INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN GURU MALAYSIA, KAMPUS SULTAN ABDUL HALIM, 08000 SUNGAI PETANI, KEDAH DARUL AMAN.

B.ED TESL YEAR 4

ISSUES IN THE TEACHING & LEARNING OF LITERATURE (BIT 4103)

COURSEWORK 2: ARTICLE REVIEW _____________________________________________________________________ STUDENT: MAHFUZAH BT S.M.J DULKAMAN D20081033504 880620-35-5696

LECTURER: KATHLEEN DASS

DATE DUE: 9 FEBRUARY 2012

Article review by Mahfuzah bt S.m.J Dulkaman The use of Literature in Language Teaching.

Introduction The article entitles The use of Literature in Language Teaching is taken from collection of Journal of Academic Studies. When the article was published in 2009, the writer, Ali Gunes was in English department at Kafkas University, Kars teaching English literature. Ali had worked there for nine years. Ali is currently an English associate professor in International University of Sarajevo Hrasnicka Cesta, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this paper, I will summarize the article and offer comments about selected aspects in using literature for teaching English, identify some relevant issues in teaching English, compares the problem in Malaysia context and suggest areas where additional research and improvement can be taken.

Summary The use of Literature in Language Teaching is an article written by Ali Gunes. As the title implies, the paper focuses upon the role of literature in language teaching as well as upon creativity and close interactive relationship between literature and language. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first section, Ali describes briefly his personal experience with students in the department of English language and literature while in the second part of the article about his suggestion on the use of literary text as a possible solution to general incompetence of language learners in second language learning. Ali also documented the advantages of integrating literature into language teaching in his writing.

Critical Review The dominant purpose of this article seems to be to convince the reader that the best way of teaching English is by having close relationship between literature and the language. This article focuses on integration of literature into language teaching. In the article, we could see that the writer believes that integration of literature in language teaching can help to overcome problems faced by students at both high school and universities in Turkey as well as throughout the world. I strongly agree to the authors perceptions about literature. This is because, through literature, students will not only be exposed to the language content, but also allows them to be creative. This is because, literature allows students to interpret and evaluate completely a work written in the target language. Besides, students will also be exposed to figurative languages and variety styles of writing. These allow students to see the beauty of the target language which will indirectly motivate students to learn and use the language better.

In Malaysia, literature was officially included in the syllabus in the year 2000 (Ganakumaran, Shahizah & Koo, 2003). The addition of literature in Malaysian ELT is to benefit students in three areas, namely language development, cultural enrichment and personal growth. The overall aim of literature component is to inculcate the reading habit among students, enhance students proficiency in the English language through the study of a set of prescribed literary texts, contribute to personal development and character building and broaden students outlook through reading about other cultures and world views (Sukatan Pelajaran Sekolah Menengah, 2000). Here, we could see that literature plays an important role in language learning. It is not only used as a tool to boost students interest towards English, but

also develop students maturity in term of knowledge and language proficiency. Therefore, I believe the suggestion of integrating literature in language teaching is appropriate. Following the same idea, Carter and Long (1991:2-3) propose three models to justify the use of literature in language teaching. The first model in their discussion is the cultural model which represents the possibility literature brings into the picture as regards the understanding and appreciation of different cultures and ideologies together with the developing of ones perception of feelings and artistic forms. Their second model is the language model. This model emphasises the fact that language is the literary medium and that literature could be seen as an instrument to teach specific vocabulary and structures. Last, their personal growth model. This model entails students engaging with the reading of literary texts, appreciating and evaluating cultural artifacts. With regard to these models, we can conclude that learning literature enable students not only to develop their language ability but also their social skills. By learning literature, students are able to learn and understand other cultural aspects represented in the text and this indirectly enables students to improve their communication skills and also their general knowledge.

In the article, the writer had also suggested several types of literary texts which he thinks appropriate to be used in the classroom. Those texts are poems, short stories, extracts from novel, plays, autobiographies, essays and travel books in teaching English. I personally think these types of texts are beneficial in teaching and learning process in many ways. This is because, poem, short stories, drama and novels are types of literary texts which are recognized by the Malaysian Ministry of Education to be taught in schools. I personally believe that exposure to such texts will help to develop an understanding of other societies, cultures, values and traditions which will also contribute to students emotional and spiritual growth. For

instance, the literary texts such as the drama Gulp and Gasp, and the novels Black Beauty and Catch Us if You Can which are introduced to the Malaysian students. These texts involve setting in foreign countries. I believe, these texts will help to stimulate students imagination, develop their cultural abilities and increase their emotional awareness. This is because,

students will visualize and imagine the characters and setting as they read. Besides, the texts are also good as the themes are related to the daily interest of students. This will encourage students to read more as they will feel that reading is enjoyable.

