Teachers’ attitudes towards the use of literature in the teaching of english as a foreign language George

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TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS

THE USE OF

LITERATURE IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH AS

A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

A THESIS

Submitted to the Graduate School Sebelas Maret University in partial fulfillment

of the requirement for the award of Master of Education in English

By

George Chidiebere Iheanacho

NIM: S891008116

English Education Department GRADUATE PROGRAM SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

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MOTTO

Peace is a universal language

Never be afraid to speak it

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ABSTRACT

George Chidiebere Iheanacho. S891008116, 2013.“Teachers Attitudes Towards

the Use of Literature in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language.”

THESIS. Consultant I: Prof. Dr. Joko Nurkamto, M.Pd, Consultant II: Drs. Gunarso Susilohadi, M.Ed.TESOL, English Education Department, Graduate School, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta.

The objectives of this study are to explore and describe teachers’ attitudes

towards the use of literature in the teaching of English as a foreign language and

the factors that affect the teachers’ use and non-use of literature in the EFL

classroom. The study is an attempt to explorethe seemingly sense of apprehension and non-use of literature in the EFL classroom and the fact that the success or failure of an educational material depends largely on the attitudes of teachers towards the material introduced or implemented.

This research was conducted with 9 teachers in the department of English, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts of Sebelas Maret University, Surkarta from September 2012 to February 2013. A qualitative phenomenological approach was employed and the data were taken via in-depth interview and non- participant observation. In analyzing the data, the descriptive phenomenological procedures of data analysis proposed by Parahoo (1997) were followed.

The findings showed that (1) the teachers have a good knowledge of what constitutes literature and believed literature is a valuable resource for language teaching; (2) the teachers believed that literature offers linguistic, cultural and social values and that it enriches students’ vocabulary development, assist in internalizing the structure and grammar of the language and getting feelings of the language;(3) the majority of the teachers prefer prose to other genres because it is easier to the students and teachers in terms of language and themes; (4) the local (Indonesian) literature has not been effectively utilized because the teachers preferred literature written by native speakers as the best model for language teaching; and (5) even though the teachers seem to have positive attitudes to towards the use of literature as a valuable resource in language teaching, they still have not enthusiastically embraced literature for the purpose of teaching English.Three main factors were identified that affect teachers’ use and non- use of literature in the EFL. These are (1) teachers’ attitudes that literature is difficult to teach; (2) teachers’ lack of confidence to teach literature, and (3) students’ lack of motivation to read literature.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To God be the glory for his loving grace, strength and provisions to

accomplish this task.

The role and support of many people in writing and completing this thesis

both morally and materially is greatly acknowledged and appreciated. With deep

sense of sincerity and humility the author thanks:

1. Director of graduate program of Sebelas Maret University Surakarta.

2. Head of English Education Department, Graduate Program of Sebelas Maret

University Surakarta for his immense support and kind advice.

3. Prof. Dr. Joko Nurkamto,M.Pd., first consultant for his tolerance, guidance

and fatherly advice.

4. Drs. Gunarso Susilohadi, M.Ed.TESOL, Second consultant for his advice,

guidance and patience.

5. To the lecturers in the department of English, Faculty of Letters and Fine

Arts, Sebelas Maret University Surakarta who humbly accepted to be

participants in this research .

6. The entire administrative staff of the Graduate School and International

office, Sebelas Maret University.

I acknowledge any imperfections in this thesis as it is far from being

perfect. I welcome constructive criticism and suggestions and hope this little work

may be useful for all readers.

Surakarta, March 2013

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3. Issues in Using Literature in Language Teaching ... 24

a. Literature as a Resource ... 24

b. Advantages of using Literature in the EFL classroom ... 26

c. Reasons for use of literature in the EFL Classroom ... 29

1. Literature as Valuable Authentic Material ... 29

2. Literature for Cultural Enrichment ... 34

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4. Literature for Personal Involvement ... 36

d. Approaches to teaching literature in the EFL classroom . 36 1. The Cultural Model ... 37

2. The Language Model ... 37

3. The Personal Growth Model ... 38

e. Selecting Literary Text for EFL classroom ... 39

B. The Nature of Language Teaching ... 42

4. Attitudes in Teaching literature in the EFL classroom ... 55

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 57

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION ... 73

A. Research Findings ... 74

B. Discussions ... 86

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CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ... 109

A. Conclusion ... 110

B. Suggestions ... 111

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 113

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Biographical information of the participants ... 65

Table 3.2 The Schedule of the study ... 71

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LISTS OF FIGURES

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendice A Letter of Introduction

Appendice B Interview Questions

Appendice C Interview Data

Appendice D Permohonan Ijin Penelitian

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the study

The last few decades have witnessed a rapid interest in English globally. More

than two billion people are currently estimated to speak English in varying degrees of

competencies as their first, second, or foreign language. English is now taught in

many countries and educational institutions as a second or foreign language. As a

result, Pennycook (1994:5) acknowledges that‘English and English language teaching

seem ubiquitous in the world, playing a role everywhere from large scale global

politics to the intricacies of people’s lives.”

English language teaching involves many components. Kitao and Kitao

(1997) list five important components of language instruction/teaching to include

students, a teacher, materials, teaching methods, and evaluation. This study focuses

on teaching materials by exploring teachers’ attitudes toward literature as a resource.

Teaching materials are an essential component of EFL and include a variety of

educational materials that teachers use in the classroom to support specific learning

objectives as set out in the curriculum. These include textbooks, literature,

newspapers, magazines, video, audio tapes, computer software, and visual aids etc.

