Ａｐｐｌｙｉｎｇ Ｌｉｔｅｒａｔｕｒｅ ｔｏ ＥＬＴ

Abstract：Literature is no longer a frightening word to English language learner. Interactive teaching methods and attractive activities can help motivating Chinese university English learners. This essay will first elaborate the reasons to use literature in ELT (English Language Teaching) class and how to apply literature to ELT class.

Key words： ELT literature authentic materials cultural enrichment language awareness personal growth.

Introduction

Using literature as a resource in ELT classroom has been a controversial issue， which has swung into and out of favor. Traditionally， the main aim of learning a foreign language was to read its literature， but this view became less accepted as languages were taught for more everyday communicative use. Meanwhile， a majority of modern students are fearful of literature， because of what they think is its difficulty and archaic language， which is seen as far away from everyday communication. There is little doubt that literary works are valuable teaching resources. However， how to select a suitable text for the target students and devise appropriate activities are the issues that teachers should take into consideration.

Why use literature in the language class?

Carter and Long (1991： 4) agree that literature is a legitimate and valuable resource for language teaching. Using literature as a resource can provide access to authentic materials， supply many linguistic opportunities cultural and language enrichment， and encourage personal development.′ (ibid.) I will explain these reasons in detail in the following part.

Authentic material

Literature texts are authentic learning and teaching materials， which are not written for the specific purpose of teaching a foreign language. As Collie and Slater (1987： 4) illustrate， in reading literary texts， students may get familiar with different linguistic uses， forms and conventions of the language intended for native speakers.

Cultural enrichment

Most of the literary works provides students with access to the culture of the country whose language is being learnt (Carter and Long 1991： 2， Collie and Slater 1987： 4， Lazar 1993： 17). It can increase the foreign learners' insights into the social， political and historical background of a particular novel or play. Foreign language learners are able to build up a vivid image of the country and the people from the rich contexts. However， Lazar (1993： 17) argues that although literary texts in some way reflect a country's culture， teachers should encourage learners treated it critically， since few works are factual representations of their culture. Therefore， teachers should select culturally relevant texts and should also consider the students' age， interests， and their language proficiency level.

Language awareness

Although there is little doubt that extensive reading enlarges learners' vocabulary， and the vocabulary in literary works may be authentic in the sense that I mentioned， Collie and Slater (1987： 4) argue that the language is not typical everyday language that the learners really need. It is not necessary to speak or even to understand Shakespeare's English in the modern world; whereas lexical and syntactical items are more memorable in the rich literary contexts. In the classroom， students need to share their feelings and opinions after reading a literary text， so that they can practice speaking skills in group work or other activities (Lazar 1993：17). Thus， literary works may promote four skills of language learning. Nevertheless， the selection of appropriate literary materials for the target group of students is the most important issue for teachers to consider.

Personal growth

Apart from the linguistic benefits of using literature in ELT class， it can also help to encourage their imagination， creativity and emotional awareness， and develop their critical abilities (Aebersold and Field 1997， Lazar 1993： 19). Learners can express their opinions， feelings after reading the text and respond with their personal and cultural experiences. As Cadorath and Harris (1998：188， cited in Savvidou 2005) point out， “a text itself has no meaning， it only provides direction for the reader to construct meaning from the reader's own experience”. Therefore， there is no need to ask students to agree with all the literature works; instead， critical appreciation and individual response are more important.

Conclusion

Overall， students can benefit a lot from literature in ELT class， from its authenticity， cultural enrichment， language awareness and personal involvement， but obviously， the choice of appropriate literary work and proper teaching approach are the most important thing.

In order to arouse learners' interests in poems， we can help them to handle linguistic problems， and devise different activities for different texts， including poems comparison， debates， songs， role-plays， drawing pictures. I hope these interesting ideas of approaches of teaching literature will help ELT teachers in Chinese universities to involve literary texts in their classroom efficiently and successfully.

References：

[1]Aebersold， J. A. and M. L. Field. 1997. From Reader to Reading Teacher： Issues and strategies for second language classrooms. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.

[2]Carter， R. and M. N. Long. 1991. Teaching Literature. London： Longman.

[3]Collie， J. and S. Slater. 1987. Literature in the Language Classroom： A resource book of ideas and activities. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.

[4]Lazar， G. 1993. Literature and Language Teaching. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.

[5]Leech， G. 1988. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. London： Longman.

[6]McRae， J. 1991. Literature with a small 'l'. London and Basingstoke： Macmillan Publishers Limited.

[7]Savvidou， C. 2005. An integrated approach to teaching literature in the EFL classroom. Internet TESL Journal XI (1).

(作者單位：遼寧沈陽市中國刑警學院基礎部外語教研室)