Hence, as what suggested by the writer in the article, the inclusion of literature in language teaching will also contribute and educate students in terms of internalisation and reinforcement of vocabulary, grammar and discourse, response to and appreciation of literature. These components enable learners to engage in wider reading of good work for enjoyment and self-development. I agree upon the writers perception. This is because, by referring to the journal of Using Simple Poems to Teach Grammar by Hawanum Hussein, there are five different types of poems which are introduced to the students. From each poem, students will get the idea of how interesting a poem can be besides learning grammar as well. So, here we could conclude that literature is also a medium that allow students to improve their grammar and language content. Besides, I believe students are also able to expand their vocabulary by learning the figurative meaning of words in the poem.

Besides. I believe active use of literary text such as what have been mentioned in the article could actually helps students to learn the four skills - speaking, writing, listening, and reading more effectively. This is because, learning literature usually involves reading, reciting,

and even dramatizing. I believe, these ease communication and provide an appropriate psycholinguistic climate for language learning. Here, we can see that through literature,

students will exercise their sensitivity and imagination and thus makes learning more realistic and significant. Further, literature also enables students to improve their learning skills as well as their critical thinking skills. Besides, it also heightened self-esteem, motivation, spontaneity, increased capacity of empathy, and lowered sensitivity to rejection.

Moreover, in the article, we can see that the writer believes that enjoyment plays an important factor in learning. Therefore, it is the teachers responsibility to make their students occupied or engaged in the literature lesson. Teachers have to look beyond what is to be taught. Teachers must be creative in changing some things to make improvements to carry out literature lessons interestingly. So, teachers must explore different ways in teaching literature. I believe, although the teacher is a trainee teacher or an expert teacher, they must be able to use the literary text creatively. This is because, students have varied abilities, expectations, motivation level, knowledge and last but not least different learning styles. Making learning as something that is joyful will allows students to see the positive side of learning the target language and able to comprehend the lessons well.

There are so many ways to introduce students with elements in English language. I strongly agree with the suggestion brought up by Ali Gunes which is to use literary texts in language teaching. This is because, it can change and revolutionize a dull boring classroom into a lively and vibrant educational setting. I believe, literature lessons should be conducted by focusing on the language, content and values in the literature text. Activities such as asking

students to retell the story in their own words, give their opinion on the literature text read, explain the message the writer is trying to convey, discuss other peoples culture, traditions, customs, beliefs or carrying out role-play will make any literature lesson exciting and interesting. Besides, many teachers do not wish to teach grammar explicitly but are keenly aware that students need an understanding of the rules to achieve fluency as well as accuracy. So, integrating literary text in teaching English will be the solutions for this problem. In order to make students understand and get the clear idea of grammar which might be quite difficult for some students, teachers can use literary texts such as poems, short stories, novels and even drama. By this way, teachers can kill two birds with one stone. They can get them to know about grammar as well as literature at the same time. Moreover, I personally believe that the intuition of literature in language learning will actually reduced the teachers burden. This is because, it allows teachers to use them as vehicle in teaching English. Therefore, we can summarize that the suggestion brought up by the writer in the article is relevant as it is beneficial for the students and also the teacher.

As a conclusion, I strongly think that literature should be used in English language teaching. First, because I am a reader and I would love to share with my learners the pleasure in reading fiction. Second, because I believe it can help students engage in the learning of English and at the same time improve their communicative competence. Last, but not least, because I believe that literature enables us to grow personally and socially raising cultural awareness.

References Carter, R. and M. Long (1991) Teaching Literature. Harlow: Longman. Collie, J. and S. Slater (1987) Literature in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fernandez, L. and Coil, A. (1986) Drama in the classroom. Practical Teaching 6:3, pp.18-21. Hawanum Hussein. Using Simple Poems to Teach Grammar. Universiti Tenaga Nasional UNITEN (Kajang, Malaysia) (http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Hussein-Poems.html) Lao, C. Y. and S. Krashen. (2000). The impact of popular literature study on literacy development in EFL: More evidence for the power of reading. System, 28, 261-270. Murdoch, G. (2002). Exploiting well-known short stories for language skills development. IATEFL LCS SIG Newsletter 23, 9-17. Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. (2000). Kurikulum bersepadu Sekolah Menegah: Huraian Sukatan pelajaran Bahasa Inggeris Tingkatan 4. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. Kuala Lumpur. Parkinson, B. and H. Reid Thomas (2000) Teaching Literature in a Second Language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Stern, Susan (1980) Why drama works: A psycholinguistic perspective. In OIler, Jr. J.W. & Richard Amato, P.A. (Eds.), Methods that work. Rowley: Newbury House Publishers Inc.

S.Subarna, S.Ganakumaran (2000) The Incorporation of Literature in the English Language Program for Engineering Students: Learner Interest and Perception: Language, Linguistics, Literature - Volume 14