Teaching materials arean integral part of curriculum planning and teachers are

expected to play a vital role in the selection, design and implementation of the

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Teaching materials are used purposefully to teach students, to learn, to serve

as a guide and resource books for ideas and activities for learning, and to give

teachers rationales for what they teach. Teachers can adapt, supplement or elaborate

teaching materials to suit students’ need and situations. Although, in the past few

years, there have been complains that conventional teaching course materials

(textbooks) are heavily redundant, often outdated and do not induce response from

students. Such materials do not offer real context to current realities and students do

not find pleasure repeating the same thing all over as contained in the materials and

do not gain new knowledge. In activities with these texts, the learners only take the

role of passive learners. As a result, McRae (1991:23) observes that ‘the dullness of

conventional course-books ‘is the best way of stifling student learning. The teacher

who follows any course-book slavishly will inevitably bore him- or herself as well as

students’.

It is widely acknowledged in the pedagogy that some materials are suitable

for language teaching, but are not specifically designed for teaching purposes. A

number of authentic materials belong to this category of teaching materials.

According to Bacon and Finnemann (1990), “authentic materials are texts produced

by native speakers for a non-pedagogical purpose. Authentic language materials are

spoken or written language materials that have been produced in the course of real

communication and not specifically produced for the very purpose of language

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pamphlets, cartoons, advertisement, newspaper or magazine articles, literature, TV

broadcast, video and internet. They provide samples of authentic language by helping

to bring alive the real world into the EFL/ESL classroom.

Collie and Slatter (1987) state that literature is ‘authentic’material. By that

we simply mean that most works of literature are not fashioned for the specific

purpose of teaching a language.’ Incorporating good authentic materials in language

teaching could spur students to response, enhance their language skills and language

in use. Berato (2006) explains that as authentic material, literature can provide many

advantages to improve language skills especially reading. Lazar(1993:17) notes that

literature may provide a particularly appropriate way of stimulating this acquisition,

as it provides meaningful and memorable contexts for processing and interpreting

new language. Pedagogically, literature offers stimulating, discussionary, linguistic

and communicative experiences for teachers and students in and outside the language

classrooms. This study basically focused on literature as a material or resource for

language teaching rather than literature for study, which is the teaching of literature

as a subject.

Given the above it has been found that various genres of literature in

original, translated, abridged and simplified versions can be used for the purpose of

teaching English. Though, since the 1960s, the rationale for the inclusion of literature

in foreign language teaching has been fiercely debated among scholars in English

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debate has attracted some of the best minds’. Short (1996) describes the development

as a ‘border dispute over territory between linguists and literary critics’. The dispute

and controversy eventually led to the separation of literature from language teaching.

Under current pedagogies, many EFL teachers still consider the teaching of

literature in the language classroom as unnecessary; while a few regard it as a

teacher’s best tool because of its advantages and captivating power. Language

scholars, Collie and Slatter (1987); Carter and Long (1991); Hill (1986); Maley and

Duff (1990); and etc., have demonstrated the advantages of using literature as a

resource in language teaching. They have also offered theoretical arguments in

support of the use of literature in language teaching and a number of activities that

can be implemented using literature. Wilkins (1976) argues that by using literature

“language teachers were trying hard to bring the outside world into their classrooms”.

By this, “The classroom, therefore, becomes a locus for the generation of knowledge

and action. It is a participatory sphere, engaged and sometimes improvisational, that

promotes liberation from established, official narratives and conventional

action”(Naiditch 2012)

Using literature for language teaching, Arthur (1968:199) has discussed the

reluctance of language teachers to include literature in the syllabus, while Blatchford

(1972:1-6) blatantly rejected the study of English literature as a “luxury that cannot

be indulged, an ‘expensive gewgaw’. Topping (1968) argues that “literature should

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complexity, lack of conformity to standard grammatical rules, and remote control

perspective.”

Language educator, Edmondson (1997) rekindles the debate on the values

of literature in language teaching and learning byposing two critical questions : 1.)

Does literature have something special to offer the language learner and therefore the

language teacher? 2.) What justifies the inclusion of the literary components in

language teaching programs? Ten years earlier, Collie and Slatter asked whether we

should be teaching literature in the foreign language classroom at a pre-university

level, or not.‘The question which is certainly at the forefront of debate today, yet it

remains controversial and the attitude of many teachers ambivalent’(Collie and

Slatter, 1987:1-2). Collie and Slatter note that ‘keeping literature off the syllabus, has

produced a certain amount of unease as well. There is the awkward fact that many

learners want and love literary texts, as we have found time and time again. Similarly,

they often wish to become more familiar with patterns of social interaction in the

country which uses the target language.

In a fairly recent study, Lin and Guey (2004) note some critical concerns

about the teaching of literature in the EFL context. They remark that “Behind such

utilitarian concern of pedagogy is a widely held assumption that the study of literary

English has little bearing on EFL learner needs to promote functional command of

English. They also note that one of the tragedies of current English teaching is that

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disappear gradually from the language classroom. They state that literature has not

been given due consideration at many colleges and universities because many

educational institutions have put their main emphases on practical language skills at

the expense of literature. With these concerns, there is indeed a perceived wide gulf

between the teaching of English and the teaching of its literature in EFL context.

Since the 1980s, the role of literature has been reassessed in the EFL

classroom. Gilroy (1995) writes that ‘After a long absence, literature has made a

comeback into many EFL classrooms having been expelled along with the grammar

-translation method... but in recent years it has become difficult to ignore it. Duff and

Maley (1990:3) earlier observed that, “there has been a remarkable revival of interest

in literature as one of the sources available for language learning.” As a result,

Bagherkazemi and Alemi (2010) conclude that ‘the current consensus of opinion

regarding the integration of literature in language programs is overwhelming, and by

far exceeds the points of controversy. The consensus holds great promises as it is

informed by current research in language teaching, language learning and acquisition,

and psychology’. In addition, Zyngier (2006) points out that literature is back but it is

not wearing new clothes; it is we (teachers) who is wearing new spectacles.

