Approaches To Teaching Literature

APPROACHES TO THE TEACHING OF LITERATURE

Approaches to teaching literature are integrally related to the reasons why literature is studied.

WHAT IS AN APPROACH?

Anthony (1963) defines it as “a set of assumptions dealing with the nature of language, learning and teaching”. Brown (2001) defines approach as “theoretically well-informed positions and beliefs about the nature of language, the nature of language learning and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings”. Moody (1983) cited by Diana Hwang & Amin Embi (2007) explains that the importance of an approach is to “provide a framework, or sequence of operations to be used when we come to actualities”.

If the above definitions are adhered to, then it can be concluded the instructional

b) The Stylistic Approach: Here the focus is more on literature as a ‘text’ and the language used in it. Focus is on linguistic analysis for comprehension for the purpose of making interpretations and therefore suitable for ESL/EFL learners.

Carter (1991) identified three approaches:

a) The Cultural Model- In this model, the purpose of teachers is to teach cultural notions through literature such as history, literary theories, biographical background of authors, etc.

b) The Personal Growth Model – Teachers here concentrate on enabling learners to respond to the literary experience by connecting it to their own real life experiences. The aim is to develop characters of the learners.

c) The Language Model- This approach is more suitable for ESL learners as the aim is language awareness and language development.

Hwang (2006) has identified six common approaches to the teaching of

“The approach is student-centered and therefore, activities like prediction, cloze, ranking tasks, role play, poetry recital, forum, debate and discussions can be used to create opportunities for language use in the classroom (Carter, 1996; Rosli, 1995). The emphasis of this approach is on the elicitation of students ' response to a text. Rosli (1995) asserts that the reason behind it is to motivate and encourage students to read by making a connection between the themes of a text and his or her personal life and experiences. Hirvela (1996) explains that responses are personal as they are concerned with students ' feelings and opinions about the literary text. This approach focuses on activities like question-discussions (Rosli, 1995), activities which are interpretative in nature generating views and opinions on the text (Hirvela, 1996) and brainstorming, guided fantasy, small group discussions, revealing students ' reactions in a short