Literature In Efl Classrooms

Using Literature in the EFL Classroom


BA and Master studies at University of Illinois, USA. Certificate for Overseas Teachers of English, Diploma course in Distance Education Materials Development, Diploma course in E-tutoring. Teacher of English at UABC in the Language School for 13 years. BA in Language teaching professor. Responsible for the social service and the tutoring programs ofthe Language School.

Summary:
In this age, where IPODS, multi-task cell phones and Internet are a very important part of recreational everyday living, reading as a means of entertainment is at the bottom of the list , if so. It is common knowledge that our country as a whole has a tremendously low percentage of books read per person per year in their own language. EFL teachers have theopportunity to promote interest in Literature in the EFL classroom, in its various forms, short stories, poetry, drama and even novels. Since reading all kinds of literature is part of an individual´s growth, giving students this opportunity can enhance their emotional and cultural growth. EFL teachers can use their particular stage to promote interest on literature and its wealth. Reading, analyzing andtrusting his own interpretations allows the student to think of literature as something enjoyable, worth learning and hopefully developing on himself the desire to read in the foreign language he/she wants to acquire.

Using Literature in the EFL classroom
The controversy on using literary material in the EFL classroom is not a new one in the EFL experience. Through out the past century(1960-1980), there was the belief that if students were exposed to the best of literature, they would somehow become proficient in the language, specifically English. (Shortand Cadlin, 1981:91) Regardless of the beliefs, using literature to teach ESL students did not give the expected results.
This was the period where the Structuralism Approach was concerned with correctness of grammatical formand not with content, interpretation of the written word or style. During this period the grammar exercise books proliferated and teachers were mainly concerned with correctness of grammar use.
Later on and with the appearance of the Communicative Approach in the late 70`s and very early 80`s, literature as a teaching tool seemed completely unreachable. The tendency in the EFL classrooms was toteach “usable, practical” contents and here nor poetry nor drama, had a place. During this period dialogues proliferated as a means of communication and gave the EFL student the necessary tools to communicate in the most practical manner, which after all, it is the aim of most EFL courses.
We have to admit that there is a certain amount of truth in viewing literary texts as a separate entityfrom those materials that are commonly used in an English class, more so when it comes to an EFL classroom. After all, the style and structures present in literary pieces vary enormously depending on the genre, and these structures are not commonly taught in class.
Still, fortunately for us EFL teachers some practitioners proposed the use of literary texts as a teaching tool in the EFL classrooms:Widdowson, 1984 ; Brumfit, 1985 ; Long, 1986 ; Long and Carter, 1987, Lazar, 1993. (Zafeiriadou,2007)
Why use literature
“It can help stimulate the imagination of our students, to develop their critical abilities and to increase their emotional awareness”, Lazar 1993.
Regardless of the difficulties the practitioner can encounter, using literature is motivating to students. They are exposedto different themes which as a rule textbooks do not include. It gets the students involved in trying to understand what the text is about. It facilitates de expression of emotional responses, as literary pieces describe human emotions and perceptions. The student understands that the piece he is reading is “different” from whatever textbook material he has come in contact , so his sense of...