ELT 9

Midterm ILK
Topic: Teaching Literature – An Overview

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
a. recognize important concepts in teaching literature in English;
b. identify appropriate methods and approaches to teach literature; and
c. discuss the right books, reading materials, and comprehension questions in teaching literature.

Introduction
In this term, the topic is on the overview of teaching literature that focuses on the value of literature,
factors affecting interests in literature, choosing books and reading materials, models of teaching
literature, approaches to teaching literature, levels of comprehension, and assessment strategies in
teaching literature.

Input

Value of Literature
What is value?
The phrase "values of literature" refers to those qualities of poems, stories, novels, etc. that make them
worthwhile to read.

What is there to value?

A work of literature can be valuable in several ways.

Literature has . . . if reading it . . .

entertainment value is an enjoyable way to pass the time.

political value can change the way people live with and influence each other.

artistic value helps us contemplate the nature of beauty and human creativity.

cultural value sheds light on the place and time of the author of the work.

historical value helps one understand the past and how the world has evolved.

philosophical value explores human knowledge, how we know and what we know.

moral value teaches a lesson that will inspire the reader to live a better life.

ethical value helps us asks questions related to the standards of a "good" life.

Entertainment value
Literature has entertainment value if reading it gives occasion to enjoy yourself. This type of value is
inherently subjective because not everyone will enjoy the same kinds of stories, styles, or themes.

Political value
Literature has political value if reading it gives occasion to change how a person thinks or acts. Politics is
about the management and flow of power. And power, like electricity, flows from one end of a circuit to
another to make things happen. Reading a work can jolt someone into action. It can reveal an injustice, outrage
its readers, give voice to the oppressed, ridicule those who are corrupt, etc. The main idea here is to think about
what the work of literature is trying to do. It has political value if it attempts to persuade people or the world to
start acting and thinking in "this" way. We can see the political leanings of a work without necessarily being
persuaded ourselves. But most of the time, we will like a work for its political leanings if we are in fact
persuaded to align ourselves with the author.

Artistic value
Literature has artistic value if reading it gives occasion to contemplate the nature of beauty and human
creativity. There are many works of literature that experiment with the limits of language and its expressive
power. If words can be manipulated to create beautiful works of art, then a work that tries to use words that
way in a new and unique way will have artistic value.
Cultural value
Literature has cultural value if reading it gives occasion to think about the place and time of the author at the
time the work was written. Authors might seems like supernatural beings or at least people who are way above
us, transcending the world down here to live among the heavens with their artistic visions, but they are actually
regular people like the rest of us. They care about what is happening in the world around them, and they have
experiences in life that shape their attitudes toward various issues. If their work addresses the attitudes,
customs, and values of their time (or another time), then the work has cultural value. The work becomes a
window into a world that is unfamiliar, and we are encouraged to compare cultural differences.

Historical value
Literature has historical value if reading it gives occasion to think about the past, how things changes
overtime, and how the world has evolved into what it is today. Historical value sometimes overlaps with
cultural value; if a work is really old, then it can give us insight into a culture so far back that we can also think
about how that culture might be a foundation for our own. The cliché about history is true--the less we now
about how things were, the more likely we are to relive them. Of course, some things might be worth reliving,
and we might regret some of the history we have left behind, but other things we want to avoid repeating.
Works of literature can help us learn about the past, process the past, and use the past to our advantage.
Sometimes the historical value of a work is that it shows us what we have gained and what we have lost.

Philosophical value
Literature has philosophical value if reading it gives occasion to explore the nature of human knowledge, how
we know and what we can know. These questions are central to the production of art because any artist must
interact with the world in order to represent it, whether lyrically in a poem or through storytelling in fiction; he
must, to some extent, know the world. But it is hard to be certain about what we know or even whether we can
know anything at all. Some writers explore philosophical issues pretty deeply because they are often a source
of crisis that can create great drama and raise intriguing questions. If a work invites us to think about
perception, making sense of our place in the world, or self-awareness, then we can say that it has philosophical
value. In response to such works, we tend to look inward and wonder, "who am I?"

