Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra
Faculty of Arts
Department of English and American Studies
________________________________________________________
SEMINAR WORK
Subject: Theory of Teaching Language Means
Topic:Teaching
Academic year 2019/20
Summer semester
Literature for Advanced Students (C1)
Kristína Rimóciová
English – Slovak
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3
1.
2.
THEORETICAL PART ...................................................................................................... 4
1.1
Teaching literature: why, what and how ..................................................................... 4
1.2
Literature and the Teaching of Language Skills ........................................................ 13
PRACTICAL PART ......................................................................................................... 18
2.1
Activity 1 - pre-reading and while-reading activities focusing on poetry ................. 18
2.2
Activity 2 – focusing on plays ................................................................................... 20
2.2.1
2.3
Modification of the Activity 2 – (Appendix 3) ................................................... 22
Activity 3 – focusing on novels ................................................................................. 26
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 29
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 30
Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 31
Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................... 31
Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................... 35
Appendix 3 ........................................................................................................................... 37
Appendix 4 ........................................................................................................................... 40
Introduction
The basis of this seminar work was the analysis of some of the previous studies focused on
the process of teaching literature. The choice of the topic was motivated by the fact that there
is not much emphasis on teaching literature and that students often have some difficulties with
it because it is usually taught in a traditional, not lively way.
The aim of this work is to provide some possible methods and techniques that can be used to
teach literature in a new and creative way. All of the ideas mentioned in this work are taken
from relevant sources all of which are stated in Bibliography.
This work is divided into two main parts: Theoretical part and Practical part. The first part
has two main chapters which deal with the questions of why to teach literature and its
importance in learning process, how to teach literature, and how to choose books and literary
texts correctly. We also present an overview of basic language skills, which are also closely
related to the teaching of literature and prove that literature is really flexible.
The second part of this work, called Practical part, consists of three activities that are all
focused on teaching literature.
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1. THEORETICAL PART
1.1 Teaching literature: why, what and how
Literature plays a very important role in English lessons and if teachers motivate their
students appropriately, their work can be very successful and useful. For this reason, efforts
continue to enrich the teaching of literature in various ways and to make it as attractive and
interesting as possible for students. Learning literature currently takes place mostly by
memorizing definitions, mechanical practice in various tasks, or by automatically filling in a
workbook. In recent years, various innovative methods have begun to penetrate into teaching
process, with the aim of enriching and improving the teaching of literature. (Hill, 1994)
In teaching English it would be encouraging for students to become more familiar with the
culture of the country whose language they are learning. Students should become more
familiar with customs, national holidays, places in the country, as well as get to know
important personalities of the country. In this way, students would penetrate more into the
essence of the language, understand it and learning vocabulary, grammar and developing
individual foreign language skills would become a natural process. One such possibility could
be to work with the literature of the country. We don't have to focus in class only on austere
reading of texts, but we can present the author's life and interesting facts from his life in an
interesting way. We do not have to work with the whole literary work; we can choose a
literary work from an author whose students do not know. Or it is advisable to choose a short
part of the text that is unknown to the students. The process of developing reading literacy is
still one of the less explored areas. However, it is a very demanding process, which is as
difficult in the native language as in the foreign language. (Duff and Maley, 1991)
Literature is an art, an art of language, more than just an entertainment, so it has a very close
relation with language and linguistics. Ur (1996) lists some of the following advantages of
literature as a language teaching resource:
 Literature is a very enjoyable resource to learn a language.
 Literature provides examples of different styles of writing, and also representations of
various authentic uses of the language.
 Literature is a good resource for increasing word power.
 It encourages developing various reading skills in learners.
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 It can be used as a springboard for exciting discussion or writing.
 It involves both emotions and intellect, which contribute to the personal development
of the student.
 English literature has a value as part of the learners’ general education.
 It encourages critical and creative thinking.
 It enriches the students’ world knowledge.
 It makes the students aware of various human situations and conflicts.
Why teach literature?
Collie and Slater (1996) present four reasons to teach literature and they believe that these
reasons could have beneficial effects upon the whole language process:
1) Valuable authentic material
Literature is bounteous and a varietal set of written material which is very important in
questions about everyday human problems and issues. Its relevance moves with the passing of
time – for example, Shakespeare's plays were written with certain timelessness, and we can
still learn a lesson from them today. A literary work can transcend both time and culture to
speak directly to a reader in another country or a different period of history. Literature is also
an authentic material – most of literary works are not fashioned for the specific purpose of
teaching a language. Students are exposed to language that is original and undistorted.
Students have also to cope with many different language and linguistic uses, forms and
conventions of the written mode as, for example, irony, exposition, argument, narration, and
so on. Literature can deal with great amount of cultural information. (ibid)
Lazar (1993) adds that literature provides wonderful source material for eliciting strong
emotional responses from our students. Using literature in the classroom is a fruitful way of
involving the learner as a whole person, and provides excellent opportunities for the learners
to express their personal opinions, reactions and feelings.
2) Cultural enrichment
For many students it is not possible to visit a country for deeper understanding of life and
culture where the foreign language is spoken. For these students it is important to adopt more
indirect ways of understanding: radio programmes, films or videos, newspapers, and last but
not least, literary works. Students can depicted a full and vivid context and characters form
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many social backgrounds which novels, plays or short stories offer. They can also imagine
what life was like in that other foreign country. Literature could be seen as a complement to
other materials used to increase the foreign learner´s insight into the country whose language
is being learnt. (ibid)
3) Language enrichment
This reason is one benefit often sought through literature. Extensive reading increases a
student´s receptive vocabulary and facilitates transfer to a more active form of knowledge,
nevertheless literature does not give students the kind of vocabulary they really need. The
language of literary works is not typical of the language of everyday life or the language used
in students´ textbook. On the other side, literature provides a rich context in which individual
lexical or syntactical items are made more memorable. Students can deal with many features
of the written language – the formation and function of sentences, the variety of possible
structures, and the different ways of connecting ideas, which enrich their own writing skills.
