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Making “The Study of Literature” more valuable and learnable for non-English-major students. Nguyen Thu Huong Foreign Trade University. Main contents. The situation : Co-operative program and The Study of Literature. The challenges : faced by students and the instructor.
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Making “The Study of Literature” more valuable and learnablefor non-English-major students Nguyen Thu Huong Foreign Trade University
Main contents • The situation: Co-operative program and The Study of Literature. • The challenges: faced by students and the instructor. • How changes have been implemented.
The situation • 2008 - 2009: Co-operative education program between FTU and Colorado State University. • ‘Import’ the whole curriculum from CSU – “American Accredited Curriculum Undergraduate Program” - TheStudy of Literature is a subject. • Conflict btw Ss’ expectations and the course.
The Study of Literature • ECC140 introduces the study of literature as a mode of discourse for defining, exploring, and expressing human experience. • Focuses on learning the skills of reading and writing about literature. • Covers fictions, poetry, and drama. (Course Introduction)
The challenges • The original syllabus is too ‘rich,’ containing much of literary ‘classics’ >< Ss’ knowledge of the system and use of English is so limited. • No sequence: Ss’ formal training of Vietnamese literature >< literature in English. • No formal training for the instructor. (Widdowson, 1975)
Literature as a Discipline or Subject? • Literature as a subject Purpose: The development of the capacity for individual response to language use (Widdowson, 1975) • Other purposes can include: • Valuable authentic material. • Cultural enrichment. • Language enrichment. • Personal involvement. (Collie & Slater, 1987)
Stylistic Approach • Resorts to discourse analysis Can develop a sharper awareness of English in Ss. • Criteria for selection are pedagogic and have to do with whether the works can be used to develop sensitivity to language in the most effective way. (Widdowson, 1975) • However, it was criticized as having treated the Literature subject as a ‘clinical analysis’ (Gowner, 1986)
Other Approaches • Using a variety of student-centered activities. • Supplementing the printed page. • Tapping students’ knowledge and experience. • Helping students explore their own responses to literature. • Using the target language. • Integrating language and literature. (Collie & Slater, 1987)
Classroom Procedure • Pre-reading activities • The first reading • Encouraging individual responses • Sharing and developing responses • Assessment and evaluation • Possible final readings or presentations (Protherough, 1983)
References • Bock, S. (1993) Developing materials for the study of literature. English Teaching Forum (31) 3. Retrieved from http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/1993/docs/93-31-3-b.pdf. • Collie, J & Slater, S. (1987) Literature in The Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press. • Gower, R. (1986) Can stylistic analysis help the EFL learner to read literature? English Language Teaching Journal, 40, 2, pp. 125-30. • Protherough, R. (1983) Developing Reponses to Fictions. Open University Press. • Short, M.H. (1988) Reading, Analyzing and Teaching Literature. Essex: Longman. • Widdowson, H.G. (1975) Stylistics and The Teaching of Literature. Longman.
