By Nell Novara

Textbook ESL readers Blogs News Literature

 Superficial Understanding (newspapers, common lit) Imaginative Understanding (literature) Precise Understanding (both)

 Benefits: Practical vocabulary Common grammar structure Cultural information Current events

 What to look for? Topical Thought provoking Avoid anything too polarizing Avoid satire (at lower levels)

 CNN The Guardian BBC See list in textbook

 Pre-article questions
What is your countrys view of ____ ? Is _____ a problem in your country? What is your personal opinion of _____ ?

Pre-article vocabulary definition Read article Post-article vocabulary Post-article discussion

Do you agree with this article? What would most people in your country agree/disagree with in this article? Does this change your earlier opinion? ALWAYS encourage text specificity!!!!

 Racism/Media power Gun control

 Problems with using literature Incorrect grammar Outdated words Styles can be confusing (stream of consciousness, etc.) EXAMPLE: Gertrude Stein, Buttons Benefits Sense of achievement Easy cultural lesson Fun!

 Examples:
Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, fairy tales, translated texts

Things to look out for:

- Technicality is IMPORTANT, students may overlook words and grammar because they already know the story - Are they actually reading? - Can they summarize and paraphrase for you? - Are they defining new words?

 DO choose something with relatively easy vocabulary DO choose short pieces, and if longer, break up assignments DO choose pieces with universal themes DONT choose anything that requires a great deal of historical context this is not a history lesson DONT choose anything too obscure- students may want to do further research on the piece, and they quite enjoy working with canonical authors

 Differences between a regular literature course and an ESL course

Define general themes/plot Pre-story vocab definition Define characters if necessary Provide guided questions
Vocab work Summarizing Pre-story vocab definition Define characters if necessary Provide guided questions

Post-Reading

 Margaret Atwood, Happy Endings http://ebookbrowse.com/happy-endings-by-margaretatwood-pdf-d107082835 Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html

 Can we teach poetry? Pros Creative Vocabulary practice Familiar themes Cons Structure Confusing

 What to look for

Common themes

SIMPLE vocabulary Shorter poems work best Relatively common grammatical structure Rhyme?

 Functions more like a regular literature lesson Vocabulary Read through (silently, then aloud) Examine meaning Discuss views and opinions Discuss figurative language (common similes, metaphors, etc.)

William Carlos Williams, This is Just to Say Langston Hughes, A Dream Deferred Shel Silverstein, Whatif Emily Dickinson, Faith is a fine Invention Dorothy Parker, Observation Edna St. Vincent Millay, First Fig

 Micro-fiction Six word memoirs Hemingway Parables

Sufi/Zen