MODULE 0 Didactic Guide

WELCOME TO OUR COURSE

LITERATURE IN ELT

Literature seems to have a well-defined role within the curriculum, but it is not always
seen as an integral part of the foreign-language class. This course aims to explore the
features of literary discourse that make it appropriate to develop procedural abilities to
make sense of discourse, thus becoming a powerful tool for language acquisition. It
will also encourage the design of activities based on literary texts, both canonical and
unconventional, which can develop the expressive and poetic functions of language
and help students become acquainted with new socio-cultural meanings.

Who is this course for ?

Teachers of English language and literature who work with teenage and adult students
at secondary schools, language schools, tertiary level institutions and universities.

Objectives

To encourage participants to :
! reflect on the position of literature in a context dominated by multimedia
culture as well as on the role of literary discourse in the EFL class
! explore different approaches to the literary text
! select literary texts for the teaching and learning context in which they work
! design activities based on literary texts bearing in mind educational objectives
and different approaches.

Contents

Module 1

1.1 What is literature? The concept of text within multimedia culture.

1.2 The role of literature in the EFL class. Referential and representational language.
Selecting literary texts for the EFL class.
1.3 Guidelines to design materials based on representational texts.

Module 2

2.1 Literature at different educational levels and in teacher-training.

©2004. Claudia Ferradas Moi para Net-Learning. Todos los derechos reservados
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 MODULE 0 Didactic Guide

2.2 Reception theory and reader-response. Aesthetic and efferent reading. Relevance
of these theories for ELT.

Module 3

3.1 The canon. The role of “classics” in the EFL class.

3.2 The pros and cons of using readers.
3.3 Textual intervention.

Module 4

4.1 What is meant by “English” literature?

4.2 Postcolonial literatures. “New” literatures. The use of such texts to develop cultural
awareness.

Module 5

5.1 Literature on screen (first part). Literature and film. The question of adaptation.
5.2 Pedagogical implications: the thematic approach vs. the focus on technical
aspects.

Module 6

6.1 Literature on screen (second part). Literature in the PC: hyperfiction. The
challenges posed by virtual textuality.
6.2 Deconstruction in hyperfiction. The reading operations required by hypertext.
6.3 Pedagogical implications.

Apart from the discussion of the points listed above and related bibliography, you will
be invited to take an active part in the course by means of hands-on activities (see
Work Scheme).

How long is the course?

Six weeks.

During the course, you will:

! Download materials, so that you can read them at your own pace, off-line
! Interact on line (by means of e-mail, chats and discussion forums)
! Participate by doing guided tasks, sometimes individually and sometimes by
collaborating electronically with other participants. Tasks can be:

Integration or application tasks

©2004. Claudia Ferradas Moi para Net-Learning. Todos los derechos reservados
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 MODULE 0 Didactic Guide

Reflection tasks.

Assessment tasks.

You will receive step-by-step instructions form your tutor, who will often use icons like
the ones above.

Evaluation

You will receive regular feedback form your tutor on all the tasks you post. At the end
of the course, you will be invited to submit a plan for a specific group of students
based on the selection of literary materials and the design of strategies to approach
them in four periods of 40 minutes each. The work should follow guidelines agreed on
during the course (see Work Scheme).

Who is your tutor?

Claudia Ferradas Moi

Claudia holds an MA in Education and Professional Development from the University of
East Anglia, UK, and is doing a PhD at the University of Nottingham. She is tenured
lecturer in English Literature at the I.E.S. en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”.
She is also a distance tutor at the Universidad Virtual de Quilmes and a teacher trainer
for NILE, the Norwich Institute for Language Education, in the UK. Materials writer for
the British Council, she has published in Argentina, Portugal, the US, the UK and Italy
and has been a trainer and presenter in Argentina, the US, the UK, Ireland, Germany,
Portugal, Uruguay and Paraguay. She has recently co-chaired the XVII and XVIII
Oxford Conferences on the Teaching of Literature, Corpus Christi College, Oxford
University.

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