Teaching English
8. Literature matters
Nancy Grimm – Michael Meyer – Laurenz Volkmann
1. Functions of literature
0. Table of contents
1.1 Personal interest
1.2 Institutional interest
2. Approaches to teaching literature
2.1 Analytical approaches: nothing but the text
2.2 Making sense: subjective response and dialog
2.3 Context and culture as conditions of meaning
2.4 ‘Doing’ literature: task-based and creative
work
3. Literature for all levels
4. Recommended reading
5. Acknowledgments
Chapter 8: Literature matters
2
Discuss your interest
in reading:
Which was your favorite book
of fiction and most rewarding
reading (or listening)
experience as a child and as
an adolescent?
What is your favorite text in
English now?
Why do you read literature,
why not? Consider the images
or draw a cartoon on dealing
with literature at school.
Chapter 8: Literature matters
3
1.1 Personal interest
Entertaining /
food for the
soul
1. Functions of literature
Educational /
food for
thought
Literature
4
Comedy
1.1 Personal interest
Adventure
Crime
fiction
Gender: which topics and
genres do boys or girls prefer?
Which would you select for
teaching literature in a mixed
class?
Fantasy
Comics
Science
fiction
Lyrics
1. Functions of literature
Human
interest
5
1.2 Institutional interest – the CEF
Bildung?
may develop “students’
aesthetic appreciation of
literature”
“major contribution to the
European cultural
heritage”
CEF/KMK do not specify
how these contribute
Reading
to the multiple
educational
purposes for…
of literature, let
alone the pleasure
of reading
Cultivation?
transports sociocultural
values, beliefs, and
attitudes
serves “educational
purposes – intellectual,
moral and emotional,
linguistic and cultural”
Council of Europe 2001: 56, 144
1. Functions of literature
6
1.2 Institutional interest – dimensions of literary
competence
Cognitive understanding & co-creation of meaning: forming mental model, filling gaps, forming hypotheses
Linguistic-discursive competence: in reading, follow-up communication, and negotiation of meaning
Motivation & orientation: getting involved in a text, finding pleasure in reading, recognizing relevance of literature
Subjective response and participation in interpersonal and intercultural perspectives
Reflection on and critical judgment of moral values and actions
Cognitive-aesthetic understanding and evaluation
Creative production through (re-)writing literary texts (narrative, performative, and poetic competence)
1. Functions of literature
2. Approaches to teaching literature – literature as communication
cf. Meyer 2011: 26, 68, 115
2. Approaches to teaching literature
2.1 Analytical
approaches: nothing
but the text
Literary work
Intrinsic analytical approach
(e.g., New Criticism)
Close readings
Typical task
 timeless artefact
 to appreciate
complex artistic
form as a perfect
mold of the
content
2. Approaches to teaching literature
 ‘Identify the
rhyme scheme
and the rhetorical
features of the
poem.’
9
Discuss which competences the teacher-centered and analytical
approach promotes.
2. Approaches to teaching literature
10
2.1 Analytical
approaches: nothing
but the text
Discussing the method
Analytic skills
Insight
language &
art
Subjective
reader
response
2. Approaches to teaching literature
Context
Author
11
2.1 Analytical
approaches: authorial
communication
Discussing the question:
“What did the author want to
tell us?”
Intentional
fallacy
Expression
of personal
experience
Intertextuality
&
sociocultural
conventions
2. Approaches to teaching literature
Imaginative
transformation
of experience
‘The message’
vs. personal
interpretation
12
2.2 Making sense:
subjective response
and dialog
Reader response and
cognitive approaches
efferent
reading
aesthetic
reading
dynamic
interaction
2. Approaches to teaching literature
13
2.2 Making sense:
subjective response
and dialog
Dynamic interaction between
reader and text
sociocultural schemata of text stimulate
reader’s associations & ideas
reader infuses text with
subjective mental images &
interpretations
sharing & coordinating perspectives
Minds are like parachutes.
They only function when they
are open.
– Sir Dewar (attributed)
recognition or critical resistance
2. Approaches to teaching literature
14
2.2 Making sense: subjective response and dialog
» involved participant
» detached spectator
» literary critic
Readers’
roles and
teaching
2. Approaches to teaching literature
» subjective response (e.g., reading logs)
» open dialog, negotiating meanings
» aesthetic appreciation and criticism
15
Discuss which competences approaches to individual reading processes
promote and which they neglect.
2. Approaches to teaching literature
16
2.3 Context and
culture as conditions
of meaning
Mimesis: the strange mirror
literature as imitation of reality
no objective representation
or a ‘neutral mirror’ of reality
reflection of & on culture
2. Approaches to teaching literature
17
2.3 Context and
culture as conditions
of meaning
individuals
discourse
Language use on display
genres
generations
Characteristics
& differences
of…
regions &
nations
2. Approaches to teaching literature
race,
class,
gender
historical
periods
18
2.3 Context and culture as conditions of meaning – the ‘third space’
‘Them’
