Name:

Hermenegildo Jacinto Feliciano Simião

Topic: The importance of using literature in class

Maxixe
English course
September 2019
 Name:
Hermenegildo Jacinto Feliciano Simião

Topic: The importance of using literature in class

Assay of didactics of
literature to be handed at the
department of science of
communication and art for
assessment purpose

Ma. Arsénio Chelengo

Maxixe
English course
September 2019
Table of contents

Introduction................................................................................................................................3

Motivating Material................................................................................................................... 4

Access to Cultural Background..................................................................................................4

Encouraging Language Acquisition...........................................................................................4

Expanding Students' Language Awareness................................................................................5

Developing Students' Interpretative Abilities............................................................................ 5

Educating The Whole Person.....................................................................................................5

Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6

Reference………………………………………………………..……………………………..7
INTRODUCTION
In many countries around the world, literature is highly valued. For this reason, students of
English may experience a real sense of achievement at tackling literary materials in the
classroom. This happens since the scholars discovered the value of using literary texts in the
class.
In this assay I refer to some of the aspects that tend to encourage the students to learn through
this kind of texts. These aspects include being motivating material; access to cultural
background; encouraging language acquisition; expanding students' language awareness;
developing students' interpretative abilities and educating the whole person.
MOTIVATING MATERIAL
According to Gilliam Lazar (1993) ‘If students are familiar with literature in their own
language, then studying some literature in English can provide an interesting and thought-
provoking point of comparison’. This may apply equally well if students come from a culture
with a rich oral tradition, where the body of written literature is fairly restricted. Asking
students to retell short stories from their own culture, for example, before getting them to
read an authentic story in English on a similar theme, could be highly motivating.

ACCESS TO CULTURAL BACKGROUND

Literature can provide students with access to the culture of the people whose language they
are studying. Taking into account that English is now used globally as a first, second and
foreign language, we can think on how far the language can be separated from culture.
Literary texts in English reflect the rich and fascinating diversities of our world. They are
written by authors living in many different countries and widely divergent cultures. By
exposing our students to literature English, it seems to be asking them to think about the
range of cultures from which literature in English is produced. Using literature with our
students may enable them to gain useful and often surprising perceptions about how the
members of a society might describe or evaluate their experiences (Gilliam Lazar 1993). But
as this description is very likely to be only a partial one, we should encourage students to
treat it critically.

ENCOURAGING LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

In many countries around the world students have fairly limited access to spoken and written
English. Literature may provide a particularly appropriate way of stimulating this acquisition,
as it provides meaningful and memorable contexts for processing and interpreting new
language. Obviously, at lower levels, students may be unable to cope on their own with an
authentic novel or short story in English. But at higher levels, students may be so absorbed in
the plot and characters of an authentic novel or short story, that they acquire a great deal of
new language almost in passing. The reading of literature then becomes an important way of
supplementing the inevitably restricted input of the classroom. And if recorded literary
material is available, then students can acquire a great deal of new language by listening to it.
Within the classroom itself, the use of literary texts is often a particularly successful way of
promoting activities where students need to share their feelings and opinions, such as
discussions and group work.

EXPANDING STUDENTS' LANGUAGE AWARENESS

It has been argued that by asking students to explore sophisticated uses of language, we are
also encouraging them to think about the norms of language use (Widdowson, 1975). In order
to understand the stylistic effect of the words, students will need to be aware of how they
differ from more common usage. In the context of a novel or short story this may even help
students to interpret its underlying themes more easily. By focussing on the use of the verb
we are helping students not only to become aware of specific stylistic effects in the literary
work, but also to consider how this effect is achieved by departing from a norm. Using
literature with students can help them to become more sensitive to some of the overall
features of English.

DEVELOPING STUDENTS' INTERPRETATIVE ABILITIES

It has been argued that literature is a particularly good source for developing students'
abilities to infer meaning and to make interpretations (Gilliam Lazar 1993). This is because
literary texts are often rich in multiple levels of meaning, and demand that the reader/ learner
is actively involved in teasing out the unstated implications and assumptions of the text. In a
poem, for example, a word may take on a powerful figurative meaning beyond its fixed
dictionary definition. Trying to ascertain this significance provides an excellent opportunity
for students to discuss their own interpretations, based on the evidence in the text.

EDUCATING THE WHOLE PERSON

Literature may also have a wider educational function in the classroom in the sense that it can
help to stimulate the imagination of our students, to develop their critical abilities and to
increase their emotional awareness. According to Lazar (1993) ‘If we ask students to respond
personally to the texts we give them, they will become increasingly confident about
expressing their own ideas and emotions in English’. They will feel empowered by their
ability to grapple with the text and its language, and to relate it to the values and traditions of
their own society.
CONCLUSION

It has been said that literary texts supplemented by tape recording, videos, audios and lyrics
tend to experience a real sense of achievement since was discovered its relevance in the
leaning process.
In this assay I discussed the role of using literary texts in the classroom where I referred to
motivating material in a sense that students become extremely motivated when coming to
experiment a literary texts or a lyric in learning a language. It helps the students to access to
cultural background since literary texts are written by authors living in many different
countries and widely divergent cultures. By this they expand their culture to other places
which is going to be known through listening or reading literary texts.
It was also said that literary texts encourage language acquisition once they provide
meaningful and memorable contexts for processing and interpreting new language which tend
to expanding students' language awareness and developing their interpretative abilities once
literary texts are often rich in multiple levels of meaning that provide an excellent opportunity
for students to discuss their own interpretations, based on the evidence in the text.
References
 Lazar G. (1993) Literature and language teaching: a guide for teachers and trainers,
University Press; Cambridge.
 Widdowson, H. G. (1975) Stylistics and the Teaching of Literature, Longman.
 Widdowson, H. G. (1984) Explorations in Applied Linguistics 2, Oxford University
Press.