(ibid)
4) Personal involvement
Literature forces the personal involvement in students which can be helpful in the language
learning process. The process of learning is very often just analytic and at the level of
personality is superficial. Engaging imagination with literature into the learning process
enables students to shift the focus of their attention beyond the more mechanical aspects of
the foreign language system. When students start to explore novels, plays or short stories, they
begin to “inhabit” the text. They are drawn into the book. In this case, focus on what
individual words or phrases may mean becomes less important. The student creates his own
world – he or she is eager to find out what happens as events unfold, he or she feels close to
certain characters and shares their emotional responses. (ibid)
Lazar (1993) enclosed several other reasons for teaching literature:
 it is very motivating
 it is authentic material
 it has general educational value
 it is found in many syllabuses
 it helps students to understand another culture
 it is a stimulus for language acquisition
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 it develops students' interpretative abilities
 students enjoy it and it is fun
 it is highly valued and has a high status
 it expands students' language awareness
 it encourages students to talk about their opinions and feelings
Maley (1989) lists some of the reasons for regarding literature as a potent resource in the
language classroom as follows:
1) Universality – the themes literature deals with are common to all cultures despite their
different way of treatment.
2) Non-triviality – many of the more familiar forms of language teaching inputs tend to
trivialize texts or experience. Literature does not trivialize or talk down. It is about
things which mattered to the author when he wrote them.
3) Personal Relevance – since it deals with ideas, things, sensations and events which
either constitute part of the reader’s experience or which they can enter into
imaginatively, they are able to relate it to their own lives.
4) Variety – literature includes within it all possible varieties of subject matter.
5) Interest – literature deals with themes and topics which are intrinsically interesting,
because part of the human experience, and treats them in ways designed to engage the
readers’ attention.
6) Economy and Suggestive Power – one of the great strengths of literature is its
suggestive power. Even in its simplest forms, it invites us to go beyond what is said to
what is implied. Since it suggests many ideas with few words, literature is ideal for
generating language discussion. Maximum output can often be derived from minimum
input.
7) Ambiguity – literature speaks subtly different meanings to different people. That no
two readers will have a completely convergent interpretation establishes the tension
that is necessary for a genuine exchange of ideas.
What sort of literature is suitable for use with students?
By Collie and Slater (1996) it depends on each particular group of students, their needs,
interests, cultural background and language level. However, one primary factor is whether the
particular work is able to stimulate the kind of personal involvement, whether the teacher can
through literary work arouse the students´ interest and provoking strong, positive reactions
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from them. If the literary work is meaningful and enjoyable the reading is more likely to have
a lasting and beneficial effect. It is important to choose books which are relevant to the life
experiences, emotions or dreams of the student. Language difficulty has been considered as
well because students will not be able to identify or enjoy the literary text with language
difficulties. But the simplicity of the literary text is not the most crucial aspect. The most
important are interest, appeal and relevance. Some special stimulus must also be involved in
the reception of a literary work by students – some enjoyment, suspense, a fresh insight into
issues, totally new light or perspective, and so on.
Duff and Maley (1991) note that for the correct selection of a literary work the teacher can
choose questionnaires on tastes and interest or give the class a brief summary of three short
extracts from the text, and let students choose the one they find the most appealing. He/she
can also give students a list of twenty to thirty topics and ask them to choose five that they
find interesting - select literary texts connected with these topics or themes. The teacher must
also pay attention to these criteria:
1) The student´s cultural background
2) The student´s linguistic proficiency
3) The student´s literary background
When designing materials, the teacher will need to rely on intuition about what information
will enhance the students' understanding and enjoyment of the text. He/she will also need to
decide how best to present this information – before or after the students have read the text, as
a minilecture, as a reading or listening comprehension or as a research project in which
students research the information themselves and present their findings to the class. (Lazar,
1993)
Barone (2011) claims that the books need to be ones that students will enjoy and understand.
It is also beneficial to select books tied to a current curricular theme so that each book builds
upon the other and connects to important content expectations. Moreover, teachers want to
select from various genres within fiction, such as mystery, folktales, or poetry, and within
informational texts, such as biography, photo essays, or memoirs.
By Moss (2003) teachers’ selection of informational text books should be based on several
criteria. First, teachers should consider the authority of the author. Second, the information
must be accurate and up to date. Third, the appropriateness of the book for the student
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audience must be considered. Fourth, the book must be artistic. Readers should experience
quality in text and illustration. Fifth, the author’s voice should be clear and demonstrate a
passion about the text.
On the other hand, the teachers and students have little or no right to the choice of texts for
class use. This is because the selection is made from the lists in the syllabus which allows for
no appraisal of the competent level of the teacher, the interest of the learner and the
readability qualities of the text in question. (Moody, 1978)
How to teach literature?