Hybrid ‘third space’
‘Us’
 a contact zone; e.g.,
between the German
context and the cultures
experienced through
American, British, and
postcolonial or New
English literature
cf. Kramsch 1998, Matos 2012: 9-20
2. Approaches to teaching literature
19
2.3 Context and
culture as conditions
of meaning
Dominant ideologies 
critical literacy approach
language is socio-culturally situated
no neutral use of language in a society
marked by inequality of the
distribution of wealth and power
suppressive ideology = “a falsifying
collectively held system of ideas and
beliefs that interpret the world […] in
the interests of those who are in power,
covers up contradictions and conflicts in
society”
maintaining /
legitimizing the status
quo
Meyer 2011: 181-82
resistant reader needs to reflect on implicit
preconceptions and functions of language use
2. Approaches to teaching literature
20
2.3 Context and
culture as conditions
of meaning
less concerned about ideology
texts are cultural: texts have ‘real’
conditions and effects
Culture as text 
postmodern perspectives
culture is textual: in the sense of being
culturally significant and readable
Example: violent responses to the
cartoons of Charlie Hebdo in 2015
2. Approaches to teaching literature
21
2.3 Context and
culture as conditions
of meaning
Intertextuality / intermediality
individual = an intersection of discourses + an
actant who constructs meaning in new texts
by selecting and combining discourses
orientation, selection, and
(re)construction of meaning
representative ‘texts’
intertextual nodes around
core symbols  negotiating
the values and functions of
myths
students explore the circulation and interplay of
meanings and create new webs of significance in
dialog with the texts and each other
Hallet 2002: 60-61, 46-48, 64-65, 39-45, 69-72
2. Approaches to teaching literature
22
2.3 Context and culture
as conditions of meaning
– dynamic model of
reading
Reading as experience and
interactive information
processing in combination
with the social negotiation of
meaning in an institutional
framework
cf. Meyer 2012, adapted from Reichl 2009: 214
2. Approaches to teaching literature
23
2.4 ‘Doing’ literature: task based and creative work – reading phases
(1) feel like reading
(2) get into the text
(3) live through the text
(4) realize some preliminary
meaning
(5) reviewing experience &
preliminary grasps
(6) modifying and expanding
understanding
cf. Delanoy 2007: 115-18, Hesse 2009: 89, Nünning & Surkamp 2006: 71-80, Thaler 2008: 51-52
2. Approaches to teaching literature
24
2.4 ‘Doing’ literature:
Task-based and
creative work
 Creative activities
 motivate learners to work on palpable
products
 encourage aesthetic transformation of
subjective responses
The post-reading phase
creative response to Woolf’s short story “The New Dress” by Miriam Aufermann
2. Approaches to teaching literature
25
2.4 ‘Doing’ literature – functions of learner texts
Motivation through identification, individual expression, and autonomy
Recognition of others’ perspectives, supporting empathy and tolerance
Meaningful communication addressed to peers (and the teacher)
Challenging but playful experiment with language and culture
Object of mutual reflection and trigger of linguistic and cultural awareness
Holistic learning that combines affect, cognitive insight, and imagination
Opportunity to give feedback; for appreciation, assessment, and evaluation
2. Approaches to teaching literature
Approaches to teaching literature – finding the right balance
2. Approaches to teaching literature
27
3. Literature for all levels – criteria of selection
 Texts should….
We shouldn’t
teach great
books; we
should teach a
love of reading.
– B.F. Skinner
 be manageable (length, difficulty of
vocabulary, topic, structure, etc.)
 be interesting and engaging
 be comparable to learners’ lives and cultures
 offer insights into other cultures
 motivate active and creative work
3. Literature for all levels
28
3. Literature for all levels – early language learning principles (recap)
Creative
Interlanguage
Motivation
Metalinguistic
knowledge
Comprehensible
input
Positive
atmospheres
Principles
Addressing prior
knowledge
Principles
Rich input
Qualifying
L2
communication only
if necessary
3. Literature for all levels
Accurate
pronunciation
Authentic
speech
production
Alternating
proceedings
Tolerating
structural
errors
29
3. Literature for all
levels
Beginners
 Pleasure in rhythm, rhyming, harmony,
nonsense, stories, physical activity and
singing (Total Physical Response)
 playful repetition & performance
 vivid story-telling with the help of Big Books
 holistic response
 lexical, narrative, and visual understanding
 describing and talking about pictures and
stories, re-enacting scenes
3. Literature for all levels
30
Search for ‘classical’ fairy tales in English and discuss which of
these would be of particular interest to beginners.
3. Literature for all levels
31
3. Literature for all levels – transition (recap)
3. Literature for all levels
32
3. Literature for all
levels
 Example: raising awareness of face-toface interaction in real life and
narrative communication in comics
 “A Relationship in Eight Pages” (Hoover
2007)
Intermediate learners
3. Literature for all levels

