Lesson One: Literary Texts in the English as a Foreign Language Classroom

Introduction
Do literary texts have a place in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom?
This is the main question this lesson aims to answer. In order to do so, we need to examine the
place of literature through the different periods of language teaching. The use of literary texts
in language teaching has experienced three main periods which go in parallel with the
development of foreign language teaching methods and approaches — the Traditional
Approach exemplified by the Grammar/translation method, Structuralism and Modern
approaches.

1. Historical Overview
The use of literature in Teaching English as a Foreign Language has undergone ups and
downs with the development of language teaching approaches and methods. During the
application of the Grammar Translation Method, literary texts were ‘a king’s road to the foreign
language’. Later on, Structuralism came to deprive literature from its prestigious place.
However, starting from the 1980’s, many voices have risen, here and there, to call on for a
return to using literature in the foreign language classroom.

1.1. Literature in the Grammar Translation Method Teaching Period

The Grammar Translation Method approach seems have been a ‘Golden Age’ as to the
place of literary texts in foreign language teaching. In his article, ‘The ABC of Teaching
Languages, Literature and Literacy in the Digital Age, Soetaert, describes the prestige that
literature used to enjoy in the old times as a ‘King’s road to the foreign culture’. This great
concern for literature remained popular till the beginning of the twentieth century:

The issue of teaching English Literature in a non- native context dates back from
the early years of this century when literature was considered of high prestige, in
language study and access to literary works was assumed part of the purpose of
language learning. (Widdowson, 1984)

There are many reasons for this concern. Firstly, literary texts were believed to be the
best means to illustrate grammatical rules. Miliani (2003, p.21) explained: ‘Literary prose was
used for understanding how the language works and for exercises of translation from and within
the target language’. Secondly, traditional grammarians considered literary texts as good
models for the learners of the target language to improve their writing: ‘literary texts were the
very staple of foreign language teaching, since they represented models of good writing as well
as illustrating grammatical rules.’ (Duff & Maley, 1993, p. 3), and to remedy their grammatical
weaknesses: ‘if the students were exposed to the best uses of the English language, it would in
some sense rub off on their own performance in the language.’ (Short & Cadlin, 1989, p. 91)
Although the Grammar Translation Method meets with our approvals, in the sense that
it regards literature as an important linguistic resourse for language learning, there is a lot to
say about the inappropriate teaching principles applied in this method.

The difficulty and inaccessibility of many literary texts to non-native English speaking
students and, the lack of a consistent and suitable methodology for the teaching of
literature brought about rather the opposite effect.’ (Zafeiriadou, 2003, p. 1).

Thus, it can be concluded that the inappropriateness of this method in dealing with
literature as a language teaching material was the main reason for the decline of literary prestige
in later periods.

1.2. The Absence of Literature in Structuralism and English for Specific Purposes
1.2.1. Structuralism
As a consequence to the negative impact of the traditional approach on teaching and
learning, the days when literature was written with a capital ‘L’ were gone with the application
of relatively new English Language Teaching (ELT) approaches during the period (1960s-
1980s). On the one hand, the structuralist approach, which is based on the gradual and linear
accumulation of the linguistic items, came to exclude authentic literary texts from the EFL
classroom and syllabi. This total rejection of literature can be explained by the unsuitability of
literary texts with the principles of this approach since literary texts present language as a whole,
and not as separate fragments and structures. In addition, literature, and poetry in particular, has
a way of exploiting resources in a language which have not been codified as correct usage. It
is, therefore, misleading as a model. Thus, structuralism succeeded in constructing a well-
organised world of language structures, but obviously failed in involving the learners truly with
language as it is used in its natural context— which is variously illustrated in literature.

1.2.2. English for Specific Purposes

In the fashionable approach, which claims for teaching the foreign languages for specific
purposes, literature seems to have no place. Accordingly, the nature of literature contradicts the
utilitarian objectives of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) since literature has no obvious
practical uses it contributed nothing to the utilitarian objectives of language teaching. Therefore,
it had no place in the language classroom.
The exclusion of literary texts from ELT in ESP was disastrous to learners’ motivation
and interest in learning foreign languages. In addition, the textbooks used to teach ESP present
a variety of language which is described as neutral, emotionless and absolutely inexpressive.
Second, they fail to arouse learners’ motivation, because they are filled with technical and
scientific texts that contain no new information to motivate them.