Collie and Salter (1996) describes some teacher-centered approaches that are often used
when literature is taught. In their work they note that the perennial problem how is literature is
taught has in recent years become increasingly guided by promoting the learner´s
communicative competence. However, when the teacher introduces the literature of foreign
language to students this communicative competence too often vanishes. Next, they describe
some aims which in some cases replacing the approaches:

Maintaining interest and involvement by using a variety of student-centered
activities
There is a number of ways in which a literary text could be explored and also which are
successful in teaching literature – for example, ole play, improvisation, creative writing,
discussions, questionnaires, visuals and many other activities. An important factor in choosing
suitable activities is the focus on the student. At the same time, with the help of these
activities we can focus on other, language weaknesses of students as speaking or reading.
(ibid).
Lazar (1993) says that one of our main aims in the classroom should be to teach our students
to read literature using the appropriate literary strategies. This involves them not in reading
for some practical purpose, for example to obtain information, but rather in analyzing a text in
terms of what it might mean symbolically or philosophically. Students may have already
acquired this kind of literary competence in their own language, in which case we simply
need to help them to transfer these skills. If not, we need to find ways of engendering the
necessary competence.
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
Supplementing the printed page
There are some advantages and disadvantages of the printed text – on the one hand it
represents a cold and distancing medium which appeals to a restricted part of the student´s
visual sense. On the other hand, it can create a whole new world inside the student´s
imagination, a world full of senses. The teacher often tries to use the emotional dimension
which is a very integral part of literature and it absents in more neutral language learning
texts. (ibid)
Lazar (1993) in his work notes that literary texts have a powerful function in raising moral
and ethical concerns in the classroom. The tasks and activities we devise to exploit these texts
should encourage our students to explore these concerns and connect them with the struggle
for a better society.

Tapping the resources of knowledge and experience within the group
Nowadays, pair and group work are established as a means of increasing students´ confidence
within the foreign language and personalizing their contact with it. Shared activity can be
often useful in helping the learner find a way into a personal and private experience. In
groups, there is an increase in the awareness of the individual both of the learner´s own
responses and of the world of the world created by the literary work. On a more practical
level, working with a group can lessen the difficulties presented by the number of unknowns
on a page of literary text. Very often someone else in a group will be able to supply the
missing link or fill in an appropriate meaning of a crucial word, or if not, the task of doing so
will become a shared one. (ibid)

Helping students explore their own responses to literature
In this case, it is important for students to become less dependent on received opinion and to
be interested and be able to assess other perspectives. The teacher´s activities have to help
students to acquire the confidence to develop, express and value their own response. (ibid)

Using of target language
One of the principles which could be effective in teaching literature is that of using the target
language with the range of activities chosen. The teacher wants to give learners the maximum
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chance of entering the world of any selected book. The main difficulty with this approach is
that some learners may not yet possess the richness of vocabulary and structure of target
language with which they must work. Students often get stuck in response and there is a
reversion to the native language. (ibid)

Integrating language and literature
The main aim of this approach to the teaching of literature is to let the student derive the
benefits of communicative and other activities for language improvement within the context
of suitable works of literature. If the teacher makes a balanced selection of activities, he gains
the trust of the students. (ibid)
Lazar (1993) examines only three approaches to using literature:

A language-based approach
The language of the literary text helps students to integrate the language and literature
syllabuses more closely. Detailed analysis of the language of the literary text helps to make
meaningful interpretations. Students can increase their general awareness and understanding
of English and make aesthetic judgements of the text. (ibid)

Literature as content
This is the most traditional approach, frequently used in tertiary education. Literature itself is
the content of the course, which concentrates on areas such as the history and characteristics
of literary movements; the social, political and historical background to the text; literary
genres and rhetorical devices, etc. Students acquire English through reading texts and literary
criticism. The mother tongue also can be used to discuss texts, or students may be asked to
translate texts from one language into the other. (ibid)

Literature for personal enrichment
Literature is a useful tool for encouraging students to draw on their own personal experiences,
feeling and opinions. It helps students to become more actively involved both intellectually
and emotionally in learning English. And also, it is an excellent stimulus for group work.
(ibid)
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Moody (1978) recommends these approaches and methods, which choice is for the teacher
and their combinations could be effective:
I.
Approaches
II.
Methods
 Thematic approach
 Criticism method
 Stylistic approach
 Discussion method
 Group approach
 Discovery method
 Response approach
 Project method
 Integrated approach
 Activity method
 Problem posing approach
 Read and explain method
Nowadays, the teaching of literature is often presented in traditional way – this mean that the
teacher often falls back upon a more traditional classroom where he/she acts like a mediator
and he/she expects that students have the ability to master and explain everything themselves.
This type of teaching literature represents just a massive process of explanation by the teacher
or even just a translation and they do exercises only to extract a certain meaning from the text
and do not insert their own interpretation into the given text. In this case, the question-andanswer technique can provide some help, but questions have to be open-ended because
otherwise students would feel pressure from the teacher that the teacher wants to assert only
his opinion and there is only a little space for their responses. As a result, students are not
encouraged enough to share their own views with each other. (Hill, 1994)
Nystrand (1997) observed that teachers’ questions and discussion technique influence how
students respond to books. He noted that asking open-ended questions or just providing
discussion space allows students the freedom to negotiate meaning with other students,
resulting in more sophisticated understanding. Some sample questions or stems to encourage
discussion might include:
o I think . . .
o I notice . . .
o I wonder . . .
o My opinion is . . .
o How is this story or informational text similar to others we have read?
o How is this character, setting, or plot making you feel? (Just ask about one of these.)
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o What are you learning?