Meanwhile, the relationship between language and literature continues to

attract scholars’ attention. MacCabe (1985:47) contends that “To truly know a

language, you must know something of the literature of a language”. Brumfit

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literature from language and emphasize the advantages of teaching literature to both

native and non-native speakers of English. Regmi (2004) states that literature which

accepts language as its raw materials, is not only the mode of expression, vehicle for

thoughts but also a useful and effective resource of language teaching and helps the

learners in fostering their language skills

By integrating literature in the language classroom, the teacher’s aim is to

teach language in use. Hymes (1972) describes two levels of linguistic knowledge:

the level of usage and the level of use. In his definition, usage involves a knowledge

of linguistic rules, whereas use entails knowing how to use these rules for effective

communication. Widdowson (1975) points out that since some literature presents

language in discourse where the setting andrelationships are defined, and illustrates a

particular dialect or register embedded within a social context, it is effective in

developing of awareness of language use. Literature has been used to teach language

usage, but rarely has it been used to develop language use. Under current pedagogies,

the emphasis is to use literature to develop language use in language learners and for

them to attain communicative competence.

With the emergence of communicative language teaching method (CLT),

many scholars now contend that literature provides rich linguistic input, effective

stimuli for students to express themselves in the language and a potential source of

learner motivation. Literature provides opportunities for multi-sensorial classroom

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devices or texts supplements of audio-texts, music CDs, film clips, video and

podcasts etc. Van (2009) adds that since literature is full of instances of real-life

language in various situations, it provides unprecedented opportunities to ameliorate

syntactic, pragmatic, cultural, and discoursal awareness among learners.

Sage (1987:2) however observes that many teachers consider the use of

literature in language teaching as an interesting and worthy concern. Collie and

Slatter (1987) who have done research on using literature in the language classroom

said that we have found that role play, improvisation, creative writing, discussions,

questionnaires, visuals and many other activities which we use successfully to vary

our language classes can serve a similar purpose when we teach literature. Engaging

students in classroom practices/tasks such as discussion, pair and group work,

dictation, dramatization, question-answer, role-play, improvisation, prediction

exercises, jumbled sentences, summary writing, and creative writing based on a

particular literary text will definitely enhance their students’ linguistic, cultural and

communicative skills. Teaching literature in the language classroom enables students

to see language use in different contexts thereby enhancing their language

competencies. Ikegulu (1989) points out that literature provides an additional way in

which learners of English as a second language is exposed to the elasticity of the

language.

There has been little concern about using literature in EFL classrooms in

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literature for the purpose of teaching English at all levels of education in the

Indonesia. Although citing empirical evidence to substantiate this statement of claim

may be difficult due to lack of research in this area. Discussions as well as

observations with EFL teachers have revealed what might be termed a sense of

apprehension in using literature in the language classroom. Incorporating literature in

the EFL classroom has not been emphasized by many educational institutions.

In view of this, the non-use of authentic materials in particular seems to

contribute to students’ poor performance in the language. Kirkpatrick (2007)

observes that teaching English in Indonesian schools and colleges has been less than

satisfactory in the last few decades. Students are leaving high schools and universities

without sufficient English skills to communicate effectively or compete

internationally. Musthafa (2001) who has conducted extensive research on the

problems of teaching English in Indonesia reported that one of the hindrances of

teaching English in Indonesia might be the absence of good, authentic learning

materials, teachers' tendency to rely on non-communicatively engaging learning tasks

(such as grammar-based worksheets), and the absence of visible social uses of the

language outside the classroom confines. Musthafa states other factors as:limited time

allocation for teaching English and inadequate time for students to actually learn to

speak English in class because the teacher is more concerned to teach the grammar

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Nifisah (2006) explains that ‘Teachers-especially in formal schools, tend to

focus more on language forms, but less on language functions and acceptability. For

instance, they are inclined to teach grammar forms without emphasizing the

functions’. With emphasis on grammar, students do not get the opportunity to

experience literary texts which expose them to the authentic use of the language and

enlarge their vocabulary. According to Flora Debora Floris (2005),

In Indonesia, literature written in English has been rejected as meaningful language usage in EFL classrooms. One of the most common complaints is

that teachers and curriculum supervisors find literary texts “difficult”, “hard to understand” and “ not relevant” to the students’ lives. Thus , the use of

literature in Indonesian EFL classrooms seemed like an irrelevance (2005)

Nifisah confirms that ‘Using literature in Indonesian EFL classrooms is quite little, if

not neglected’. Reasons that curriculum supervisors care less about integrating

literature in English teaching because they have not come to terms its values, most

teachers lack the methodologies and skills to teach literature and students lack

motivation to read. Nifisah believes that the present lack of attention to using

literature in ELT Indonesian setting requires some points to ponder.

A number of language scholars and English language experts in Indonesia

have voiced their concerns about the non-use of literature in the EFL classrooms. In a

meeting in 1999, tagged ‘Sastra Masuk Sekolah’, ‘Literature goes to School’ held in

Jakarta, Fuad Hasan calls for the teaching of literature in schools. He stated in an

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literature is part of language teaching. Therefore, curriculum and teachers of the

language should arouse interest in students to appreciate and know the need for

literature” ‘Sastra perlu diperkenalkan pada siswasupayamereka sadar akan adanya

sastra sebagian dari kesanggupan berbahasa. Oleh karena itu,kurikulum serta

pengajar bahasa perlu membangkitkan minat terhadap sastra sehingga terbentuk

sikap menghargai dan membutukan sastra pada para siswa’ (Sarumpaet, 2002:ix).

Professor Riris K. Toha-Sarumpaet, a proponent literary scholar and teacher at the

University of Indonesia is at the forefront of campaigns for the teaching of literature

including teaching Indonesian literature for high school students. In her book “Sastra

Masuk Sekolah”, she believes there is a need for the teaching of literature in the

classroom for both language and aesthetic purposes.

