Language and Interaction in the Teaching of American Literafure
Didik Murwantono
Sultan Agung lslamic University, Semarang, Central Java
For some teachers, teaching literature is an interesting activity for trans- forming knowledge about an event
or
a phenomenon that happened in any society in a particular time. The teacherswith their
foresights can bring the studentsto
comprehend any literarywork by
using language and culture.Language itself is a
product
of culture.lt
is used mainly as a means of com- munication. ln this case, language has a central role in getting a deep mean- ing of a literarywork. fu
Faninie (2000: 25) stated, as a means of communi*cation, language has some functions: it can be used
to
explain why a certain event happened,to
set a regulationto control
a certain event, andto
de- scribethe
event.American literature,
asone kind of literature,
canbe
called interna- tional literature. What is international literature? The terms "international,""global," and "trans-cultural" are often used intenchangeably. However, it is
not
difficultto
givethe
meaningof it.
Most people saidthat
internationalliterature
refersto
anyliterature
originallywritten in
Englishor
languagesother than
lndonesian and literaturewritten for
membersof
another cul-ture
by a long-term participant of that culture. The best and most authentic materials bywhich to
understandanother culture are
books and storieswritten
by authors ofthx
culturefor
the participants of the culture. As thewritten
symbolsof culture,
bool<sboth transmit
andreflect culture. No
serious studyof
aculture
can existwithout
anattention to its
literature (Sutherland &Arbuthnot, l98l).
Literature not only
illustrates and reflectsthe culture from which it
comes,but it
also gives us insights intothe
reasoning and belief systemsof
people whose outlooks and life experiences may be far differentfrom our
35t
own.
For example,in her
novel rhe Joy Luckclub,
Amy Tan explores the struSSles of parentswho
implanttheir
cultural heritages towardstheir
chil-dren
living among American society. some conflicts"rour"
whentwo
cur_tures, American and
chinese,
meet.The
parents found difficultiesto
passdown their cultural
heritagesfor their
childrenwho grew up
in America.Some experiences from her mother in the past guu"
gr"lt
influences in teach_ing her family values. Thus, teaching American multi-cultural literature gives students knowledge
of
histories, nations; andother
people.The
students can also learn new values, new emotions, new appreciation, new methocsof
literary analysis, and soforth. lt
is hopedthat'the
students can improvetheir
inter-relationshipswith
others, regardless oftheir
ethnics, beliefs, re- ligions and nationalities.Moreover, American literature teaching indirectlygives some good gurc_
ance
to the
students asit
isa
meansof transforrn"iion. someiimes, tt
e students may find good lessons of themselves from any literarywork.
lt ajsc encourages studentsto be
philosophic, moralistic,or
religious and helps themto
be realistic, mature, humane, and wiser. Furthermore, it allevrares studentsto
understand human sentiments, human interests, human prob_lems and so forth. The students are indirectly guided
to
select some benefl_cial lessons that they can get from American literary wor.k. Thus, students, capacity
for
feeling and appreciation increases, and so doestheir
capacrry for enjoyment. This is because literature endows its readerswith
thevisio.
from which conclusions, perspectives, and interpretations about behaviors and about
what
isworth
strivingfor
in life can be gained.ln
teachingliterature, the
teachers shouldbe
familiarwith
some:^-
proaches. A literary approach is no different from any other kind of analysis, it attempts to find
truth.
The process of analysis beginswith
dividing aprcr_
lem into
parts.once the
parts are separated and considered singry,it
:seasierto
studytheir
natures, functions, and interrelationships. ln very mr-ci.the
same way, you cannot tark about everything in a riterarywork
at once even though thework
is anentire
literarywork. lt
isbetter to narrow
the scope of discussion by dealingwith
separare topics like point of view, char_acter,
or
imageqy.lt
is necessaryta
remember that literary analysis is a wra,,rof deepening understanding and appreciation of the
work iRob".,,
r 9g3:/
Some approaches to teaching literature must be known by the teachers
well. six
frequently discussed approachesto
literary analysis include Ne.*,criticism,
Psychoanalyticcriticism, structuralism,
Lanjuage-BasedAp-
fl!| I
ENGLtsHEs FoR coMMUNtcATloN AND TNTEMCT'N rN THE cLAssRooM AND BFrc,.:proach, Reader-Response, and
Critical
Literacy.This chapter
focuses on Language- Based Approach.WHY IS LITERATURE TAUGHT?