What is tricky about conversation is for teachers to just participate instead of asking a series
of questions, even if they are open ended. Moving from the role of question giver to
participant can take practice. Teachers can shift to the role of participant by allowing students
to talk to partners or in a small group and then visiting or listening to each pair or group. Just
making this small change helps teachers shift away from being the presenter of questions to
inquisitive readers. (ibid)
Barone (2011) claims that students deepen their comprehension and appreciation of a book
by chatting about it. Conversation about books can center on text, illustrations, or their
interaction. Students reading informational text might chat about interesting ideas or facts
they have just discovered.
1.2 Literature and the Teaching of Language Skills
Literature plays an important role in teaching four basic language skills like reading, writing,
listening and speaking. However, when using literature in the language classroom, skills
should never be taught in isolation but in an integrated way. (Hill, 1994)
 Literature and Reading
Ur (1991) notes that eading is considered a basic activity when speaking about using literary
texts in the language teaching. At a basic level, everyone is familiar with the reading skill. No
matter whether students know the alphabet and are able to connect the single letters into
words and sentences, they still need to learn reading strategies in learning a foreign language.
Skill in reading like all skills takes time to develop and can only develop when learners are
given many opportunities to read. Language teachers know a lot of strategies they can use to
build and improve reading skills when teaching reading. Kennedy and Bolitho (1991)
consider the following ones belong among the most popular:
o Skimming – it is used when a student has to select from a list only those titles that are
appropriate for his task. Skimming involves quickly reading through the list and
matching titles with his topic.
o Scanning – this involves reading more slowly than skimming so that students can
extract specific information that is required.
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o Predicting – the reader predicts how a text is going to develop and what a writer is
likely to say next.
o Intensive reading – is usually used with a shorter section when students read a text to
find certain details.
o Extensive reading – this kind of reading is used when we read for pleasure, to
understand a text in general.
 Literature and Writing
It is generally known that writing as a learning skill is in most cases neglected. Teachers
either omit this skill or place it as a homework activity. It must be mentioned that students
have to be taught how to write. There are a lot of other activities that can make students very
creative when working with artistic literature. After reading the original text, they can write
another story based on it but from a different point of view, or make it into a dialogue, or
change the end of the original story. They can change its form into a letter, advertisement, or
if they are skilled enough, they can write a poem. Literature as a model occurs when student
writing becomes closely similar to the original work or clearly imitates its content, theme,
organization, and /or style. However, when student writing exhibits original thinking like
interpretation or analysis, or when it emerges from, or is creatively stimulated by, the reading,
literature serves as subject matter. (Ur, 1991)
By Stern (1991) there are many forms of writing out of literature, such as:
o Adding to the Work: This comprises writing imaginary episodes or sequels, or, in the
case of drama, “filling in” scenes for off-stage actions that are only referred to in the
dialog.
o Changing the Work: Students can make up their own endings by comparing the
author’s ending to their own. Short stories can be rewritten in whole or in part from
the point of view of a character versus a third person narrator or of a different
character.
o Drama-Inspired Writing: It is possible to derive drama-inspired writing activities from
plays, short stories, novels, and sometimes poetry. The student steps into the
consciousness of a character and writes about that character’s attitudes and feelings.
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o A Letter Addressed to Another Character: The student can write a letter to one of the
characters, in which he/she gives the character personal advice about how to overcome
a particular problem or situation.
 Literature and Listening
It is very important to be in contact with the English language and literary work presented by
many different speakers. When students have a possibility to hear other speakers besides their
own teacher, they gain a certain ability to adapt to different kinds of pronunciation different
ways of speaking and different type of intonation of the literary text. By listening to a literary
text, students can more easily interpret a literary work and can understand it more easily.
Listening also facilitates the teacher's work when his/her reading and intonation are not
appropriate to the content of the literary work and are not sufficiently artistic. (Ur, 1991)
Ellis and Brewster (1991) distinguish several useful listening activities that can be used in
teaching literature:
o prediction – students will guess the right answers (this is based on their background
knowledge)
o attitude – when listening we may feel the speaker´s attitude (according to the
intonation and stress he/she uses)
o working out the meaning based on the context – listening for general understanding
(students try to guess the unknown vocabulary)
o gap filling
o true/false questions
o multiple choice
 Literature and speaking
The reason for learning the language and literature is to be able to use it in practice, to make
oneself understood. Thus, the most frequent way of using it is speaking. Teachers very often
ask questions but the willingness of many students to answer is very low. Of course, the
teacher cannot force students to speak, but he can encourage them to take part in conversation.
Students need to be given opportunities to speak as soon and as much as possible. (Ur, 1991)
15
Hill (1994) provides some activities which give students opportunities and makes it easier for
them to have a conversation about a literary work:
o Story-telling games – students speak out a story when the teacher´s finger moves.
When the teacher points at another student, then he/she continues to invent the story.
The teacher can define limits, e.g. the number of sentences, using specific vocabulary
or tense…
o TV or radio interviews – the teacher acts as an interviewer and students as characters
who are asked questions about events, other characters or their own opinion.
Characters are selected from a book, story, novel…
o Telling the truth – students have sheets of paper stuck on their backs, and each student
will write something to that person. He/she may represent a character from a book.
o Music workshop – the teacher reads a story and students create dramatic effects with
their voices, percussion instruments or improvised simple musical instruments.
o Fly on the wall – students pretend they are flies on the wall and comment on a certain
situation, such as the plot in a story.
o Autobiographical sketch – students make an autobiographical sketch of a famous
character from a story. They will draw things as a clue to describe a certain character.
o Curriculum vitae – this activity is similar to the previous one, students write a CV of a
selected character and will supply all the needed unknown information.
o Completion of a story – the teacher presents only a part of a story – introduction,
ending – and students write the missing part.
o Making up dialogues – students write missing dialogues into the bubbles in comics
according to the pictures.
o Description of a character – students receive a picture of a character from a book.