Meanwhile, the teaching of English in Indonesia since the 1950s has largely

been conducted using traditional approaches which focus on grammar teaching.

These approaches to language teaching emphasize the structural methods of language

learning, such as grammatical ‘correctness’, repetition of graded structures and

restricted Lexis. Long (1986:42) recalls that “some approaches in the past (in a period

approximately 1960/1980) have not always served to develop responses to language

or isolate the different kind of responses involved”. Long adds that ‘the teaching of

literature is an arid business unless there is a response, and even negative responses

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she dislikes the text). Long emphasizes that the teaching of literature to non-native

speakers should be to develop responses.

The attention being drawn in this thesis followed radical changes in the

nature of language teaching and introduction of the newer methodologies aimed at

inducing active communication in students. Language is now viewed as

communication and the aim of teaching a language to enhance students’

communicative ability. “The secret of using literature in the foreign language

classroom is to avoid traditional classroom teaching roles” so that motivation can be

stimulated and a literary text can come alive for readers (Faber, 1998:83). Short and

Candlin (1989: 179 -180) therefore emphasize that 'if literature is worth teaching qua

literature, then it seems axiomatic that it is the response to literature itself which is

important.’

As a result, Senior (2005:71) states that “We need to have a clear

pedagogical goal in mind: What precisely we want our students to learn from these

materials.” Since the current goal of language teaching is to help students attain

‘Communicative Competence’ (Hymes 1972), literature can play an important role in

achieving this goal if effectively exploited by a creative teacher and planned towards

fulfilling the objectives of language teaching.

As the researcher, it is important to explore teachers’ attitudes towards

literature as a teaching material because, according to Borg (1991:1),

‘...teachers were not robots who simply implemented, in an unthinking

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classroom – they made decisions, both before and while teaching, and these decisions thus became a new focus for educational researchers. The questions

being addressed now were not simply ‘what do teachers do?’ but also ‘what do they think?’, ‘what decisions do they make?’ and ‘why?’. The notion of

universally applicable teaching behaviors was viewed increasingly critical as the uniqueness of different educational contexts – and particularly the uniqueness of teachers and learners as human beings – was

acknowledged’(1991:1)

Consequently, Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) define an attitude as the general

feeling (ranging from positive to negative) or evaluation (good/bad) a person has

towards self, other people, objects and events. Teachers’ attitudes appear to lie at the

heart of teaching and associated with the style of teaching; the belief and perception

of teaching materials and methodologies. Many experts now contend that the

materials used in the English classroom, and the way they are presented and dealt

with by teachers, correlates directly with how well students are able to increase their

language proficiency. And if research must be carried out to explore the teaching of

literature in the EFL context, such research must first address the issue of teachers’

attitudes towards it because the success or failure of an educational material depends

largely on the attitudes of teachers towards the material introduced or implemented.

Though, incorporating a new material in an established educational system can pose a

number of challenges to educators concerning the approach and may bring problems

to language teachers. These challenges reflect teachers’ educational background,

skills, beliefs, experiences, practices and attitudes towards the materials as in many

tertiary institutions, the responsibility of choosing suitable materials for students’

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Many previous studies carried out about the teaching of literature in the

language classroom mainly focused on the roles and values of literature. As a result,

little attention has been paid to teachers’ attitudes towards the material. Hence, the

issue of teachers’ attitudes towards literature has been grossly neglected. Meanwhile,

Gilroy (1995) conducted a study focusing on teachers’ attitude in using literature. The

study used 20 native-English-speaking teachers of a variety of courses at the

University of Edinburgh (Scotland), Institute for Applied Language Studies (IALS) to

investigate into teachers’ attitudes to using literature in the language classroom.

Using interview schedule, the results showed that while many of the teachers did not

feel the need for a specialized course in literature for ESL, most would welcome

more background knowledge to increase their confidence in handling literary texts.

Another study related to the present was conducted by Chantha (2000), who

investigated Cambodian teachers’ perceptions and practices about using literary texts

in English in foreign language classrooms at the Department of English of the

Institute of Foreign Languages at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The results showed that all the teachers welcomed the inclusion of literature in

language programs. Many of the teachers had some difficulties using literary texts

with their students. They believed that the language of literary texts and the cultural

knowledge embedded in them caused difficulties in using literary texts with their

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So far, it seems no significant research has been conducted in this area to

ascertain teacher’s attitudes towards use of literature in the Indonesian EFL. It is even

difficult to cite as a reference what attitudes teachers hold towards the use of

literature in Indonesia. Unless a research is carried out, the true place of literature in

the Indonesian EFL will always be a matter of speculation. Therefore, the main

objective of this study will be to explore and describe teachers’ attitudes towards use

of literature in the EFL classroom. It is based on this objective that the study was

designed to be a qualitative research using phenomenological approach.

B.Problem Statement

This study seeks to explore two main issues:

1. What are teachers’ attitudes towards the use of literature in the teaching of

English as a Foreign Language?

2. What are the factors that affect teachers’ use and non- use of literature in the EFL

classroom?

C.Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are:

1. To explore teachers’ attitudes towards the use of literature in the teaching of

English as a Foreign Language.

2. To explore the factors that affect the teachers’ use and non- use of literature in

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D.Benefits of the study

1. For curriculum developers and supervisors, the findings of this study will serve

as an input to access the values and roles of literature inEFL curriculum.

2. For Teachers, the findings offer to clear some misconceptions about the use

ofliterature in EFL classroom.