ln sultan Agung lslamic University, semarang,
centralJava, literature
isone of
the
courses offeredto both
English Education Program and English Literature Program. The literature course which is given in thethird
semes-ter
aims at makingthe
students understandthe
natureof literature.
Com- monly, students in the English Literature Program arefamiliarwith
theword
literoture but some of them still find it difficultto
understandit.
ln responseto
a sirnplequestion like "What
is literature?"they often
statethat it
isanything
written
such as brochures, timetables,text-books,
magazines, and novels.There
aretwo
tyPesof literature:
informativeliterature
and imagina- tive literature. lnformative literature presents information and tells us about things such as facts, explanations,history
and realgreat
figuresin life.
lts main purpose isto
offer knowledge. Meanwhile, imaginative literature aims to arouse thoughts and feelings. lts author expresses hisor
her idea, feelings and attitudes. lmaginativeliterature
refersto writing which
expresses and communicates thoughts, feelings and attitudestowards life
(Rees, 1973).Thus, the author wants
to
communicate not only information, but also feel- ingsor emotion.
lmaginative literature is consideredto
have deeper sense than informative literature. Kinneavy ( I 983) stated that literature has a com- munication triangle. Literature can be expresslve, which focuses on personal expression (e.9.,letters
and diaries)i tronsactioncl,which
focuseson
boththe reader
andthe
message (e.g., advertising, businessletters,
editorials, andinstructions);
and poetic,which
focuseson form
and language (e.g., drama,poetry
novels,short
andsfories).
-fibachersplay an
important
role in teaching various aspects of language such as vocabulary and structure,or
testing learners' comprehension.To teach
awork
of imaginative literature, mainly novel, poetry and drama,the
teachers needto
learn a number of things.They
needto
understandwhat it
meansto teach
Englishliterature
inthe
class;they
needto know what
kindsof
rolesthey
should play inpromoting
Englishliterature
peda-gogy;they
also needto
be willingto
learn new knowledge and skills beforethey
cancomfortably
assumetheir
roles in teachingliterature.
Moreover, and perhapsmore
importantly,they
needto
develop a favorable attitudeMurwontono, Language and lnteroction in the Teoching of Americon Ljterature
IH
towards the teaching of American literature. They must give whole-hearted suppoft
to the
literature teaching model" However, many teachers are still less eagerto
embracethat
literature model of teaching.ln teaching literature,
there
is satisfactionwhen our
students' Iearning potentially increases, whentheir
attitudes are positive, andwhen
motiva-tion
runswell. lt is not
an easy taskto conduct literature
classwithout
understanding some variables like the students' backgrounds. For example, students' ability
to
learnliterature
canbe
influenced bytheir attitude to-
wardsthe target
language culture aswell
asthe
social and psychological aspectsof
human behavior. Therefore,the
teachers should recognize allstudents' characteristics in varying degrees.
They
must helpthe
students achieve an understanding and appreciation of a foreign culture.Another problem is that some students do not like literature.
Theythink
thatit
is nottrue,
just made up, and not real life. Therefore, theywould
say thatthere
is no good literature. Simply becauseit
is nottrue.
To copewith
this issue,we
must seethe
differences betweentruth
and fact inorder to
see literature. A fact is a statement of a thing done
or
existing,for
example, humans and living thingswill
die.A truth
is alittle bit more
difficultto
be defined.What
may betrue for one
person maynot
betrue for
another.Tiuth
iswhat
some people believe,whether you
agreeor
diagree. Com- monly, an authorof
literarywork
makes hisor
her charactersto
behave in a certaiRway
because heor
she knows certain facts and acceptstruth,
ln addition, heor
she is always concernedwith how truth
andfact
relateto
each other.