Their task is to describe it in such a detail (body, clothes, facial expression,
characteristic features) so that the other learners can guess who this character is.
o Design of a cover of a book – when students are familiar with the plot of a story, fairy
tale or novel, they design a cover on this book.
o In a bookshop – a dialogue between a shop-assistant and customer about books. A
shop-assistant presents several books giving their basic characteristics to a customer in
order to sell him a book. Here a school library can be used as the setting.
o What is it about? – students watch a story on the video without any voice. They are
asked to retell the story guessing the plot from what they have seen.
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o Opposites – students choose two characters and try to compare them.
o Letter to a character – students write a letter to a character (formal, informal,
request…).
o What would you do if? – students are asked to imagine they would be in the place of a
character. They answer the question what they would do in a different way (reaction
on a story, change from good to bad or vice versa…).
o Making a poster – students prepare a poster on a new book or a famous character. This
activity can also be done as a project work for an individual or groups.
o Party – students organize a party for characters in a book. They will write an
invitation for them, prepare menu and social activities.
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2. PRACTICAL PART
2.1
Activity 1 - pre-reading and while-reading activities focusing on poetry
We consider these two stages to be the most important in the acquisition of literature,
especially poems because the teacher has an important role here and everything depends on
him. During these stages, the student has the best chance of understanding the poems if the
activities are chosen appropriately.
Level/
Techniques
Objectives
Procedure
Teaching
aids
management
Level: C1
Time: 35´
Brainstormi
ng
Discussion
Categorizin
g ideas
Questions
Matching
Students
apply a
wide range
of strategies
to
comprehend
, interpret,
evaluate,
and
appreciate
texts.
Reading
Students
develop an
Writing
understandi
ng of and
Speaking
respect for
diversity in
Working
language
out the
use,
meaning
based on the patterns,
and dialects
context
across
Prediction
cultures,
ethnic
groups,
geographic
regions, and
social roles.
Students
participate
as
Pre-reading activities
Pictures
1. Students have to look at two
Copies of
pictures.
2. In groups, they have to the poem
discuss some themes. They
have to create a poster.
Worksheets
3. Students have to work with
words and phrases and
divide them into two
categories.
4. Students have to read and
deal with some historical
changes in England and
answer questions.
5. Students have to read some
descriptions of the author.
While-reading activities
1. Students have to read a poem
“London” by William Blake.
2. Students have to deal with a
number of words from the
poem. They have to match
words with definitions and
give reasons.
3. Students have to discuss the
lines and phrases from the
poem.
4. Students have to read a poem
again and find certain ideas
and images from the poem.
18
knowledgea
ble,
reflective,
creative,
and critical
members of
a variety of
literacy
communitie
s.

5. Students have to deal with
unusual phrases.
6. Students have to read some
critical comments about the
poem and they have to
decide which is the most
convincing.
7. After it, they have to write a
short paragraph about their
feelings and opinions about
the poem.
Comments:
The above presented activities are taken from book called Literature and Language Teaching
Guide written by Gillian Lazar (Lazar, 1993). The whole pages with activities can be seen in
the Appendix 1. This book has served as a really good guide for teaching literature and has
served also as a model for the most effective way to teach literature so that it is properly
grasped and understood at adequate levels of students. These activities are created for
advanced levels of students (C1) and are therefore also characterized by certain seriousness in
terms of the topics that students have to work with.
What we really appreciate about these activities is that they focuses on main difficulties which
students might have with poems – understanding individual or unusual words in the poems,
understanding the metaphorical/symbolic meaning behind phrases or lines in the poem,
understanding the historical context which forms the background to the text, understanding
the poet´s attitude, responding personally to the themes of the poem and feeling threatened or
intimidated by the apparent level of difficulty of the poem.
A very good strategy for introducing a literary work is, first of all, some brainstorming in the
form of pictures, as it is in this case as well. In this form, students can make some predictions
about what the poem will be about, what topics they will deal with, and possibly what
symbolism is in the poem. The author used a group work for the following activity, namely a
discussion on a given topic, which we mentioned in the theoretical part as very effective in the
discussions. Students exchange their views with each other and complement and help each
other. In the next activity, students have to work with words that relate to the poem. In this
way they can make a prediction, too. An important step is also the presentation of the
historical situation of the period in which the poem was written and in which the author lived.
19
As we mentioned in the theoretical part, literature is the way we learn about the culture,
history and customs of a particular nation. The author uses mainly student-centered activities
and is interested in their interests and opinions. He uses a lot of discussion tasks. Literature
also has a psychological function. Through it, students form their personality. We can say that
these activities can serve as a model for teaching an effective literature lesson.
2.2
Activity 2 – focusing on plays
In this chapter, we present the original activities from the textbook, which we consider
ineffective in teaching literature, and then the modification of these activities or the pattern of
the lesson, as it could take place in practice. We choose a work Pygmalion written by George
Bernard Shaw.
Level/
Techniques
Objectives
Procedure
management
Level: C1
Time: 40´
Teaching
aids
Brainstorming Students apply
a wide range of
Discussion
strategies to
comprehend,
Categorizing
interpret,
ideas
evaluate, and
appreciate
Questions
texts.
