Teaching EFL/ESL literature (original) (raw)
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A Study of the Effect of Using Narratives on Iranian EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension Ability
Abstract: The importance of narratives as a significant type of literary texts and their presence in all aspects of society and social experiences of ours by and large is not hidden to anyone; the ever-presence of narratives in every age, every place and in every language is completely tangible. As such, the role and influence of narratives in language learning and in teaching an L2 have almost ever been a considerable debate among experts: psycholinguists, SLA researchers, and language educationalists. In this respect, the present study attempts to investigate the relationship between the use of narratives in EFL environments and its probable effects on EFL learners’ reading comprehension abilities compared to using non-narratives. To do so, 87 Persian native-speaking Arak university students majoring in English Translation were selected from among 98 ones and were put into three homogeneous intact groups: two experimental groups, namely, Narrative and Non-narrative groups (consisting of 28 and 35 participants, respectively) and one control group consisting of 24 participants. Three short narrative texts and three non-narrative ones with Flesch Reading Ease scores between 65 and 75 were selected from a large body of existing texts and were used as tasks of elicitation. The results of statistical comparisons between the performance of the groups indicated the over performance of the Narrative experimental group over the Non-narrative experimental group, and both experimental groups over the control group, thus showing the effects of using narratives on EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. Possible reasons for this over-performance and implications of the findings for language teaching will be discussed.
Selected Prose Characteristics of an ESL Narrative and Their Effect on Comprehension
1980
A study was conducted to explore the effect of systematically modifying story structure propositions and pronoun antecedents on monolingual, English-speaking students. The study was a replication of earlier work that had involved bilingual students. Thirty fourth-grade students were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Those in the first group read the original version of a story, those in the second group read a version that had been rewritten at the sentence level to provide explicit antecedents for 20 obscure pronouns without significantly altering the propositional density of the original, and those in the third group read a version in which trivial propositions that seemed to detract from the predictable structure had been removed. Each student read the story silently and then retold it. Following the retelling, the student was given a probed recall test designed to assess comprehension of the goal of the story as well as success in identifying obscure pronoun referents. The results showed that the students benefited from story material displaying semantic features of discourse that encourage comprehension as well as decoding ease. These features include a predictable story structure and propositions that are salient because they contribute to rather then detract from comprehension. The findings are consistent with those of the earlier study. (FL)
Integrating Literature in the ESL Classroom: A Case Study
With the appearance of the Communicative Approach in the late 70's and very early 80's, using literature in the English classroom was ignored. The tendency in the EFL classrooms was to teach " usable, practical " content. However, since the 1980s literature has found its way back into the EFL classroom to improve communicative and cultural competence and enhance " critical thinking " (Bretz, 1990: 335). Besides, studies, like those of Lazar (1993), Cook (1994), and Shanahan (1997), strongly recommend the integration of literary texts into the ESL/EFL curriculum. Many writings on this subject advocate a content-focused curriculum that includes literature (Liddicoat and Crozet 2000). Practice showed that using literature in language teaching is very beneficial as it led to cultural enrichment, language advancement, and personal growth. This is in line with Erkaya (2005) views on the benefit of integrating literature in the English curriculum. The paper shows how literature was integrated in the general English classroom and how it played a role in equipping students with a number of skills including critical thinking, analytical skills, formulating and expressing independent opinions, presenting one's own interpretations independently, improving language competence, such as reading, speaking and writing skills. It also played a role in enhancing their cultural awareness. The paper also discusses the challenges and perspectives of introducing literature into foreign language curriculum.
The role of narrative input in the New Headway ESL course books
Language Matters, 2008
Literature, while perceived as beneficial, is not widely used in the ESL arena. This study set out to investigate proven benefits of using literature in ESL through a review of the current research, at the same time establishing a link between literature and narrative based on 'story grammar' which biological determinism claims the human brain is hardwired to use as a language learning tool. Hypothesizing that there would be no correlation between theory regarding the presence and application of literature in ESL as presented in the current research and the practice as found in the prominent ESL course, New Headway, the study set out to identify narrative input in New Headway's Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced Levels and analyzing the way in which narrative is used to teach language skills and communicative competence. Contrary to expectations a surprisingly high level of narrative was found and the narrative was exploited in full accordance with suggestions made in the current research. The findings indicate that the incorporation of narrative in New Headway is a pedagogically informed decision by the authors to exploit the benefits of literature while at the same time catering to a very heterogeneous audience of international ESL learners.