Moral value
Literature has moral value if reading it gives occasion to learn a lesson. If a story or poem TEACHES us how
to live, or attempts to teach us, then it has a moral dimension. Is the work still valuable if we do not like the
lesson it teaches? Perhaps so. The best readers will see the moral value of a work even if the morals it endorses
are somehow distasteful to them. Moral value is a dangerous value to measure. The history of censorship, for
instance, is based on the idea that if a work teaches the "wrong" thing, it should not be read at all. This idea
goes all the way back to Plato, one of the earliest philosophers to explore the moral dimension of stories and
poetry. We have to be careful, I think, not to hold moral value as the most important one. If we reduce a story
or poem to a moral lesson, or require that a story or poem BE a moral lesson that we can endorse, then we are
USING literature to back up our own beliefs. To avoid this mistake, we must learn to appreciate works of
literature for its various kinds of value. "To appreciate" means "to measure the value of something," and we
need to try to find value in a work if we are inclined to reject it simply because we think it teaches the wrong
lesson. Here is where ethical value comes into play.

Ethical value
Literature has ethical value if reading it gives occasion to think about ethical questions. If a story dramatizes
conflicts and dilemmas, it is not necessarily teaching us how to live, but it encourages us to contemplate the
codes that the characters live by. If a poem has a speaker who promotes a particular world view or seems
conflicted about the world he lives in, the reader can try to look through the eyes of that speaker and see what
he or she sees. We may not agree with a speaker's or character's morality, but seeing that morality in action can
shed light on what it means or how it changes the world. If we reflect on a moral code, instead of simply
rejecting it or embracing it, then we are thinking ethically, and literature that promotes such thinking is
ethically valuable. Here are some important ethical questions: What is the good life? What is the excellent life?
Where do the definitions of good and excellent come from? Why do different definitions come into conflict?
On what basis do they conflict? Remember: works that raise questions do not always answer them. To measure
the ethical value of a work of literature, we need to ask the following questions:
 Do the characters make choices in the work? What are those choices?
 Do the characters or speakers defend particular beliefs or points of view? What are they?
 What motivates those choices or beliefs or points of view in the work?
 Where does the confidence in that motivation come from in the work?
 Is there a crisis in that confidence in the work? Why?
 To what place do those choices or beliefs or points of view lead in the work?

Yes, we can appreciate literature in the negative: we CAN decide that it holds little to no value for us,
ethically speaking. But we must be able to explain WHY it holds no value, the same way we have to
explain WHY it does. gspot.com/2010/08/values-of-literature.html#:~:text=The%20phrase%20"values%20of
%20literature,
work%20has%20value
Choosing Books and Reading Materials
Selecting reading materials for any particular class must be a thoughtful process rather than a random
one. Students must be actively involved in this process if teachers want to adopt appropriate reading
material s for the class. Teachers who decide to select reading materials wisely need to devote some of
their valuable time in analyzing each one of these aspects. If teachers successfully select a variety of
appropriate texts, the students will perceive reading as an interesting and valuable activity. On the
contrary, "if the passage chosen is inappropriate for whatever reason, the chances of success for that
particular lesson are substantially lessened.
The most significant factors in the reading selection process are related to the students: the students'
level, interests, needs, and background knowledge. Other factors are related to the text itself:
content, relevance and authenticity.

Students ' Level

The instructor needs to be aware of the students' level and acknowledge that fact when selecting the
materials for the reading class. Educators need to know which materials are suitable for the students'
level. Asking the students to read material that goes beyond their level might be counterproductive
since learners may feel that they are simply incapable of reading in the target language.

Students' Interests
Materials selected for the reading c1ass ought to satisfy students' interests. Lotherington states that
no matter how difficult or easy a text might be, it would be boring or difficult to read if it is not
interesting to the learner. Fox states that the first step for material selection is "to find material that the
students are likely to be interested in. With the purpose of finding out students' interests the instructor
should make an assessment about the students' interests and needs at the beginning of the period.
Through a survey, interviews or just an informal discussion, the instructor can ask the students to
suggest
appropriate topics for the class.