3. For Students and future researchers, as well asthose who want to undertake

research in related areas, this study serves as a resource material. The study

however is meant to be a modest contribution to the area of literature teaching,

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CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Byers and Unruh (2002:119), the purpose of the literature

review in a qualitative study is to tell the reader how the findings fit into what is

already known about the phenomena. Thus, a review of the literature is a

comprehensive description as well as an evaluation of the evidence related to a

given topic (Brockopp and Hastings-Tolsma 2003:122).In this case, the literature

review serves as the theoretical underpinnings which build the foundations of

understanding to conduct this research. It wasnot intended to argue existing

findings or build hypotheses but to describe the core concepts in the study. The

concepts covered include: the nature of literature, the nature of language and

theories of language learning and teaching as well as the nature of attitude.

A . The Nature of Literature 1. Definition of Literature

The word “literature” is derived from the Latin word “lit (t) era” which

means “Letter”," originally “writing formed by letters". Letters are morphological

units that formed words. ‘Literature’ includes oral compositions such as “folk”,

“fables” ,“tales”, ”epics”, “ballads” and “songs”. These compositions are part of

what is known today as oral literature or (orature) produced mainly by

transmitting words orally within a language community or culture.Literature

exists in oral and written forms produced by words. Highlighting the importance

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Rollin also justifies literature as a product of words in the following statement:

‘...My basic assumption is that anything which may be termed “literature”

must of necessity be involved in some fundamental, some essential way, word for certain. Words are the sine-quo non of my ration of what is literature. And more precisely, words grammatically strung together into something like oral narrative, manuscript, a scenario, or a playscript,

permanent written texts, recorded utterance or transmitted orally. “The word

literature, I wish to argue, should be used to designate a certain body of repeatable

or the recoverable act of communication” (Rollin, 1989:17-18). In a similar

perspective, Meyer (1997) argues that, “Most definitions of literature have been

criteria definitions, definitions based on a list of criteria which all literary works

must meet”. As a result, Meyer provides some prototypical characteristics in

defining literature. Based on the prototypical characteristics, literary works:

1. are written texts,

2. are marked by careful use of language, including features such as creative

metaphors, well-turned phrases, elegant syntax, rhyme, alliteration, meter,

3. are in a literary genre (poetry, prose fiction, or drama),

4. are read aesthetically,

5. are intended by the author to be read aesthetically,

6. contain many weak implicatures (are deliberately somewhat open to

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Besides Rollin and Meyers, others scholars have tried to define literature

from different perspectives. According to Baird (1969:203), literature is the use of

language effectively in suitable condition. Rees (1973) describesliterature as a

permanent expression in words of some thoughts or feelings in ideas about life

and the world. Eagleton (1996) says literaturetransforms and intensifies ordinary

language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. Eagleton states further

that “Literature was not pseudo-religion or psychology or sociology but a

particular organization of language”, because it has its own structures and devices

integrated into the language. Lazar (1993:5) definesliterature as those novels,

short stories, plays and poems which are fictional and convey their messages by

paying considerable attention to language which is rich and multi-layered. In the

context of this study, Lazar’s definition becomes more operational but it must be

noted that literature refers to any creative writing and works of the creative

imagination,fiction and non-fictionin the form of poetry, drama and prose that

uses language in special way. As can be seen in the definitions, language is central

in every creative process to produce literature. Perhaps, the creative manipulation

of language is literature.

Taylorexplains that “The roots of what we call literature are in everyday

stories, dramas, rhymes, songs rhetoric and the flow of language in relationship”

(Taylor cited in Dhakal, 1994:1). The products of literature affect its readers and

uses ‘language to open the five senses’ to gently move us into a vivid and heartfelt

response. To many scholars, language and literature are not only inextricably

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language is inseparable from literature and vice versa”. Language and literature

are not poles apart, but closely interconnected. Brook (1960:100 cited in Dhakal,

2001 ) also states that “Literature is wholly and inevitably rooted in language and

it is not surprising to rediscover in literature certain features that are peculiar to

and basic in language”

Literature is marked by unique use of language to paint worlds within our

imaginations and to stir emotions that we did not know existed. It represents a

language, a people and a culture. It tells about human experiences and deeds in a

pleasurable, sometimes a satirical manner without losing its didactic values.

Literature is a connect between the people and society. It satirizes human attitudes

and actions, reveals the sordids, the pretences and the truth hidden from ordinary

eyes. ‘Literature reflects the life of people’(Ngugi Wa Thiong’o 1986:

224).Bythis, students can draw lessons from the life of people while reading

literature for pleasure or for academic purposes. This means literature can be a

living through, not simply knowledge or information on how some people lived or

events happened in the past. Students can also learn the language unconsciously

when they read literary texts. Literature contains personal and communal issues

including politics, culture, and emotional themes such as love, death and

alienation etc. Basnett and Mounfold (1993) observe that literary texts are

products that reflect different aspects of society. They are cultural documents

which offer a deeper understanding of a country or countries.

Literature expresses culture, experience or event, while language is the

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is a medium through which language functions. According to Talif (1995:17),

language ‘is the material of literature as stone or bronze is of sculpture, paints of

pictures, or sounds of music’. Yadav ( 2011) remarksthat “Language is virtually

blood and bone of literature”. In the same vein, Sapir (1921) provides a

contrasting relationship between language and literature. Sapir states that

“LANGUAGES are more to us than systems of thought transference. They are

invisible garments that drape themselves about our spirit and give a predetermined

form to all its symbolic expression. When the expression is of unusual

significance, we call it literature”. In its significance, literature beautifies and

enlivens language.

2. Literature in Language Teaching

It has been said that the accessibility of literature makes it an ideal vehicle

for language teaching.And its use for the purpose of teaching language has been

rooted in methodologies. As noted elsewhere, methodologies are as much a

product of their times as educational systems, and rooted in the ideas of their time.