The use of literature as an advanced technique for teaching English in the EFL/ ESL classroom.
En el presente trabajo se investigan y analizan el alcance y la importancia del discurso literario en la adquisición de una lengua extranjera. El enfoque planteado en esta investigación combina cinco perspectivas esenciales en la enseñanza de la literatura a los estudiantes de inglés como segunda lengua: la herencia cultural, las habilidades del lenguaje, las funcionales, las de crítica literaria y las del crecimiento personal. Integradas en único modelo, no sólo ayudan a los estudiantes a desarrollar las habilidades lingüísticas y las diferentes áreas de una lengua, sino que también les ofrecen un contacto directo con la cultura de esta segunda lengua. Todo esto favorece entre los estudiantes una mejor comprensión de su propia identidad y de la complejidad del mundo que les rodea. Palabras clave: enfoque de género, literatura, cultura, currículo de la lengua.
Using Insights from Cognitive Literary Study to Teach ESL / EFL Reading
Language Education in Asia, 2011
The paper presents an attempt to use literary texts to build ESL / EFL learners' critical thinking skills and intercultural competence. The proposed approach emphasizes the dialogic nature of the writer-reader relationship in texts; informed by cognitive literary studies, it taps students' affective response to fictional characters while also grounding their instinctive understanding in close reading. A small-scale study conducted to test the effectiveness of this method is also discussed. It is claimed that the subjects, undergraduate ESL students, benefited from the approach by becoming aware of their active role in creating meaning and learning to step outside their culturally determined perspective.
EXPLOITATION OF LITERARY TEXTS IN TEACHING ESL/EFL
This paper describes and discusses how an English literary text can be exploited to develop a number of skills for ESL/EFL learners who may wish to achieve communicative competence in the target language. Literary texts, selected properly, can help students imitate the real-life situations in which they are expected to be able to use the target language. In this paper, I shall fi rst describe the criteria, suggested by Brumfi t (1996), used for selecting a literary text to be used in a classroom situation and then discuss how I used an English literary text to help my learners enhance their varied competencies in the target language. Finally, I summarize the results of a brief analysis based on my learners' responses to the different activities designed using the English literary text I selected for classroom treatment.
Using Literature for Language Teaching in ESOL
1996
In English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), there is renewed interest in use of literature in the communicative classroom. Literature may be part of a communicative pedagogy in three ways: (1) by providing a context in which to develop students' reading strategies and knowledge of non-fiction and literary texts; (2) by being the basis of an extensive reading program, with attendant acquisition of new vocabulary and grammatical forms; and (3) by offering the opportunity to explore cross-cultural values. One reading strategy found useful for encouraging reading is the exploration of story grammar, which provides common terms of reference and a direction for group discussion. As students learn about story grammar and understand how to apply it to stories they are reading, an extensive reading program should be undertaken, with students selecting their own reading materials from a classroom shelf or from a self-access area in the library. Related classroom activities include ...
International journal of language and literary studies, 2022
Over the years, literature education has been part of the curriculum in the Philippines. Literature, as a discipline, is embraced as a springboard in English classes as it helps to increase the language ability of the learners. However, the curriculum does not develop learners to be readers and appreciative of literature. Thus, it is challenging for literature teachers to present and teach literary texts in interesting, compelling, and attractive ways to develop a genuine love for literature. English textbooks include literary texts in instructional and learning materials for the learners because literature is language-based, which provides patterns for students to develop structural acquisition of the language. In time, learners are fond of stories that successfully hold their attention to the literature and the language. Lazar (2008) claimed that literature could be