Students' Needs
Teachers should always discover the students' needs before making any decisions about the course
content. Teachers should be aware of the students' needs to be able to help them fulfill these needs by
providing appropriate materials. According to Grellet, there are certain needs that all the students have
in addition to their individual needs. For instance, all students need to be able to read fast, to time
themselves, to know basic reading techniques, and others. Educators must then take into account
common needs as well as the individual needs in the process of material selection. The mismatch
between students' expectations in regards to their needs and interests can result in students'
frustration, which might imply failure on a reading course.

Students' Background Knowledge

Another significant criterion for selecting appropriate material for the reading class is students'
background knowledge. In order to provide the students with suitable material, the teacher must be
familiar with the students' background knowledge. It is important to consider this aspect in material
selection process as reading cannot be separated from the readers’ previous knowledge. This does not
imply that it is not possible to use texts for which the students or the instructor himself lack the
background knowledge, but rather that it is the teacher's responsibility to provide the students
with the information required for comprehending a particular text. Pre-reading activities are
particularly useful for this purpose. In other words, the teacher must be aware of the need to
facilitate the reading comprehension process by either giving the students the background knowledge
along with the reading material, or requiring them to acquire it by their own means, for example, doing
some kind of informal research.

Relevance
Choosing reading materials wisely also implies considering the text itself. The topic, the type of text
and the information it sustains make the text relevant. Students must find that the reading material
used in the course is relevant for their professional lives. Readings should be related to real world
reading
purposes. For this reason, it is necessary to involve the learners to contribute to the reading selection
process.

Content
The most important criterion for selecting reading material is content. They affirm that if the selected
content is interesting for the students, they will be successful in the reading process no matter how
difficult the text might be. When the students are required to read a complex text that at the same
time interesting for them or that refers to knowledge required in other classes, they will probably
make more effort to comprehend it, and they will probably use a variety of strategies to digest it. In
order to select reading material with appropriate contents, it is necessary to take the students'
interests and needs into account. This can be done by asking the students to make a list of topics that
they will study in their specific fields or that they would like to read for fun.

Authenticity
Some regard authenticity as another important criterion for the selection of readings for the class.
However, whether the material used for classes should be authentic or not has been widely questioned
by those who advocate the use of teacher-made materials. Among those who advocate the use of
authentic material, Melvin & Stout state that teachers should take full advantage of the potential
benefits of authentic materials.
The rationale for selecting authentic material may include the following:
- Students need to be able to comprehend real-life language .
- Teachers can take advantage of the grammatical aspects found in the texts.
- Students will be prepared to read any type of text.
- The fact that language is simplified does not ensure comprehension. We can provide the
students with different strategies to ensure a better comprehension.
- It is better to simplify the reading process, rather than the text.
On the other hand, there are researchers and practitioners who consider that teachers should create
their own reading materials or adapt existing ones. Researchers such as Lotherington-Woloszcyn and
Cray, justify the adaptation of reading materials in order to satisfy students' needs.
The reasons that they have provided for the use of simplified texts are as follows:
• Adapting materials can make them accessible, interesting and informative.
• Arranging materials around one theme allows the learner to build up background knowledge of the
content.
• Attention should be given to what the learners find easy and interesting.
• If the text is poorly presented, it can always be improved.
• Teacher-created materials are based on authentic texts.
• They allow teachers to evaluate their students.
Teachers must be open minded and carefully analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using both
commercial and teacher-made materials; in this way they can make informed decisions with the
purpose of helping the students benefit the most from the teaching-learning process.

Those who read for pleasure are more likely to be successful in school. Part of developing this success
is giving them the skills on how to choose books to read independently. They are more likely to want to
read a book they have chosen rather than a teacher or parent.

Choosing a good book can be an overwhelming task for many children. As teachers, we can guide them
through the process. With a few effective strategies, it gets easier and becomes a habit for a lifetime.
So, how do we help children make appropriate, independent choices? Here are a few strategies to
help.

Models of Teaching Literature

Literature teaching approaches demonstrated in the cultural model, the personal growth model and
the language model by Carter and Long (1991) are widely used for second language literature teaching.