Therefore, the word
whyisvery important to
clarify.The
teachingof literature
aims atthe
following.The first
purpose isto
inspire inquisitive- ness. Some students may not enrollwith
any innate sense of curiosity aboutthe
material taught. They seetheir
academic degree as a vehicleto better
career opportunities. They do not readfor
pleasure; they do not see educa-tion
as somethingthat
is potentially transformative. That is why,it
is neces- sary for the teachersto
encourage them by involving them in the processof
teaching.The
second purpose isto
make studentsbetter
understand theworld. The
teachers haveto
insistthat
students mustthink of their
ap- proaches,words,
and responses in learning a literarywork.
By using litera- ture, teachers can bring the studentsto "travel"
across theworld.
ln short, they just want studentsto
be more interested and find a literarywork
more interesting.The
last purpose isto
give students a vocabulary for discussing[f, |
rr'rcirsHEs FoR coMMUNrcATroN AND rNTEMcroN rN THE cLAssRooM AND BFyoNDthings
that
are complex,which
is ultimately about socializingthem to
talk,think,
and feel. Thiswill
triggerthe
studentsto
arousetheir
responsesto-
wards any issue in a literarywork.
Moreover, the students can sharpentheir
knowledge in problem solving and know the real fact of a phenomenon that happened in a society;TEACHER'S
ROLESIN TEACHING LITERATURE
Gachers
have signiflcant roles in transforming knowledgeto their
stu- dents regardlessof the
teaching methodsthey
use.Most good
teachers hope thatthey perform
certain roles that are essential intheir
jobs.one of the
mostimportant
roles isto
construct.fu
instructors, they are expectedto
be ableto
teach in a manner that the students can understand easily and in a manner that engages the studentsto
participate optimally inthe
lesson.According
to Wlodlowski
(1999: 58-59), inorder to
achieve instructional clarity, teachers needto
be ableto:
explain things using simple and clear language; teach things step by step; use examples and explain them until the students understand; re.peat things whenthe
studentsdo not
understand;teach at a pace
that
is nottoo
fast and nottoo
slow; explain something and then stop so thatthe
students can ask questions; stressdifficult
points; and ask questionsto
findout
if the students understand.Another
keyrole of the
teachers is as amotivator. ln literature
class,motivation
playsa
significantrole in
learning.The relationship beween
motivation and academic achievement is consistently positive (Brophy, l99g).
Some students are enthusiastic,
opportunity-oriented, committed,
persis-tent
and self- learners.The
teachers can encouragethe
studentsto
have goals. Thenthey
are willingto work
hardto
achievetheir
goals anddo
not easily give up untilthey
achieve those goals. ln the classroom,the
students are engaged in a range of activities that contributedirectly
and significantlyto
learning. Sothey
aremore
attentive during lessons;they take
notesto
help
them
retain information; they ask questions when the teachers, expla- nation isnot
clear; andthey reflect
ontheir
understandingof the
lessonfll/lodlowski,
1999).ln
addition,the
rolesof motivation
have largely influ- encedthe
general education. Dornyei (2001 : 5) states, "duringthe
lengthy andoften tedious
processof
mastering aforeign
language, the. learner's enthusiasm,commitment
and persistence are key determinants of successor
failure."Murwontono, Language and lnteroction in the Teaching of American Literature
lg
Tiaditionally, the teachers are also expected
to
carryout
tasksthat
re- lateto
curricular issues, even though many maynot
bedirectly
involved incurriculum
development..According to Brown
(1995)and
Richards and Lockhart (1994), teachers can play roles as need analyst, material devel- oper, and assessor.fu
need analysts, good teachers carryout
needs analy- ses on an on-going basis and make use of the informationto
customizetheir
lessons so
the
needs andaspirxions
ofthe
individual students can beopti-
mally addressed. As material developers, teacherswrite their
teaching ma- terials and adapt them according to curricular requirements, students' need.As assessors, teachers continually assess
the
students' learning inorder to monitor their
progress,or
lackof
progress, and usesthis
information as a basisfor
developing remedial lessonsor other
courseimprovement
pur-POSeS.
