USING "LITERATURE" IN
LANGUAGE TEACHING
Faruk TÜRKER
INTRODUCTION:
• Language teaching is a process whose aim changes
not only from country to country and culture to
culture but from individual to individual.
• The so called "Communicative Language Teaching",
which is very popular nowadays, gives credit to the
use of the "authentic language" as it is used in a
real life context whenever possible.
WHA T IS LITERATURE?
• According to Moody literature is like an umbrella term
giving information on every business (Moody, 1971;1).
• Therefore literature, for being interested in every kind of
written and spoken business, can be defined as
expressing a specific subject e.g. literature for
construction, literature for medicine, literature for child
raising texts may express the author's style. I
PROBLEMS IN TEACHING LITERATURE IN
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
• In some cases, it is itself a situation taken from the
absurd, in which the students are supposed to read
books in a language they hardly understand and
then they discuss structure, the author's style etc.
• Under such circumstances, it may be absurd to
believe that the students are learning anything of
significance.
• The idea of using plays may come as
response to this situation. To have the
students deal with originals in a fırst course,
use the language creatively, improve their
language level, loose themselves from the
claws of the dictionary, respond positively to
the subject and learn some literature.
CLASSROOM PRACTICE
• The course may be structured in five stages.
1. Introducing theory and reading the plays.
2. Creative writing
3. Performative Exercises
4. Playwriting
5. Producing and Performing Students' Plays
INTRODUCING THEORY AND
READING THE PLAYS.
• In the fırst stage, the presentation of outline
of the course' setting schedules, distributing
the reading list are introduced.
• Plays are always a good echoic for beginners.
CREATIVE WRITING
• students are encouraged to produce material from their own insights
1. THE FIRST EXERCISE IS WORD ASSOCIATION. The teacher says a
word, such as black, and the students immediately write down a chain
of words that popped into their minds.
2. THE SECOND EXERCISE CONSISTS OF WRITING DOWN DREAMS,
TRYING TO JOT DOWN IDEAS AND IMAGES AS SOON AS THE
STUDENTS WAKE UP, RATHER THAN WRITING LOGICAL
COMPOSITIONS.
• The students are also encouraged to write down dialogues overheard on
buses and in the streets (when the English speaking tourist could be
found), and then read them aloud in English in class at the end of these
exercise
PERFORMATIVE EXERCISES
• Performance time!
• the students are well acquainted and there is
little embarrassment left
• performing exercises may be very difficult for
a teacher who does not feel at ease acting in a
classroom.
PLAYWRITING
• one of the students 'dream is selected and each one has to write a
dialogue on his dream and the students improvise a sketch based
on that dialogue.
• Three students who are reluctant to perform are asked to observe
the sketch and write down the parts they consider most relevant
• Some passages from the dialogue are repeated. but others are
created on the spot
• All communications in English, and the students even start to
speak English among themselves outside the class.
PRODUCING AND PERFORMING
STUDENTS' PLAYS
• The fifth stage is the time coming for the students to
define roles; who is to be the director, the producer, the
program writer, the leader ow the discussion, and players.
• The students are so enthusiastic that they come during
off-hours to rehearse. There is almost no need to
memorize parts; since the student shave conceived and
worked on the text together
THE COMMON ARGUMENTS AGAINST
USING LITERATURE IS AS FOLLOWS:
• First, since one of our main goals as foreign language teachers IS
TO TEACH THE GRAMMAR OF THE LANGUAGE, literature, due
to its structural complexity and its unique use of language, does
little to contribute to this goal.
• Second, literature often reflects a particular cultural perspective,
thus, on a conceptual level, it may be quite difficult for students
• Finally, the study of literature will contribute nothing to this goal.
These arguments certainly need to be addressed if we are to reach
a decision as to whether or not to use literature.
USAGE
• As foreign language teachers we all share the objective of
promoting our students' awareness of the structure of the
language.
• However, Widdowson (1978; 3) points out two levels of linguistic
knowledge as; THE LEVEL OF USAGE and the level OF USE.
• According to his definition usage involves a knowledge of rules,
whereas use entails knowing how to use these rules for effective
communication.
THE COURSE CAN BE CONSIDERED
SUCCESSFUL IN SEVERAL ASPECTS
1. It enables the students to improve their written
and oral English
2. It also helps them to relax when communicating in
a foreign language
3. They understand principles by practicing them
and develop a critical attitude toward cultural
habits.
THE USE OF LITERARY TEXTS IN
LANGUAGE TEACHING CAN BE
SUMMARIZED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Literary texts will help not only to improve reading but listening, speaking and
writing skills as well
2. It is possible to understand and get general information related with experiences
and events in real-life by using and analyzing literary texts
3. Literary texts will help to realize the individual and societal developments. They
make the readers to improve themselves culturally and educationally in
accordance with their emotional features. They also remove mother tongue
interferences.
4. Literary texts make the students acquire analyzing and criticizing skills
NEEDLESS TO SAY USING LITERARY TEXTS IS VERY HELPFUL
FOR THE STUDENTS TO ACQUIRE, OR LEARN, HOW
LANGUAGE WORKS IN REAL CONTEXTS. BUT THE
FOLLOWING CRITERIA SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO
CONSIDERATION
1. The texts should be chosen carefully, because it should
not be forgotten that in these texts there may be
grammatical, linguistic, and literal difficulties.
2. Literary texts should include the structures and
vocabulary previously learned. In that there should not
be difficult and ambiguous structures.
3. You should deal with linguistic and grammatical sides as
well and avoid to make the lesson as if the author
teaches.
"Literature will increase all
language skills because literature
will extend linguistic knowledge"