Cultural Model
Cultural model is related to information-based approach. Literature is a source of facts or information to
be put across to students by the teacher. It stresses the role of literature in condensing values, ideas and
wisdom that have accumulated within a culture over historical periods. Students need to understand
and search for political, literary, social and historical context from the learned text. It assists students
to understand and appreciate the different cultures and ideologies of thoughts and feelings which are
beyond their time and space. It is a traditional approach, teacher-centered, and delivers information
and facts to students.

Language Model
Language Model comprises paraphrastic approach, stylistic approach and language-based approach.
It integrates language and literature as a source to improve student’s language proficiency while
learning the language. It uses literature in teaching different functions of language like grammar,
vocabulary, and language structures from the literary texts to students. It helps to attain literature
aesthetic aspect solely via expression and communication quality of literature.

Personal Growth Model

Personal growth model comprises personal-response approach and moral philosophical approach. It
enables students to develop their language, character and emotions by connecting and responding
the
issues and themes to their lives. It encourages students to love and enjoy reading literature for personal
development as well as to relate their relationships to the environment.
Approaches to Teaching Literature

Paraphrastic Approach
Paraphrastic approach is primarily paraphrasing and rewording the text to simpler language or use
other languages to translate it. Teachers use simple words or less complex sentence structure to make
the original text easy to understand. It is teacher-centered and does not contribute much interesting
activities towards students.

Stylistic Approach
Stylistic approach implies literary critics and linguistic analysis. It is for students to appreciate and
understand in a deeper manner of the literary text. It helps students to interpret the text meaningfully
and develops language awareness and knowledge. It analyzes the language prior to the elements of
literary text.

Language-Based Approach
Language-based approach helps students pay attention to the way the language is used when studying
literature. It is student-centered and activity-based for productive use of language. It improves students’
language proficiency, and incorporates literature and language skills among the students. It engages
students more on experiences and responses. Role play, cloze, poetry recital, discussions, forum and
debate, dramatic activities, making prediction, brainstorming, rewriting stories ending and summarizing
are practiced in this approach.

Personal-Response Approach
Personal-response approach encourages students to make sense of their experiences and personal
lives with text themes. It also promotes students to associate the subject matters of the reading texts
with personal life experiences. It engages individual in literary text reading as personal fulfilment and
pleasure can be met while developing the language and literary competency. Brainstorming, small group
discussions, journal writing, interpreting opinions, and generating views from a text are practiced in this
approach.

Moral-Philosophical Approach
Learners seek moral values from a particular literary text while reading it. It helps students to be
aware of values of moral and philosophical and identify them that lies in their reading. Students need
to go beyond the text for moral and philosophical inference. With this approach, teachers are able to
direct students to achieve self-realization as well as self-understanding while interpreting literary works.

Levels of Comprehension
Reading comprehension involves three levels of understanding: literal meaning, inferential meaning,
and evaluative meaning. This lesson will differentiate and define these three levels.

Reading for Comprehension

Imagine a boy named Billy. He is sitting alone in a corner and building a tower out of blocks. He places
one block on top of another as his tower becomes higher and higher. The more blocks he adds, the
more intricate his design becomes.

We can compare Billy's intricate tower design to the process of reading comprehension. Reading
comprehension is the ability to process information that we have read and to understand its meaning.
This is a complex process where skills are built upon one another like the blocks used to make Billy's
tower. There are three levels of understanding in reading comprehension: literal meaning, inferential
meaning, and evaluative meaning.

Literal Meaning
Literal meaning is simply what the text says. It is what actually happens in the story. This is a very
important level of understanding because it provides the foundation for more advanced
comprehension. Without understanding the material on this level, you could not go any farther.
Let's use our story about Billy to provide an example. The literal meaning of the story was that Billy built
a tower out of blocks. The answers to questions based on literal meaning will always be found in the
text. For example: Who was building the tower? The answer is Billy.

Here are examples of the type of information that could be identified as literal meaning:

The main idea

Stated facts
The sequence of events
Characters in the story

Inferential Meaning
Inferential meaning involves determining what the text means. You start with the stated information.
This information is then used to determine deeper meaning that is not explicitly stated. Determining
inferential meaning requires you to think about the text and draw a conclusion.

