE IN AN ELT CONTEXT:

1. Students can learn about allusions and references to different aspects of English culture.

2. They can also learn the context and meaning of famous quotes and phrases.

3. When studying Literature, students can improve not only language such as vocabulary, but
also the language that can be used for specific purposes.

4. 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.

5. English Literature makes students learn about their creativity and imagination, interacting with
the text themselves, and playing different literary roles.

6. Literature must be presented as an authentic task, so the students can get through the texts
discovering their different learning styles.

7. Students can live literature not only read it. Plays can be represented so that students can be
immersed in a different time and into a different person.

8. By following the histories presented throughout English Literature, it is possible to understand

how contemporary Western culture has developed into what it is today.

9. Reading new words and new phrases can increase any one’s lexicon.

“ The study of literature offers many ways to improve literacy: it gives access to language,
reading, writing, a shared culture and one’s own self. “ (J.Trounstine, “Literature in Prison?” ).

10. Through the reading of literary texts, students can develop their autonomy and
independence, making hypothesis and guessing unfamiliar words.

11. The use of authentic literary texts give learners the opportunity to connect to real world
issues at the time they can learn true values for their lives.

TASK
 Paragraph on child labour

1. The problem of child labour in India is a reality. Clearly, the situation of these children violates
the fundamental right to education, right to childhood and equal opportunity to participate as
equal citizens of this country.
2. Child labour is more or less synonymous with poverty. The only way to break the cycle of
poverty that envelops the lives of little children who are employed as child labourers is to ensure
that they have access to education in accordance with the 86th Amendment to the Constitution.
However, today, the law allows children to work and makes no distinction between hazardous
and non-hazardous child labour. There is no bar for children below 14 years to work in non-
hazardous industries.
3. The legislation, therefore, condones and allows millions of children to be subjected to the
hazards of not being in school and working in sometimes extremely difficult and exploitative
conditions.4. A child can either be in school at a young and tender age or be made to earn a
living. The two cannot be reconciled and the present law is therefore not satisfactory. Free and
compulsory education can only be a reality when all forms of child labour are excluded and
when distinctions between hazardous and non-hazardous forms of labour are removed. This
would, then, be in line with all international laws and conventions that India has signed.
5. It is heartening to note that the government has decided to ban the employment of children
below the age of 14 as domestic help and in dhabas, teashops, restaurants, hotels and resorts.
6. As always, in our country, the new order will likely trigger many conflicting reactions. While
many who have worked for years in this area are now optimistic, some civil society
organisations and non-governmental organisations will be critical and sceptical.
7. There is some cause for this. There have been many failures to monitor, rehabilitate and
enforce the ban where it is already in force, such as in the hazardous sector. Therefore, it would
be appropriate for the government to immediately devise a mechanism for the rehabilitation of
children, their admission into schools and for their ultimate employment through counselling,
skill building and special educational opportunities.
8. The advantages of this new policy are that many children in urban and rural areas would now
be much less exposed to psychological hurt, severe trauma, physical danger and even sexual
abuse.
9. Having said this, it is still true that India is home to, perhaps, the largest number of child
labourers in the world today. The estimates today are alarming, ranging from about 12 million to
about 100 million children according to the government NGOs and other sources. These
children are steeped in poverty and most of them are part of the informal economy, both in the
agriculture and urban sectors, where the reach of the law is hardly visible.

Answer the Questions:

1. Choose the correct option:
(a) The root cause of child labour is…………..
(i) illiteracy (ii) population (iii) poverty (iv) absence of laws
(b) A child must get the opportunity to ……………..
(i) earn money (ii) while away time
 (iii) get education (iv) visit school
(c) Which amendment to the Constitution enforces free education to children below 14 years of
age?
(i) 80th (ii) 86th
(iii) 83rd (iv) 85th
(d) In which country is the largest number of child labourers found?
(i) Pakistan (ii) Ghana
(iii) Egypt (iv) India
(e) In paragraph 6, the word ‘sceptical’ means:
(i) untrue (ii) deceitful (iii) doubtful (iv) hollow
(f) Child labour can be found …………..
(i) everywhere in the world (ii) only in some Indian states
(iii) both in the agriculture and urban sectors (iv) in places of anarchy
2.Answer the following questions briefly:

(a) What is the root cause of child labour?

(b) Which recent changes have been so heartening?

(c) What is the biggest challenge before the government?

(d) What are the benefits of the ban?

(e) Replace the wrongly used word in the following sentence—’Child labour is anonymous with
poverty.

(f) Write a new word by adding a prefix in the word ‘force’ to make it a verb.

Give the suitable title for this passage?

Reference:
http://edumantra.net
/writers-bureau.

CONCLUSIONS:

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 bored, 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.

That is the reason why this quotation resumes in one sentence what we truly think: “Literature
will increase all language skills because literature will extend linguistic knowledge” Povey
(1972:18)