Matching
Reading
Writing
Speaking
Working out
the meaning
based on the
context
Prediction
Students
develop an
understanding
of and respect
for diversity in
language use,
patterns, and
dialects across
cultures, ethnic
groups,
geographic
regions, and
social roles.
Pre-reading activities
1. Students have to read a New
short biography of George Headway
Bernard Shaw. Then, they
have to listen and correct
the nine mistakes in it.
2. Students have to read about
the setting and characters
for Act II of Pygmalion
and then answer some
questions.
While-reading activities
3. Students have to read and
listen to the opening scene
from Act II and again
answer some questions.
4. Then, students have to
listen a later scene in Act II
and answer questions.
5. Students have to read the in
introduction and list of
Students
characters in Act III and
participate as
predict what is going to
knowledgeable,
happen in this Act.
reflective,
6.
Then, they have to listen to
creative, and
a scene from Act III and
critical
20
Textbook
members of a
variety of
literacy
communities.
answer questions.
7. They are going to work in
pairs and reword a text in
Standard English.
8. Then, they have to think
about the Greek Mythology
of Pygmalion and find a
connection with Shaw´s
play and answer questions.
9. In the end, students have to
deal with some vocabulary
from the play.
Comments:
The above presented activities are taken from the book named New Headway – Advanced
Student´s Book (4th edition) written by Liz and John Soars and Paul Hancock. The whole
pages with activities can be seen in the Appendix 2.
The activities we would like to discuss are part of the topic “In so many words” what we
consider adequate for this section. Students have to talk about their favorite type of book and
deal with some activities related to books. They have to concentrate also on adverbs and
adjectives. After this introduction, they have to focus on George Bernard Shaw´s work
Pygmalion. We consider the first activity with the author's biography to be suitable, but
certain activities could still precede certain predictions and brainstorming of students. We will
present the proposal in a modification of this activity.
We must blame this textbook for dealing with only two acts. The problem is that they do not
lead to a certain understanding of the work. We realize that the primary emphasis is not on
mastering a literary work. Nevertheless, we think that even in such a case, the work can be
fully understood by students through appropriate activities. At the same time, we think that
this literary work is very important in English literature and it is inappropriate to teach it only
superficially. In the case of activities, we consider them simple and sometimes boring for
students. These are just question-answer activities. They are not characterized by any
creativity and interactivity, which is required in the teaching of literature.
21
2.2.1 Modification of the Activity 2 – (Appendix 3)
Level/
management
Level: C1
Time: 40´
Techniques
Objectives
Procedure
Pre-reading activities
Students
1. The teacher tells the students
apply a
that they going to talk about
wide range
class differences. The teacher
Discussion
of strategies
gives students few minutes to
to
scribble
down
any
Categorizin comprehend
associations they have with
g ideas
, interpret,
the word “class” or “status”.
evaluate,
Students have to share their
Questions
and
thoughts.
appreciate
2. Then, students going to look
Matching
texts.
at the book cover (Appendix 3)
(of Pygmalion) with a painting
Reading
Students
of a woman. They have to
develop
an
study the painting for a few
Writing
understandi
minutes. They have to take in
ng of and
Speaking
the visual details – the way the
respect for
woman looks, how she is
diversity in
Working
dressed, the background, and
language
out the
her facial expressions. Then,
use,
meaning
they
will
receive
a
based on the patterns,
characterization
chart
and dialects
context
(Appendix 3), where they have
across
to list traits they believe they
Prediction
cultures,
can attribute to this woman,
ethnic
based on the painting. After
groups,
that, they try to compare the
geographic
woman to someone they
regions, and
know.
social roles. 3. Next, students have to deal
with some historical and
Students
cultural background. The
participate
teacher can play some short
as
video with a summary of
knowledgea
historical events.
ble,
4. Then, students could read and
reflective,
listen to a short biography of
creative,
George Bernard Shaw from
and critical
the textbook and correct nine
members of
mistakes in it. The teacher can
a variety of
add important information to
literacy
this description.
communitie
s.
While-reading activities
Brainstormi
ng
5. The teacher hands out an
excerpt from the play to the
22
Teaching
aids
Textbook
Book
cover
Copies of
the play
Plot
mapping
chart
Handout
students.
6. Students receive also a plot
mapping chart (Appendix 3)
where they have to create a
pictorial time line of the plot.
After each act of the play they
have to draw five small
logographs (combination of
pictures
and
words)
illustrating the main events or
characters. After reading, they
have to retell the entire play
by looking only at that chart.
7. They will work with Act I
which could be easily
translated into a comic strip.
For this activity, students have
to create a comic strip of at
least eight frames depicting
the humor of Act I. They have
to include all the characters in
the act or in the part of the act
they choose and have dialogue
between
some
of
the
characters.
8. Then, they are going to focus
on Act II, they will work with
textbook and they will read
about
the
setting
and
characters for Act II and
answer questions. Next, they
have to read again the Act II
Scene 1 and answer questions
in the textbook. After it, they
have to list at least ten
figurative
languages
and
explain them and why Shaw
chose
to
make
each
comparison.
9. They will focus on Act III,
where they will again read the
introduction and list of
characters in the textbook.
Then, they have to predict
what would happen in the play
next.
10. Next, they are going to read a
scene from Act III and answer
the questions in the textbook.
11. After that, they have to create
23
a glossary of slang. They have
to imagine the difference
between their generation and
their
parents´
or
grandparents´. Students have
to list at least ten examples of
slang language representative
of their generation or peer
group. Then, they have to
write a definition of each them
to help others understand
those words or phrases. They
have to avoid vulgarity and
profanity. Next, they share
their ideas with classmates.