Getting back to Billy again, what inferential meaning could we get from our story? We could infer that
Billy is good at building towers! A question about inferential meaning will typically make you provide
examples from the text that back up your thinking. For example: Why could you assume that Billy is
good at building towers? You assume this is true because the story says that Billy's tower got higher
and higher, and the design became more intricate with each block.

Examples of the type of information that could be identified as inferential meaning include:

Generalizations
Cause and effect relationships
Future predictions
An unstated main idea

Evaluative Meaning
Evaluative meaning is what the text is telling us about the world outside the story. Readers must
analyze what they have read. Then, they must form an opinion based on the information.

Now that you've learned about three levels of reading comprehension, you're ready to put those into
practice! Read the following continuation of Billy's story from the lesson, and then answer the questions
that follow.

Billy stacked the blocks one by one. They were almost as tall as he was! He couldn't wait to show
them to his grandfather; he knew Grandpa would say the real Eiffel Tower was taller, but he would
like Billy's smaller version too.

Billy's neighbor Akira reminded him he was supposed to come over to her house to swim. It was a hot
summer day, and Akira's family's pool was the only way to cool down. But Billy said he had changed his
mind. Akira begged him to come, so Billy finally told her she was ruining his concentration and annoying
him. Akira ran off.

Billy was almost finished with his tower when suddenly... crack! Bang! Pop! Billy's tower fell over!

Akira stood behind Billy's tower. Her eyes were still red from crying. She had kicked the tower over!

Billy burst into tears too. When she saw her friend crying, Akira felt bad for destroying his hard work.
She said that she was sorry. Billy ignored her and started to rebuild the tower. Akira decided not to swim
herself that day and stayed in the hot driveway to help Billy. By the time Grandpa arrived, Billy and Akira
were friends again.

Literal Meaning:
What was Billy intending to build?
What happened to Billy's tower?

Inferential Meaning:
Why do you think Akira did what she did to Billy's tower?
What might happen next for Billy and Akira?

Evaluative Meaning:
What do you think the author is saying about Billy's and Akira's relationship?
How do you feel about the way Billy and Akira handled the conflict? Is that how you would handle it?

Sample Answers:
Literal Meaning:
- The Eiffel Tower
- Akira knocked it over.

Inferential Meaning:

- She was disappointed he broke his promise.

- Multiple answers are possible, such as "Billy and Akira will swim tomorrow; Billy and Akira
will fight and make up again, and more!"

Evaluative Meaning:

- Multiple answers are possible: "They can fight and make up; they are close and like siblings; it
is good to apologize when you hurt someone," and more.

- Answers will vary based on your opinion!

Assessment Strategies in Teaching Literature

Key concepts

Assessment is the act of gathering information in order to understand the individuals learning and
needs. In the context of language teaching and learning, it refers to the act of collecting information
and making judgment about the learners’ knowledge of language and ability to use it.

Testing refers to the procedures that are based on tests. In learning it is a salient part of assessment.

Measurement broadly includes testing and other types of measurement, as well as other types of
information that result in quantitative data such as attendance, records, questionnaires, teacher ratings
of students, etc.

Evaluation refers to the culminating act of interpreting the gathered information for the purpose of
making judgment about student’s learning and needs. It forms as part of assessment.

Construct- the skill or proficiency an assessment is intended to measure ELL- English language learner
Response- any kind of performance to be evaluated as part of an assessment, including multiple-
choice answers, short answers, extended answers, essays, presentations, demonstrations, or
portfolios.
Rubric- the scoring criteria, scoring guide, rating scale, and descriptors
Task- a specific test item, topic, problem, question, prompt or assignment.