Sometimes, a teacher needs
to
be a participant.lt
means thatthere
are times whenthe
teacher mighttake part
in an activity as a participant andnot
as a teacher. Takingthis
rolewill
allowthe teacher'to
understand the studentsbetter not
only interms of how they
learn and process informa-tion, but
also interms of the kind of
difficultiesthey encounter in their
learning.
Gaching
dramaoften
uses some actors.lt
isvery
beneficialfor
students
to
act that is similarwith
the teacher's act. ln teaching novel, when the students are asked towrite
down an essay on a certain topic, the teacher can actuallywrite
an essayhim or
herself.This role
helps teachersto
be moretolerant
and sympathetictowards our
students' learning process.lt
also helps teachers
to better
anticipatetheir
students' learning difficulties.LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND INTERACTION IN TEACHING LITERATURE
Language and interaction in teaching literature are interrelated, mainly, in teaching imaginative literature. This is a task
of
a teacherto
be a native language model. The teacher serves as a modelof
desirable language use which the students should aspireto
imitate andto
attain. Because it is about American literature,the
teacher hasto
use a native standard of American English. ln teaching literature,the
central task of the teacher isnot
onlyto
help
the
students attain native-like competence,but
alsoto
teachthe
cul-tural
norms and conventionsof
native English speaking communities.Language and
culture
cannot be separated in linewith
teaching litera-ture
as teachingliterature
entails teaching culture. ln this case, the teacherKI
ENGLISHES FOR COMMUNICATION AND INTFMCTION IN THE CLASSROOM AND BEYONDsees him
or
herself as a 'representative andinterpreter'
(Ellis, 11996:21 3)or
'ambassador'(Llurda,
2004: 3l9) of
Americancultures in the
classroom.The
studentswith their
eapacities are askedto
demonstratetheir
under- standingabout
anyculture which
is completelydifferent from that
in the lndonesiancontext. ln
this way, in aliterature
class,the teacher not
only takesthe role of
a language teacher, whosejob
isto
helpthe
students de-velop
linguistic competence,but
alsothe role of
anintercultural
teacher, whose iob isto
help the students acquire intercultural communicative com- petence by fosteringthe
abilityto
use Englishto
communicatewith their
students culturally. Accordingto
Byram(lggn, there are five
important issues in linewith
an intercultural teacher. They shouldknow the
self andthe others, know how to relate
andinterpret
meaning,develop
critical awareness,know
howto
discover cultural information,know
howto
place oneself, andknow
howto
value the attitudes and beliefs of others.When teaching these skills, the teacher may engage
the
students in ac-tivities that
raise awarenessof their own culture
andother
people's cul- tures; promote greater understanding and respect oftheir
own culture andothers' cultures;
developmore
positive and accepting attitudes towards cultural differences; and raise awareness ofthe
potential misunderstandingthat
canoccur
in cross-cultural interactions and awareness ofthe
needto
develop skillsto
resolve potential communicationproblems. ln this
case, cultural relativism is suitableto
be applied for the students in understanding inter-cultural values. lt means that students can see another culture by using its culture as a yard of stick nottheir
own culture sothat
itwill
nottriggei
misunderstanding dnd confl icts.LANGUAGE.BASED APPROACH
The language-based approach emphasizes awareness of the language
of literature. lt
facilitates students' responses and experiencewith
literature andit
is consideredmore
accessiblefor
language learners (Klarer, 2004).There
are some activitiesin
relationto this
approach,for
example brain- stormingto
active bacllground knowledge and make predictions,rewriting the
endsof
storiesor
summarizing plots, completing cloze proceduresto
build vocabulary forming opinions, and involvingthe
students in debates.The
language-based approach respondsto
language students' needs in studyingliterature.