1.3. The Literature-based Approach in the 1980s

The 1980s were characterised by the publication of a series of works by ELT scholars—
Widdowson (1984), Brumfit (1985), Long & Carter (1991), and many others, all sharing the
view that literature should regain its place in the language classroom. This time, and unlike the
traditional approaches which regarded the learner as a passive receiver in the learning process,
the recent approaches to literature in ELT are rather learner-centred. In other words, the
learner’s appreciation of the literary text and his emotional involvement with it—what is
conventionally known as response— became key elements in language teaching: ‘The
pedagogical interface of literature and language teaching should become students’ response to
texts.’ (Zafeiriadou, 2003, p. 1). Another important principle of this approach is that the
interpretation of a given literary text is not curved in stone, i.e. literary texts can be subject to
various interpretations, and that ‘we can become better, more experienced interpreters of texts,
however, by reading more and discussing what we read with other readers.’ (Dunning, 1989, p.
2). All in all, the literary approach to language teaching came to free both the teacher and the
foreign language learner from the dictatorship of the traditional conventions of literary study,
which did not exploit the text as a living linguistic body. People now are appealing for the
investment of literary texts in developing language skills, stressing the enormous benefits of
literature to language learning.

2. The Role of Literary Texts in English Language Teaching

Literary texts have many characteristics that make it beneficial for language learning.
Hence, literature should be used, not only as a useful tool in ELT, but also as a necessary
component for any successful pedagogy. Although numerous, we will try to consider those
benefits with reference to the development of language skills, and especially the reading skill.
Finally, it may be useful to state some advantages of literature that seem to have no direct link
with language acquisition, but are of great importance to the teaching/learning process.
2.1. The Linguistic Advantages of Literary Texts
2.1.1. Literary texts as Authentic Material
The first, and probably, most important advantage of literary texts in ELT is their
authenticity. Linguists and course designers who support the communicative approach have
come to acknowledge the inevitability of using authentic texts¹ in language learning ‘...course
book writers are very much aware of the need to include authentic texts, newspaper articles,
leaflets, film reviewers, even recipes all appear in course books.’ (Metcalf, 2003, p. 1). It is
argued that language cannot be acquired out of its cultural context: ‘the chance to see the
language in context... seems the most natural way to gain real mastery.’ Case (2004, p. 1).
However, ‘literary texts, despite their authenticity and benefits for the classroom, are still very
much ignored or very much avoided.’ (Metcalf, 2003, p. 1). We suppose that the rejection of
literary texts in the language classroom is due to the uncertainty, of most teachers, about the
linguistic usefulness of literature for foreign language learners, as well as its difficulty for
students who have not yet achieved an advanced level in the target language. Yet, we believe
that there are many possible remedies for the problem of difficulty, as it will be investigated in
the following points.

2.1.2. Literary texts as a Linguistic Resource

Regardless of the disagreement among the different literary theories about the
essence of literary texts, it is obvious that the main difference between what is literary and what
is ‘non- literary’ lies in the difference in language forms and use in both types. The insistence
on form, i.e. on language, when dealing with literary texts is a good opportunity for language
teachers to provide the learners with the various ways in which language is used. In other words,
literature enables the students to be fully and carefully engaged with the language system,
unlike ‘normal’ texts where the quick search for information leaves little room for language
usage and use to be perceived by the learners.
Another advantage of the use of literature as a linguistic resource is the diversity and
variety of literary texts. Poetry, drama and fiction are different literary genres in form, size and
style, providing hence a possibility for a wide range of activities to be used in the language
classroom. For pedagogical and practical reasons, let us consider the shortest types, poems and
short stories which are, for us, the most suitable in regard to their short size— to be used in a
limited time in classroom— and their relative simplicity for learners with a limited level of
proficiency in the target language.
One literary variety, that is very useful and interesting to mention, is the short story.
In fact, short stories exist in different levels of difficulty, and have varied plots and themes. We
believe, then, that they are good means of acquisition of all language skills - listening, speaking,
reading and writing. Indeed, this view is shared with many writers and scholars; Malkina
(1995), affirmed that ‘stories are an effective tool for early language teaching’ (p. 38). In
addition to the usefulness of stories as a reading material, she affirms their validity for the
development of listening through storytelling (1) ‘...storytelling can be the major component in
an acquisition-based approach’ (Malkina, 1995, p. 38). However, storytelling works better only
in case where the storyteller, the teacher in a classroom situation is a native speaker of English.
In case where the teacher is himself a foreign language speaker, we are, somehow, cautious
about the teacher being a listening model. Stories are also used to enhance writing: After reading
the story, students should write a response to it.’ (Dunning, 1989, p. 3) and speaking, through
discussions about the story, without paying attention to the learners’ pronunciation mistakes:
‘The point of the discussion is for them to concentrate on the meaning of what they have read.’
(Dunning, 1989, p. 3)
In native contexts, fairy tales, —as a variety of short stories— are written for children
to read. For E. Metcalf, this is the best advantage of this kind of texts, since the writer of a fairy
tale will consider the incomplete linguistic competence of children—just like foreign language
learners: ‘Children and language learners are at the same disadvantage in that their assimilation
of language is in no way complete’ (Metcalf, 2003, p. 1). Therefore, fairy tales, as presented
here are good means to bridge between authenticity and simplicity of language. The same
author sets out two advantages for the use of fairy tales in an EFL situation: ‘Firstly, they are
known in many cultures. Secondly, fairy tales are short, making them manageable to deal with
in class: they are easy to prepare and students can finish the whole story’ (Metcalf, 2003, p. 2).
Moreover, she suggests, a variety of language activities to be carried out in class, such as:
vocabulary exercises (phrasal verbs, collocations, different registers...), comparing traditional
fairy tales with ones in the foreign language, introducing reading strategies (inference,
restatement, omission...), and grammar-control activities (tenses, adjectives,) and many others.
Although the linguistic problem is solved when introducing fairy tales, we should note that a
motivational problem arises. Adolescent and young –adult learners are not likely to be
interested in materials written for children. So, the teacher is invited to be very careful in his
selection, opting for texts, which have some universal issues that may be of interest to his/her
students.
Poems seem to be the most fitting material for the kind of pedagogy meant in the
previous statement. Because of their unusual use of language, they are frustrating to most
language teachers. Nevertheless, we think that the distinct features of ‘ poetic language’ ¹ are
the exact reason for which poetry ought to be used in the EFL classroom. The unpredictable use
of words and structures by poets is an occasion to broaden the learners’ view about language
and to make them more devoted to dealing with the text. Benamou (1971) insisted on the use
of poetic language by considering it as a language in itself. He explained that the writer deviates
sometimes from the language by creating his own voice. However, this voice is more interesting
when studied as a structure rather than as a deviation. We would note, here, that this aim is too
idealistic for beginner, and even intermediate, levels where a mastery of even the normal use
of language is still not yet to be achieved. Instead, we would suggest the use of poems where
the language is appropriate for learners, but where meaning and ideas are challenging for the
students to be depicted. E.A. Robinson’s ‘Richard Cory’ is a good example of poems where
simplicity of language and depth of ideas are both matched.