Pre-reading: What’s in a title and in a picture on
the cover page?

Reading/viewing: Spell out what the characters
feel and think in addition to what they say.

Post-reading: Compare the interplay of body
language and verbal communication to real life
interaction. Discuss intercultural similarities and
differences. Re-create the ending.
33
3. Literature for all
levels
Upper-intermediate learners
 “[G]reening of the EFL classroom”
(Volkmann 2012: 397)
 an open discussion of culture and nature
 raising ecological awareness in a more
directive way to change the learners’
attitude and practical behavior
 Pressing questions:

Who can claim to have ‘the truth’ about nature?

Who controls which discourses about nature and
the environment (politics, multinational
corporations, science, the media)?

How could ecological insight translate into social
and political action?
cf. Hollm & Uebel 2006: 182-83
3. Literature for all levels
http://www.goinggreen2014.org
34
Search the Internet for prizes for young adult literature, and discuss
which of the award-winning texts from last or this year would be suited
for intermediate learners (major booksellers offer the first few pages
online as a preview).
3. Literature for all levels
35
3. Literature for all
levels
 Advanced learners should be able to
cope with – and enjoy – literature from
young adult fiction to selected classics
 Slumdog Millionaire (2006)
Advanced learners

media literacy

inter-, trans-, and intracultural similarities and
differences

critical reflection on values and actions
 modern adaptions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet
(manga or movie) in comparison to
selected scenes from the original
3. Literature for all levels
36
3. Literature for all levels
Intermediate:
expand ICC,
cognitive
understanding,
discursive skills,
Beginners:
aesthetic
pleasure,
enjoying reading appreciation,
creative potential
3. Literature for all levels
Advanced:
increase ICC and
all dimensions
of literary
competence
37
Inform yourself about mandatory texts in the curriculum of your state,
and compare these to the literary texts which you have read so far and
find suitable for use in the EFL classroom. Check which of your favorite
movies are book adaptions and discuss which of these would be
attractive to students. What would be your teaching goals and preferred
activities with the texts and movies of your choice?
3. Literature for all levels
38
Recommended reading
Delanoy, Werner; Maria Eisenmann & Frauke Matz, eds. (2015). Learning
with Literature in the EFL Classroom. Frankfurt a. M. et al.: Lang.
Hallet, Wolfgang & Ansgar Nünning, eds. (2007). Neue Ansätze und Konzepte
der Literatur- und Kulturdidaktik. Trier: WVT.
Nünning, Ansgar & Carola Surkamp (2006). Englische Literatur unterrichten:
Grundlagen und Methoden. Seelze-Velber: Klett/Kallmeyer.
Surkamp, Carola & Ansgar Nünning (2009). Englische Literatur unterrichten:
Unterrichtsmodelle und Materialien. Seelze-Velber: Klett/Kallmeyer.
Thaler, Engelbert (2008). Teaching English Literature. Paderborn et al.:
Schöningh.
Chapter 8: Literature matters
39
Acknowledgments
Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning,
Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Delanoy, Werner (2007). Literaturdidaktik als Zusammenspiel von Rezeptionsästhetik und TaskBased Learning. In: Wolfgang Hallet & Ansgar Nünning, eds. Neue Ansätze und Konzepte der
Literatur- und Kulturdidaktik. Trier: WVT, 107 – 21.