Ideas have a habit of coming into and going out of fashion. Many new approaches

are rediscoveries of old methods neglected but re-illuminated.Each method that

emerges has a baggage of possibility and adds materials to the curriculum.

In this sense, Thakur (2003 cited in Abdullah et al, 2007) states that under

the influence of the Formalists and Structuralists, much attention was given to the

use of literature in teaching a language.fact, in the case of the teaching of the

English language, English literature was viewed as synonymous with the teaching

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teaching, when advocates of the functional approach argued that the use of

literature in language teaching adds no value to the needs of the language learner.

According toLiddicoat and Crozet (2000)literature became more divorced from

language teaching and learning when the communicative approach to language

teaching was established in the 1970s.Erkaya (2005) therefore, provides a

historical perspective of literature in language teaching:

In the nineteenth century, second/foreign languages were taught with the help of the grammar translation method. Students would translate literary texts from the second /foreign language into their native language .When this method was replaced by methods that emphasized structures and vocabulary, literature was no longer used. Thus, either the Direct Method or the Audio-lingual utilized literature to teach second/foreign languages. In the seventies, methods such as Community Language Learning, Suggestopedia, the Silent Way, Total Physical Response and the National Approach did not utilize the literature to teach second/foreign languages, too (Erkaya, 2005:2).

It can be seen that any time a teaching methodologywasintroduced; literature

would either be accepted or rejected as a teaching material. Thus, innovation and

change are broad- based issues in language curriculum. Change is defined as an

ongoing, almost conscious process that involves reworking elements into a new

relationship, while innovation is a willed intervention, which results in the

development of ideas, practices, or beliefs that are fundamentally new. Curricular

innovation is viewed in terms of a positive change over time. It is defined as a

managed process of development whose principal products are teaching (and/or

testing) material, methodological skills, and pedagogical values that are perceived

as a new potential adopters.It is believed that the three dimensions of curriculum

innovation-methodological skills, teaching materialsand pedagogical

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Markee (1997) who develops a model of primary curriculum innovation

argues that the relationship is complex due to unsettled debate related to whether

change in teaching materials and methodological skills leads to a change in

pedagogical values or vice versa, or whether change in both occurs

simultaneously. More than any other things, innovations must engage teachers in

the role in more abstract tasks of developing their methodological skills and

changing their ideas about what constitutes good teaching. And changes at one

point of the innovation dimensions need to be accompanied by changes at other

points of the dimension (Markee, 1997).

Figure 1:The three-dimensions of curriculum innovation (Markee 1997:54)

There is also a certain view that changes and innovations also affect

beliefs and behaviors of the practitioners since there is a reciprocal interaction

Changes in

pedagogical values

Changes in

methodological

skills

Changes in teaching

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between teachers and curriculum innovations. As key adopters of curriculum

innovation, teachers must understand it and be part of it. Markee (1997:43) notes

that “ … if teachers support the innovation it will work, and if they resist, it will

not succeed. They can only adopt it if they understand it or are part of the

innovation planning process…. Besides, the teachers are part of and understand

very well the socio- cultural system they are working in ….”

In relation to teaching materials,Kennedy and Kennedy (1986) suggest that

‘Changes in ELT materials and methods require a change in teachers’ attitudes

and belief.’The emergence of the communicative language teaching since the

1980s has led to tremendous changes in teaching materials and pedagogical

goals.The main goal of CLT in language teaching has been toattain

communicative competence,promote use of authentic materials and authentic

communication.

3. Issuesin UsingLiterature in Language Teaching

a. Literature as a Resource

Usingliterature as a resource should be distinguished fromliterature for

study.When literature is discussed for the purpose of teaching a distinction needs

to be drawn between literature for study and literature as a resource (Dhaka

2001).Povey (1976:163)views literature as a resource to be exploited rather than

something to be studied in its right and for its own sake.

Literature as a resource focuses on literature as a medium or material for

language teaching, while Literature for study refers to the teaching of literature as

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two categories: (i) Those that focus on the linguistic analysis of the text, and (ii)

those in which the text functions as a springboard for a variety of language

activities, including discussion and writing. In the latter, the primary concern is to

ensure students’ interactive engagement with literary texts as with any other

authentic text, and with one another, in ways that would promote language

development and further language learning.The literature for study examines the

history and characteristics of literary movements; the social, political and

historical background to a text; the biography of the author and its relevance to his

or her writings; the genre of the text etc., (Lazar, 1993:35). It is the teaching of

literature at its academic level, not for the purpose of teaching a language.

Literature as a resource is less academic though no less serious approach to

the reading of literature (Carter and Long, 1991:3). It is the use ofliterary text to

teach the relevant language items becausethat piece of text supplies chances for

learning and stimulating interest in the language. The use of literature as a

resource enhances the interaction between students and the texts, and among

students to enhance learning of the language. Duff and Maley (2003:5)explain:

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Carter and Long (1991:4)conclude that “Literature is a legitimate and valuable

resource for language teaching.”The advantages of using literature as a resource

can be achieved when appropriate literary texts are selected to meet the age,

interest, needs and goals of the students.The literary texts supply many linguistic

opportunities for the language learner and allows the teacher to design activities

that are “based on material capable of stimulating greater interest and

involvement” than many other non-literary, informative texts. Literature provides

wonderful materials for eliciting strong emotional responses from the students and

is aimed to produce stimulating and enjoyable experiences in the classroom.

b. Advantages of Using Literature in the Language Classroom

According to Basnett and Grundy (1993), ‘literature is a high point of

language usage, arguably it marks the greatest skills a language user can

demonstrate. Anyone who wants to acquire a profound knowledge of language

that goes beyond the utilitarian, will read literary texts in that language’. With

literature, learners can develop performance in the language when exposed to the

best uses of the language. Povey (1972) says that “Literature will increase all

language skills because literature will extend linguistic knowledge by giving

evidence extensive and subtle usage and complex and exact syntax”.Collie and

Slatter (1987:10) provide the reason that drived their approach to teaching

literature:

‘The overall aim, then, in our approach to the teaching of literature is to let

the student derive the benefits of communicative and other activities for language improvement within the context of suitable works of literature. Sharing literature with students is a spur to their acquiring these benefits, providing the teacher makes a balanced selection of activities and presents

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Van 2009 (cited in Bagherkazemi and Alemi, 2010) believes literature is

advantageous in the EFL classroom because: a) It provides meaningful contexts;

b) It involves a profound range of vocabulary, c) dialogues and prose; d) It

appeals to the imagination and enhances creativity; e) It develops cultural

awareness; f) It encourages critical thinking; g) It is in line with communicative

language teaching principles.