12. Through Act V students have
to rewrite a part of this act as a
first-person narrative from
Henry´s point of view – as if
the play was actually a novel
and they were writing a
chapter. They have to start
where Eliza enters the room
and stop when Mr. Doolittle
enters the scene. They should
preserve the essence of the
dialogue among characters.
They have to establish
Henry´s true feelings. They
have also invent setting and
character details that are
missing from the play´s stage
directions.
13. In Act V, students will have a
class discussion concerning
the following question: what
is the most important factor
for determining social status
in Pygmalion? Can Shaw’s
characters change their social
status—and if so, how?
14. Students will work in small
groups and they will receive a
handout (Appendix 3) and they
will have to find at least six
references to class division in
the play. They have to copy
the quotations from the play.
15. Then, they will have to
complete
the
following
24
sentence:
“According
to
Shaw, class divisions exist
mainly due to…” Also have
them indicate whether or not it
is possible to eradicate class
distinctions.
16. The teacher lead a final
discussion concerning the
following two questions: how
does the relationship between
Higgins and Eliza advance the
play’s message about class
division? Does a change in
their relationship signify a
change in the play’s message?
Post-reading activity
1. Students have to imagine a
time-traveling entertainment
reporter and they have been
sent back to England in the
early twentieth century to
review a performance of
Shaw´s Pygmalion. Their
assignment is to write a
column (500 words) that
reviews the performance and
the drama itself, rating it for
modern viewers. They have to
visualize the occasion in detail
and dramatize the experience
by reporting, for example,
how they arrive at the theatre,
where they sit, what they see
and hear, and how the play is
discussed after its conclusion.
Comments:
In comparison to the original activities, we provided pre-reading and post-reading activities
and we developed the while-reading activity in more details. First of all, we missed
motivation in the textbook. Motivation is very important; we incorporated motivation through
brainstorming, questions and by describing the picture, so that students get closer to the
subject. The textbook also lacked a description of some historical and cultural events.
Likewise, the author's biography was also poor. We think it is important for level C1 to have
more detailed knowledge. The activities in the while-reading stage were also not very creative
25
and active. Students could find them boring and not entertaining. We have incorporated
several creative activities that can deepen knowledge about a given dramatic play and also
develop the student's personality. Also, they encourage critical and creative thinking, the
students’ world knowledge and they make the students aware of various human situations and
conflicts. All language skills are incorporated into our activities. Some activities are
additional because they can´t be caught in one lesson.
All of the materials we would use during the lesson are provided in the Appendix 3.
2.3
Activity 3 – focusing on novels
In this chapter we will focus on the novel and propose our own activity for teaching this type
of literature. We want to create from a traditional literature lesson a modern book club or
literature circle what we think could be more effective.
Level/
management
Techniques
Objectives
Procedure
Teaching
aids
Level: C1
Time: 30´
1. Students were asked to
read The Picture of
Dorian Gray, written by
Oscar Wild. Students must
create a file for each book
they will read. They store
in each file the paper
printed by the teacher, on
which
the
whole
procedure of a book club
Students
will be written. Students
develop an
have
to
create
an
understanding
Interactive
Bookmark
of and respect
(Appendix 4) at home
for diversity in
which will help them to
language use,
read a novel.
patterns, and
2. The teacher chooses a
dialects across
lesson before six students
cultures, ethnic
who will have different
groups,
roles:
the
discussion
geographic
director, the words wizard,
regions, and
the super summarizer, the
social roles.
incredible illustrator, the
clever connector and the
Students
passage picker. They will
participate as
receive a role cards with
knowledgeable,
some
instructions
Brainstorming Students apply
a wide range of
Discussion
strategies to
comprehend,
Categorizing
interpret,
ideas
evaluate, and
appreciate
Questions
texts.
Worksheet
Matching
Role cards
Reading
Writing
Speaking
Working out
the meaning
based on the
context
Prediction
26
File
Interactive
Bookmark
reflective,
creative, and
critical
members of a
variety of
literacy
communities.
(Appendix 4).
3. Students will create a
literature circle, so they
have to sit in the circle.
They will receive a
worksheet with book
information which they
have to complete at the
beginning of the lesson.
Then they put it in their
files. After that, they start
a discussion based on the
questions and task of six
selected students. The
teacher is sure that
everyone read the work,
because the students had
to prepare an interactive
bookmark.
4. In the end, the assessment
can be a simple quiz to
make sure all students got
a basic understanding of
all the material. Students
evaluate each other with
evaluation scale (Appendix
4).
5. All the materials will be
founded in their files.
Comments:
Book clubs and literature circles are very popular in English countries. We wanted to create
something similar in our teaching processes. We think that they create a positive atmosphere
in the classroom and, above all, strengthen relationships between students. It allows students
to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers. Literature circles are studentcentered, it shapes independence and responsibility in students. Students use written or drawn
notes to guide both their reading and discussion. Discussion topics come from the students.
These lessons have open and natural conversations. The teacher in this activity serves as a
facilitator, observer, listener and often a fellow reader, alongside the students. The teacher is
not an instructor.
We decided to use Interactive Bookmarks (template in Appendix 4) which students must
prepare at home while reading the book, in this case the book written by Oscar Wilde The
Picture of Dorian Gray. This would be a routine that students would create during each book
27
reading. Through them, students know what to expect work wise and they can focus more on
understanding and analyzing novels. Each bookmark is printed (double-sides) on a single
piece of paper and spans several chapters and includes novel vocabulary, comprehension
questions, a space for students to keep track of a timeline of events, and a space for quotation
analysis. There is actually quite a bit of work for the students to complete on each bookmark,
but since we work on the bookmarks as we go, the workload is much more manageable for
the students. As well as their file, it may serve them very well in the future on various exams.