By applying this approach, the students can get the skills and techniquesto
facilitate accessto
texts and develop a sensitivityto
dif-Murwantono, Languoge and Interoction in the Teoching of Americon Literoture
trg
ferent genres so that they can enjoy a piece of literature that relates to
their
lives. There are some advantages
forthe
students in receivingthis approach.The
students communicatein
Englishto improve their
language compe- tence; they developthe
necessary skills ofworking
in groups; and they be- come active learners while teachers suPPort and guide them inthe
learning Process.Reflecting on my own experience, I was very much impressed when my class analyzed Emerson's "Self-Reliance" and
Walt
Wl'1itman's "CrossingBrooklyn
Ferry." I gave an illumination about an Americanidentity
in cul- ture, which was individualism. The studentswith their backgrounds exploredthe
individualism valuesby
connectingthe
valuesto their
life experienes.Some
of
students' commentaries modifiedwith
myown
resPonses are asfollows.
What
Emerson meanswhen
he said "whose would be a man must be o nonconformist." I thinkthat
self-reliance has a meaning identicalto the
idea of individualism. lnthe
beginning of the essay, Emersonitated
thatour
soul always hears something,which
is original,not
conventional, whatever the subject is. Therefore,we
haveto
speak of whatwe,
not whatother
peoplethink. ln "to
believeyour
ownthought':
Ernersonwould
urge his audienceto throw
off the shackles oftradition
and conformity. Emerson asked them"to
believe that what is true for you in your privote heort is true for oll men, thatis genius. "
Emerson also courageously points out that in
orery
human being, thereis a unique power, which enables him
or herto
face hisor
her destiny. Heor
she hasto do
hisor her own best
sothat this power will not
loose its strength, and heor
shewill
haveno
peacenor
can heor
she achieve any success. A human being is a being towhom
God has given abilityor
inherent strengthto trust
himselfor
herself. "Trust thyself: every heart vibrotes to thot iron string". lf a human being realizes this and develops self-trust, heor
shewill
have a new power. On theother
hand, if heor
she is always governed by society in hisor
her every action, heor
she becomes weak,turns
into adepending person, as
well,
andwill
never be satisfiedwith
himselfor
her- self. Emersonwrites
"Society everywhere is in conspiracy ogoinstthe manhood of every oneofits
members."Having pointed
out
his idea in his 'self-reliance, Emerson concludes that he believes in individualismor
non-conformity. He has a strong belief that aEI
ENGLISHES FOR COMMUNICATION AND INTEMCTION IN THE CLASSROOM AND BEYONDhuman being has
to trust
himselfor
herself, since heor
she has hisor
herown power,
mind, and originalityof thought. lt
is interestingto
comparebetween
Emerson's "Self-Reliance" andWhitman's "Crossing
Brooklyn Ferry" . Both ofthem
arefrom
Romantic era in whichtheir work
supports each other. But in Whitman'swork,
his poem containswider
meaning about individualism dealingwith
society.He
stressesthe
ideaof
personality. An individual does not stand alone. An individual hasto
be a member of society.This
membership involvesthe
rightsor
dutiesthat
accompany freedom.Whitman wants to identity the principle of
equality and individuality. He admits his self-identify clearly as reflected in Section 7 as follows:Closer
yet
I approach youWhat thought you have
now
I had as much ofyou-l
lasid in my stores in advanceI consider'd long and seriously of you before you born
Who
wasto
knowwhat
should come hometo
meWho
knowsbut
I am enjoying thisWho knows, for all'the
distance,but I
am asgood
as looking at you now,for allyou
can not see meln short, the
language-based approach is motivating becauseit
fulfills students' needs in learning aboutliterature
and language.lt
helps students handle atext,
enhancestheir
enjoyment and interest in literature, developstheir
autonomy, and improvestheir
learningof
English. lnorder to
give anillumination
toward
this approach, I use American poem'Mulatto'
which isone of Langston
Hughes'poems.'Mulatto'is
regarded as Black'sway, mainlyfor the
mulattoesto
protestWhite
peoplefor their
injusticetreatment to
Black people.This poem
is openedby
a linefrom a Mulatto boy's
voice demandingWhite
people, his father,to
accept him as his son.'l
amyour
son,white
man!'The
aboveline
isin
italicform. lt
seemsthat the poet
wantsto
givemore
emphasisto the
meaning ofthx
he really wantsto
declareto White
manthat
hisfather
isWhite
althoughthe
Blackwoman is
hismother. lt
cannot be denied. That is the fact.lt
is the result of his intimate relationshipMurwantono, Language ond lnteroction in the Teoching of Americon Literoture
IH
with
a Black woman. He hasto
be in charge ofit.