Hallet, Wolfgang (2002). Fremdsprachenunterricht als Spiel der Texte und Kulturen: Intertextualität
als Paradigma einer kulturwissenschaftlichen Didaktik. Trier: WVT.
Hesse, Mechthild (2009). Teenage Fiction in the Active English Classroom. Stuttgart: Klett.
Hollm, Jan & Anke Uebel (2006). Utopias for our Time: Teaching Ecotopian and Ecodystopian
Writing. In: Sylvia Mayer & Graham Wilson, eds. Ecodidactic Perspectives on English Language,
Literatures and Cultures. Trier: WVT, 179-92.
Hoover, Jim (2007). A Relationship in Eight Pages. In: Ariel Schrag, ed. Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen
Comics from an Unpleasant Age. New York: Viking, 159-67.
Kramsch, Claire (1998). Language and Culture. Oxford et al.: Oxford University Press.
Chapter 8: Literature matters
40
Acknowledgments
Matos, Ana Gonçalves (2012). Literary Texts and Intercultural Learning: Exploring New Directions.
Oxford et al.: Lang.
Meyer, Michael (2011). English and American Literatures. 4th ed. Tuebingen et al.: Francke.
Meyer, Michael (2012). Notes towards a Comprehensive Model of Reading. Unpublished.
Nünning, Ansgar & Carola Surkamp (2006). Englische Literatur unterrichten: Grundlagen und
Methoden. Seelze-Velber: Klett/Kallmeyer.
Reichl, Susanne (2009). Cognitive Principles, Critical Practice: Reading Literature at University.
Goettingen et al.: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Thaler, Engelbert (2008). Teaching English Literature. Paderborn et al.: Schöningh.
Volkmann, Laurenz (2012). Ecodidactics als Antwort auf die planetare Bedrohung? Zum Einsatz von
ecopoetry im Englischunterricht. In: Julia Hammer; Maria Eisenmann & Rüdiger Ahrens, eds.
Anglophone Literaturdidaktik: Zukunftsperspektiven für den Englischunterricht. Heidelberg: Winter,
393-408.
Chapter 8: Literature matters
41
Acknowledgments
The cartoons at the beginning of each ppt were designed by Frollein Motte, 2014. If not otherwise indicated, the
copyright of the figures lies with the authors. The complete titles of the sources can be found in the references to the
units unless given below. All of the websites were checked on 10 September 2014.
 Slide 4: https://pixabay.com/fr/photos/insects, http://www.bellasavvy.net/archives/17596,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter#/media/File:Harry_Potter_English_Australian_Series.jpg,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(novel_series)#/media/File:The_twilight_saga_hardback.jpg
 Slide 6: https://pixabay.com/en/bookends-books-shelf-men-pushing-155762
 Slide 13: Individual use of literature, designed by Frollein Motte, 2014
 Slides 15 & 28: https://pixabay.com/en/student-education-boy-school-41444, https://pixabay.com/en/girl-booksschool-reading-learning-160169
 Slide 17: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror#/media/File:Mirror.globe.arp.500pix.jpg
 Slide 21: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo#/media/File:Je_suis_Charlie.svg
 Slide 22: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty#/media/File:EdwardMoranUnveilingTheStatueofLiberty1886Large.jpg
 Slide 23: Dynamic model of reading, based on Reichl 2009: 214
 Slide 25: creative responses to Woolf’s short story “The New Dress” by Miriam Aufermann
 Slide 33: https://pixabay.com/en/man-woman-toilet-holding-hands-297369
 Slide 34: http://germany.usembassy.gov/going-green
 Slide 36: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hamlet#/media/File:Gower_Memorial_04.JPG
Chapter 8: Literature matters
42