Assessment and Evaluation Principles

1. Assessment and evaluation are essential components of the teaching-learning process. They should
be planned and continuous activities should be derived from curriculum objectives and consistent
with instructional and learning strategies.
2. A variety of assessment and evaluation techniques should be used. Techniques should be selected for
their appropriateness to student’s styles and to the intended purposes.
3. Teachers should communicate assessment and evaluation strategies and plan in advance, informing
the students of the objectives and assessment procedures.
4. Assessment and evaluation should be fair and equitable.
5. Assessment and evaluation should help students. They should provide positive feedback and
encourage students to participate actively in their own assessment in order to foster lifelong learning
and enable them to transfer knowledge and abilities to their life experiences.
6. Assessment and evaluation data and results should be communicated to students and parents/
guardians regularly, in meaningful ways.
7. Assessment and evaluation should use variety of techniques and tools.
Kinds of Assessment and Evaluation
1. Diagnostic Assessment and Evaluation. This usually occurs at the beginning of the school year and
before each unit of study. Purpose: to determine students’ knowledge and skills; learning needs,
motivational and interest levels. By examining the results of diagnostic assessment, teachers can
determine where to begin instruction and what concepts or skills to emphasize. Diagnostic assessment
provides information essential to teachers in selecting relevant learning objectives and in designing
appropriate learning experiences for all students, individually and as a group. Keeping diagnostic
instruments for comparison and further reference enables teachers and students to determine progress
and future direction.

2. Formative Assessment and Evaluation • Focus on the processes and products of learning. Formative
assessment is continuous and is meant to inform the student, the parent/guardian, and the teacher of
the student’s progress toward the curriculum objectives. This type of assessment and evaluation
provides information upon which instructional decisions and adaptations can be made and provides
students with directions for future learning. Involvement in constructing their own assessment
instruments or in adapting the ones the teacher has made allows students to focus on what they are
trying to achieve, develops their thinking skills, and helps them to become reflective learners. For peer
assessment to be successful, students must be provided with assistance and the opportunity to observe
a model peer assessment session. Through peer assessment, students have the opportunity to become
critical and creative thinkers who can clearly communicate ideas and thoughts to others. Instruments
such as checklists or learning logs, and interviews or conferences provide useful data.

3. Summative Assessment and Evaluation. This occur most often at the end of a unit of instruction and
at term or year end when students are ready to demonstrate achievement of curriculum objectives.
Main Purposes: 1. Determine knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes that have developed over a given
period of time.

Types of Assessment Tools

Assessment data can be collected and recorded by both the teacher and the students in a variety of
ways. Through observation of students, and in interviews or conferences with students, teachers can
discover much about their students’ knowledge, abilities, interests, and needs. Whatever method of
data collection is used, teachers should:  meet with students regularly to discuss their progress adjust
rating criteria as learners change and progress.

Observation
- This occurs during students’ daily reading, writing, listening and speaking experiences. It is an
unobtrusive means by which teachers (and students) can determine their progress during learning.

Anecdotal Records
- These are notes written by the teacher regarding students’ language behavior, or
learning.
- document and describe significant daily events, and relevant aspects of student activity and progress
- notes can be taken during student activities or at the end of the day.

Checklists
- Observation checklists are usually completed while students are engaged in specific criteria that
teachers focus on at a particular time or during a particular process.
-used to record whether students have acquired specific knowledge, skills, processes, abilities and
attitudes
- inform teachers about where their instruction had been successful and where students need assistance
or further instruction.

Rating Scales and Rubrics Rating Scales record the extent to which specific criteria have been achieved
by the student or are present in the student’s work. They record the quality of the student’s
performance at a given time in a given process. Rating scales are similar to checklist, it’s just that
teachers can assign number values to the criteria listed. Rubrics include criteria that describe each level
of the rating scale and are used to determine student progress in comparison to these expectations.

Portfolios are collections of relevant works that reflect student’s individual efforts, development and
progress over a designated period of time. It provides a broad picture of the student’s growth overtime,
including abilities, knowledge, skills and attitudes. Students should be involved in the selection of work
to be included.
Speaking and Listening
- Oral presentations and incidental observations provide opportunities to gather information about the
students’ two abilities.
- It may be more heavily emphasized depending upon the particular unit or activity

Involvement Activity
Small Group Activity:
a. Sharing of experiences in literature classes and identifying approaches used by former teachers.
b. Discussion on the differences and implications on the approaches to teaching literature.

Individual Worksheet
a. Draft a lesson design (focusing on Appropriate Use of Approach, Choice of Learning Material, and
Comprehension Questions Asked)

Intervention
To broaden your understanding of the lesson, browse the internet.

References

www.google.com
www.slideshare.net