2.1.3. Literary texts as a Motivating Factor in Language Learning

Motivation is no doubt an important component in language acquisition. In this
respect, we regard literary texts among the most motivating materials for language learners,
thus leading to a better mastery of language. Byrne (2003) demonstrated the motivating effect
of literary text in contrast with other non -authentic texts as follows:

It would seem that, for many learners, the usual type of texts and tasks found in text
books is just not Sufficiently interesting, relevant or motivating.’ whereas ‘the use of
authentic literary texts gives learners experience in real reading in L1. (p. 1)

Therefore, the constant exposure to literary texts from the earlier stages of language learning
will increase learners’ self-confidence to use the target language even outside the classroom:
‘This increased exposure to language stimulates acquisition and expands awareness’ (Byrne,
2003, p. 1). Another reason why literature is motivating for learners is the fact that they are
already familiar with literary texts in their mother tongue, which will help them use their
previous knowledge to cope with the one they meet in texts in the foreign language: ‘Students
are already accustomed to working with original texts in their own languages. Using original
texts in the second language allows them to apply many of their first-language skills in the
acquisition of the foreign language.’ (Dunning, 1989, p. 8). Thus, the newness is in the language
itself, and not in literature as content. Fascinated by the new, students are likely to be engaged
in reading in the foreign language.
 2.2. Further Benefits
As we have seen, due to their authenticity, their linguistic richness and their motivational
effect, literary texts are good means for language acquisition. Besides, there are other benefits
of literature, apart from linguistic development, which are equally important. In their book,
‘Teaching Literature’, Carter and Long put forward, in addition to the language model, a
Cultural Model and a Personal Growth Model. In the former, students are encouraged to
‘understand and appreciate cultures different from their own in time and space...’ (Carter &
Long, 1991, p. 1). In the latter model, teachers should try to raise students’ interest in literature
through ‘promoting the kind of conditions for learning in the classroom which make the reading
a memorable, individual and collective experience.’ (Carter& Long, 1991, p. 3).
In addition to the work of Long and Carter, Joselyne Gaïson shared the view that there
is more about literature than language acquisition Gaïson (2000) believed that literature, for
children and adolescents, contributes to their emotional development. The young reader will
encounter in a book a feeling he experienced but which he has never been able to define. The
book in this sense contributes to clarify these feelings. It also contributes to their social
development since these experiences can help the learners to understand other life styles which
would then influence their future decisions in the way they will choose to live in the multiple
world of today. As per the cognitive development, the more the learners discuss literary texts,
the more there is a chance they would develop a higher order thinking, a critical one. (Gaïson,
2000, p. 8)

Conclusion
We come to conclude here that literature should not be a ‘raison d’être’ to language
teaching—as it used to be during the application of the Grammar-Translation method, nor
should it be an alien creature in the language classroom world. Due to their linguistic,
motivational, social and cultural benefits for foreign language learners, literary texts should,
thus, return to the language classroom as an important tool to develop language skills, mainly
reading.