Ur (1996: 201) lists the advantages of literature as a language teaching

resource:

1. Literature is a very enjoyable resource to learn a language

2. Literature provides examples of different styles of writing, and also

representations of various authentic uses of the language

3. Literature is a good resource for increasing word power

4. It encourages developing various reading skills in learners

5. It can be used as a springboard for exciting discussion or writing

6. It involves both emotion and intellect, which adds to the motivation and may

contribute to the personal development of the student.

7. English literature (in general) is a part of the target culture, and therefore it

has a value as part of the learners’ general education.

8. It encourages critical and creative thinking.

9. It enriches the students’ world knowledge.

10. It makes the students aware of various human situations and conflicts.

ForGajdusek (1988),Literature is advantageous in language teaching and learning

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commit to user 1. It serves as a stimulus for composition.

2. It is a perfect means for constituting content for content-based classes.

3. It encourages talking.

4. It helps generate purposeful referential questions.

5. It provides for highly motivated small group work

6. It makes for dramatic vocabulary growth and the contextualized teaching of

complex sentence grammar.

Akyel and Yalçin (1990:175) state that practitioners (teachers) use literature in

their English teaching practices:

1. To broaden students' horizons by giving them a knowledge of the classics of

literature,

2. To improve student's general cultural awareness;

3. To stimulate students' creative and literary imagination and to develop their

appreciation of literature;

4. To introduce students to masterpieces in British and American literature as an

educative experience, and to add to students' knowledge of the world at large.

Other language expertshave demonstrated the advantages of literature in

language teaching. They believe literature should be incorporated in language

teaching as a complement to improve students’ language mastery. Knowing the

powerful role literature plays in language teaching, Weinrich (1983)warns that “to

teach language without literature is an act of barbarism.” Language teachers

shouldtherefore incorporate literature in languageteachingas it represents a

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c.Reasons for Use ofLiterature in the EFL Classroom

There are reasons fora language teacher to use of literature in the EFL

classroom.Collie and Slater (1987:3-6)provide four basic reasons why a language

teacher uses literary texts with classes. These are:

1. Literature as Valuable Authentic Material

An authentic text is a stretch of real language, produced by a real

speaker or writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real message of

some sort (Morrow, 1977: 13). According to Bacon and Finnemann (1990),

“authentic materials are texts produced by native speakers for a non-pedagogical

purpose. Authentic language materials are spoken or written language materials

that have been produced in the course of real communication and not specifically

produced for the very purpose of language teaching (Nunan, 1999). They are ‘real

materials’ produced to fulfill some social purpose in the language community and

are not like the non-authentic texts that are specially designed for language

learning purposes. Authentic materials include: travel timetables, city plans,

forms, pamphlets, cartoons, advertisement, newspaper or magazine articles,

literature, TV broadcast, video and internet. These materials provide samples of

authentic language by helping to bring alive the real world into the EFL/ESL

classroom. Savignon (2002) reveals that since the mid-sixties, the focus in

linguistic theory has shifted from the study of language in isolation to the study of

language in a social context, hence the need for authentic materials in the

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Authentic literary texts supply learners with ‘representational uses of the

target language. By this, students are exposed to genuine uses of language in the

classroom through complex themes.Duff and Maley (1990) assert that the

authenticity and seriousness of literary texts, to which offer genuine samples of a

very wide range of styles, registers and text-types dealing with non-trivial matters

to which learners can bring a personal response from their own experience, make

them ideal for language teaching. Breen (1985:61) provides four types of

authenticity within the classroom and to the use of authentic texts:

1. Authenticity of the texts which we may use as input data for our students;

2. Authenticity of the learners’ own interpretations of such texts;

3. Authenticity of tasks conducive to language learning;

4. Authenticity of the actual social situation of the classroom language.

The concept of authenticity is central to CLT because learners are exposed to the

same language as native speakers. Some of the principles of the methodology

include:

1. Emphasis on purposeful and meaningful activities

2. The use of authentic elements

3. The use of the extra materials besides textbook activities

4. Avoiding from mechanical drills in pair or group work activities

5. Diversity of activities (Yang and Cheung, 2003: 17-18)

Hu (2002:95) addsthat “communicative language teaching puts the

emphasis on a more authentic use of language for meaning and communication.”

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realistic use of the English language; both the activities employed and the

materials used aim to be as authentic as possible.” Authentic text increases

students’ motivation for learning since they give the learners the feeling that they

are learning the real language-the target language as it is used by the community

that speaks it. With authentic materials, students are provided with opportunities

to engage in meaningful activities, to negotiate for meaning,’and express and

clarify their intentions, thoughts, opinions, etc., in a way to arrive at a mutual

understanding.