Students are given roles or jobs to complete for each lesson. The teacher models how students
should facilitate each role. The teacher chooses six students for each role: the discussion
director, the words wizard, the super summarizer, the incredible illustrator, the clever
connector and the passage picker. The teacher prepares role cards for them (Appendix 4). The
teacher can guide the discussion. In this case, assessment is done to each other by students
(self-evaluation and peer-evaluation) using evaluation scale (Appendix 4).
28
Conclusion
The main aim of this seminar work was to offer an overview of the possible methods and
techniques used in teaching literature. It has been proven that the connecting of theoretical
knowledge about teaching literature, techniques and methods used in teaching literature was
successful in practical realization of various activities.
In the Theoretical part of this seminar work, there are reasons why it is important to
incorporate literature into teaching process. Furthermore, a brief description of techniques and
methods that might be used to teach speaking is offered there.
In the Practical part of this work, there are two activities taken from stated sources and one
activity created by us. We described the structure of each activity and then provided also our
comments, opinions and suggestions for future improvements.
We should treat literature as seriously as we do any other discipline and we should lead
students to do the same. Through literature students become more familiar with the culture of
the country whose language they are learning. We attempted that teaching and learning
literature can be very exciting, entertaining and beneficial.
29
Bibliography
1. BARONE, D.M. 2011. Children´s Literature in the Classroom. New York: The
Guilford Press.
2. CARTER, R., LONG, M.N. 1991. Teaching Literature. Harlow, Essex: Longman.
3. COLLIE, J., SLATER, S. 1996. Literature in the Language Classroom. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. ISBN - 0-521-31224-8.
4. DUFF, A., MALEY, A. 1991. Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ELLIS, G., BREWSTER, J. 1991. The Storytelling Handbook for Primary Teachers.
England: Penguin Books. ISBN - 0-140-81016-1.
6. HILL, J. 1994. Teaching Literature in the Language Classroom. London: Macmillan
Publishers Ltd. ISBN - 0-333-42389-5.
7. KENNEDY, CH., BOLITHO, R. 1991. English for Specific Purposes. London and
Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. ISBN - 0-333-27175-0.
8. LAZAR, G. 1993. Literature and language teaching: a guide for teachers and
trainers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
9. MALEY, H.I. 1989. Literature and the Learner: Methodological Approaches.
Cambridge: Modern English Publications.
10. MOODY, H.L.B. 1978. The Teaching of Literature. Longman.
11. MOSS, B. 2003. Exploring the literature of fact. Children’s nonfiction trade books in
the elementary classroom. New York: Guilford Press.
12. NYSTRAND, M. 1997. Opening dialogue: Understanding the dynamics of language
and learning in the English classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.
13. STERN, S. 1991. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Murcia, M.
Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
14. SOARS, L. 2015. New Headway – Advanced Student´s Book (4th edition). Oxford
University Press.
15. UR, P. 1991. A Course in language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. ISBN - 0-521- 44994-4.
30
Appendices
Appendix 1
31
32
33
34
Appendix 2
35
36
Appendix 3
37
38
39
Appendix 4
Name:
Book Title:
_____________________________________________
Author:
_____________________________________________
Level: __________
Total Chapters: ____________________
Total Pages: __________________
Theme of the book:
_____________________________________________
Start Date: ___________
40
Interactive Bookmark
41
42
He/she is responsible for leading the discussion during the literature circle. He/she
will create a lot of questions about the sections of the book. He/she will be in
charge of helping explore many ideas while answering the questions.
Choose questions that will make your classmates think deeper!
Make sure that everyone participates
Examples of questions:
What was going through your head as you read this chapter of the book?
What if ________________________________________ happened instead?
What would you have done if you were this character?
He/she is responsible for finding difficult, tricky or unusual words in the section of
the book and defining them. He/she will first think about what he/she thinks the
words mean and then use a dictionary to look up the meaning of each word and
share the meanings with the literature circle.
Look in the dictionary for the correct pronunciation of the words.
Pick words that are interesting or new!
Examples of word definitions:
Word: melancholy
Page: 36
What I think it means: a person who really likes to eat watermelon
Definition: feeling very sad
Sentence: The girl felt very melancholy when she got a bad grade on her
spelling test.
43
He/she is responsible for a writing a summary of the sections of the book and
sharing the summary with other members of the literary circle. The summary should
include all the important events that happened in the chapters of the book and
should be at least 4 sentenced.
Think about: first, next, then, and last!
He/she is responsible for picking one scene to draw from each section of the text.
He/she will create DETAILED drawings and write a few sentences to explain their
drawings. The drawings should help the other members of the literature circle
visualize the story.
Pick an important, funny or interesting part.
Your drawings should have a lot of details and be colored neatly!
He/she is responsible for making connections from the sections of the book to
people he/she knows, other books he/she has read, TV shows or movies he/she has
seen or experiences he/she has had. He/she will try to make as many different
connections as possible.
Try to make deep connections to the character´s feelings and emotions!
Connections can help you understand!
He/she is responsible for picking quotes or paragraphs from the sections of the
book to share with other members of the literature circle. After picking the quote
or paragraph, he/she will explain why that quote or paragraph was chosen and the
other members can share their thoughts.
44
45