He should not be a hypo-crite
man.There
are also some lines remindingthe White
manof
a placewhere
he meetsthe
Black girls.The
moon over the turPentine woods The Southern nightFull of Stars
Great big Yellow stars What's a bodY but a toY
juicy
bodiesOf
nigger wenches("Mulatto"
by Langston Hughes)By stating those lines,
the
Poet wantsto
give the flashbacl< of theWhite
people'smemolf
when he meets the Blackgirls. To him Blackgirls are very niceto
see, howeverthey
look toys. Then theWhite
man treats her like atoy
as well. Those lines let theWhite
man remember about anything he has done that has relationship with sexual freedom towards the Blackgirl. Shortly'the
poet wantsto
tell that actuallythe
Black girls' body is not a toy' She is ahuman being.
There
is alsoa
linewritten in
italicform
asthe
following:Whot's
the body of your mather? Explicitly this question is addressedto
the son. However, this line has an implicit meaning of claimingor
askingWhite
peoplefor their
perception ofthe
Mulatto's mother.CONCLUSION
Language and interaction are closely related
to the
some rolesof
the teacher inthe
class. Traditional roles combinedwith
language communica-tive
aspects give positive impactstowards the
students' acceptanceof lit- erature
materials. In teaching Americanliterature,
a teacher must have a competence in mastering a suitable approach alongwith
cultural perspec-tives of
learningthat
is valued bythe
native speaker culturesof
learning' Accordingly,the
teacher takeson
rolesthat' to
a large extent, conformto these
assumPtions.lt
is undeniablytrue that now
English has obtained a status as a global language.At
least,it
is used mostlyfor
global inter-rela-tionship
among nationsover the world. ln
relationto literature
teaching,there
is a need for teachersto
critically examinetheir
pedagogical Practicess!|l
ENGLtsHEs FoRcoMMUNtcATloN AND rNTEMcroN lN THE cLAssRooM AND BEYoNDl
and adjust
their
roles so thatthey
aremore
in keepingwith the
principlesthat
underlie the teachingof
English as a globalor
international language.when
evaluatingthe
relevanceof
approachesto
teaching American Literatureto
university language students,it
is usefulto
considerthe
pur- posesof
learning,the
activities inthe
classroom,the
essenceof
meaning, the roles of the teacher; and the roles of the students. Finally, teaching Ameri- canliterature
zN an international study must embracethe
holistic learningmethod.
To makethe
teaching process effectively,it
needs scanning and leveling, active interaction and learning conditioning.The other
significant factors referringto the
successof
literature teaching arethe
exisienceof
following activities: stoqy telling analogy and case study, body language, self reflection, focus andpoint
basis aswell
affirmation and repetition.REFERENCES
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Brown, J.
D.
1995. The EJementsof
Language curriculum. Boston, MA: Heinie &Heinle Publishers.
Byram,
J.
1997. Teaching ond Assessing Intercultural Communicotive Competence.Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Dornyei,
2.2001.
Motivationol stroregies in the Languoge clossroom. cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Emerson, R. W" n.d. "self-Reliance." Lecture of Americo's culturol Eros by prof.
Hugh Egan from lthaca university held at Gadjah Mada University, yogyakarta, in 2002.
Ellis,
G.
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Richards, J.
c.,
& Lockhart,c.
1994. Reflective Teachingin second Longuoge closs- room. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Roberts, E.
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I 983. Writing Themes about Literature. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, lnc.Wlodkowski, R.J. ( | 999). Enhancing Adutt Motivation to Learn. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass Publishers.
whitman, W. n.d, "crossing Brooklyn Ferry". Lecture of Americot culturol Eros
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