Diving into literature: Why we took the plunge!
Presented at
Standing Corrected: Fluency, Accuracy and Reality (TESL Canada 2011)
by
Amy Abe, Karen Bradley, Jacqui Dumas, Kerry Louw and Bonnie Nicholas
The books
These are some books that we have used successfully in our classes.
(Please note that these are all the original books and not the graded readers.)
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Animal Farm (George Orwell)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)
The Cay (Theodore Taylor)
The Giver (Lois Lowry)
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
Through Black Spruce (Joseph Boyden)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbit)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
The Whale Rider (Witi Ihimaera)
Some references and resources
Bringhurst, R. (2004). The solid form of language. Kentville, NS: Gaspereau Press.
Gurria-Quintana, A. (2006). Words on the street. Financial Times, March 6. Retrieved
from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/79ffff84-a9a4-11da-9f4e-0000779e2340.html
Hoecherl-Alden, G. (2006). Connecting language to content: Second language literature instruction at the
intermediate level. Foreign Language Annals, 39(2), 244-254. DOI: 1081142891
Kim, M. (2004). Literature discussions in adult L2 learning. Language and Education, 18(2),145-166.
Paran, A. (2008). The role of literature in instructed foreign language learning and teaching: An evidencebased survey. Language Teaching, 41(4), 465-496. (DOI: 10.1017/S02614480800520X)
Scott, V.M. & Huntington, J.A. (2007). Literature, the interpretive mode and novice learners. The Modern
Language Journal, 91(i), 3-14.
Weist, V.D. (2004). Literature in lower-level courses: Making progress in both language and reading skills.
Foreign Language Annals, 37(2), 209-223.
Wood, James. (2008). How fiction works. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.
www.enotes.com (This is a great website with over 3500 study guides, plus other resources.)
Contact us:
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Amy Abe: vallis.abe@gmail.com
Karen Bradley: kbradley@emcn.ab.ca
Jacqui Dumas: dumasj5@macewan.ca
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Kerry Louw: kerry.louw@norquest.ca
Bonnie Nicholas:
bonnie.nicholas@norquest.ca
Some suggested writing tasks
by
Amy Abe
In addition to activities we do based around language - idioms, figurative language,
grammar, pragmatics, summarizing/paraphrasing, etc. - these are some of the tasks we've
completed for two of the four novels we have studied in class. These activities can easily be
linked to the CLBs (in fact, are based around them) and can be adapted/adjusted for level.
The tasks below are for a reading/writing class.
The Cay
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create a map of the cay with a legend/key based on the details in the novel
write a persuasive letter taking either grandmother's or grandfather's perspective,
persuading Phillip's parents to stay or leave Curacao
write a first-person journal entry for Phillip's mother or father after the attack on the
ship
create a newspaper article or radio news story about the attack on the ship and
missing boy
write a newspaper article or radio news story about the finding of Phillip
fill out an obituary form for Timothy
create a hurricane safety guide
create a malaria warning notice informing people how to recognize malaria
(symptoms) and what to do if you contract it
create a set of instructions/guide for head injuries
write a letter from Phillip to Timothy's family explaining what happened
Of Mice and Men
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create a wanted poster/report/memo for Lenny and George
write a job description for the newspaper based on any of the positions available on
the ranch
fill out a job application form as George or Lenny
fill out a police report for any/all of Lenny's transgressions (do so from the
perspective of different characters)
fill out an accident report for Curly's hand
fill out a harassment report for Crooks
write a cover letter for George or Lenny
write a letter of recommendation from Slim for George
create an advertisement for the old woman's property
write a persuasive letter to the old woman convincing her to let the men have the
property
rewrite any of the scenes from Curly's wife's perspective (diary entry?)