Collie and Slatter (1987) therefore note that literature is

‘authentic’material. By that we simply mean that most works of literature are not

fashioned for the specific purpose of teaching a language.’According to Hall

(1999:11),‘Literature is a source of qualitatively demanding authentic language

with an unmistakably individual human voice behind it; beyond the triviality of

invented dialogues and trendy realia’. Authentic materials are used in the

classroom because, outside the safe, controlled language learning environment,

the learner will not encounter the artificial language of classroom but the real

world and how language is really used in real contexts. Collie and Slatteralso

emphasize;

‘...Learners are thus exposed to language that is as genuine and undistorted

as can be managed in the classroom context. Literature is a valuable

complement to such materials, especially once the initial ‘survival’ level

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Furthermore, literatureprovides learners with a wide range of authentic situations

and predicaments to stimulate some kind of emotional response in them because

written words of literature are living words that drive the reader to response.

Through literature students interact with the real language and content.

In choosing authentic material for use in the classroom,Nuttall (1996:172)

and Berato (2006) provide some criteria. They implore teachers to look for the

following: suitability of content, exploitability, readability and presentation.

Suitability of Content:

Does the text interest the student?

Is it relevant to the student’s needs?

Does it represent the type of material that the student will use outside of the

classroom?

Exploitability:

Can the text be exploited for teaching purposes?

For what purpose should the text be exploited?

What skills/strategies can be developed by exploiting the text?

Readability:

Is the text too easy/difficult for the student?

Is it structurally too demanding/complex?

How much new vocabulary does it contain? Is it relevant?

Presentation:

Does it “look” authentic? Is it “attractive”?

Does it grab the student’s attention?

Does it make him want to read more?

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1. having a positive effect on student motivation;

2. giving authentic cultural information;

3. exposing students to real language;

4. relating more closely to students’ needs;

5. supporting a more creative approach to teaching.

Martinez (2002)provides an elaborate list of the advantages and disadvantages of

authentic reading materials in the classroom:

a. Advantages

1. Students are exposed to real discourse, as in videos of interviews with famous

people where intermediate students listen for gist.

2. Authentic materials keep students informed about what is happening in the

world, so they have an intrinsic educational value.

3. Textbooks often do not include incidental or improper English.

4. They can produce a sense of achievement, e.g., a brochure on England given

to students to plan a 4-day visit.

5. The same piece of material can be used under different circumstances if the

task is different.

6. Language change is reflected in the materials so that students and teachers

can keep abreast of such changes.

7. Reading texts are ideal to teach/practice mini-skills such as scanning,

8. Books, articles, newspapers, and so on contain a wide variety of text types,

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9. They can encourage reading for pleasure because they are likely to contain

topics of interest to learners, especially if students are given the chance to

have a say about the topics or kinds of authentic materials to be used in class.

b. Disadvantages

1. They may be too culturally biased, so unnecessarily difficult to understand

outside the language community.

2. The vocabulary might not be relevant to the student's immediate needs.

3. Too many structures are mixed so lower levels have a hard time decoding the

texts.

4. Special preparation is necessary which can be time consuming.

5. With listening: too many different accents.

6. The material can become outdated easily, e.g. news.

2. Literature for Cultural Enrichment

Collie and Slatter alsostate that using literature in the language

classroom enhances cultural enrichment. When students are exposed to literature

they would be able to grasp new information about the culture of the language

they are studying. Teaching literature within a cultural model enables students to

understand and appreciate cultures and ideologies different from their own and to

come to perceive tradition of thought, feeling and artistic form within the heritage

the literature of such culture endows (Carter and Long 1991: 2).Literature serves

as a medium to transmit the culture of the people who speak the language in

which it is written (Valdes, 1986). The ideal way to deepen understanding of life

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provide students access to the culture of the people whose language they are

studying. The cultural enrichment of literature can be seen from the various social

backgrounds that show the customs, feelings and the daily lives of the people. The

reader involved in the literary work can understand different cultural aspects of

the people. Literature is a window into another culture and for many people the

ideal way to learn about other people’s culture is to read the literature.Povey sees

‘Literature as a link towards that culture which sustains the expressions of any

language. American literature will open up the culture of this country to a foreign

student in a manner analogous to the extension of the native speaker’s own

awareness of his own culture’. By reading literature associated with a particular

language studentscan have an insight into the culture, and gain knowledge about

the economic, religious and political views of a country. It also enables them to

see very quickly that meanings are socially constructed in complex ways. Thus,

teachers can develop activities to enable students to consider different points of

view, develop multicultural literacies, and how to describe and explain meanings

using literary texts.

3. Literature for Language Enrichment

Language enrichment is one benefit often sought through literature (Collie

and Slatter 1987:4). The reason is that language is the literary medium, literature

is made of language and students enrich their language knowledge through

literature.Clandsfield believes literature is beneficial for the language enrichment

because “ Literature encourages interactions in all its ramifications”. Literary texts

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discussions and sharing feelings and opinions. When students read literary texts,

they meet language in use. Nissani and Lohani (1996) state that “the best road to

language proficiency lies in its literature; nothing is so emotionally gripping so

that it is remembered for a long time.” Short and Candlin (2000) suggest that an

integrated language and literature curriculum will help the students improve their

language skills such as reading and understanding complex texts and their

command of language.In achieving this, the language teacher must be challenged

to design stimulating activities that can motivate learners.

4. Literature for Personal Involvement

Literature is a helpful material to foster the personal involvement in

students. When a novel, play or short story is explored over a period of time, the

result is that the reader begins to ‘inhabit’ the text’(Collie and Slatter, 1987).

Literature provides not only a genuine context for communication; it also gives

pleasure by engaging the emotions. If a reader wants to find out what happens

next in a text, if it seems important to him personally, he will read on despite

linguistic difficulties. Oftentimes, the reader is eager to find what happens as

events unfold; he may feel close to certain characters and shares their emotional

experiences and responses. Hence, understanding the meaning of lexical items or

phrases becomes less significant than pursuing the development of the story. The

language becomes ‘transparent’-the story summons the whole person into its own