This paper investigates how short stories can be integrated into an English language Class, in order to consolidate students’ knowledge of the English language - grammar and vocabulary; and to promote their creative writing skills. The use of short stories can contribute to students’ reinforcing effectively and meaningfully their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary while it can help students to be more creative and imaginative in their writing in a way to free the students from the routine procedures occurring in the classroom. The purpose of this paper is to familiarize language instructors with the effectiveness of using literature in language instruction. This approach allows more exploration of the short story, offers the students more opportunities to formulate their own ideas or feelings about the issue(s) as well as to improve their basic skills in the language learning process. To cater various learning styles, it is necessary to devise various kinds of tasks and activities. All of them are carried out in English to immerse students in an English-speaking environment. To prove this concept fruitful a lesson plan has been devised with appropriate activities and a short story has been selected as a model. Key words: Literature in Language classroom, short story, language skills classes, Lesson Plan "Literature is, first of all, to be experienced, to be enjoyed, to be appreciated, to be loved. Each reader, in the process of experiencing a literary work, both brings meaning to and takes meaning from that work." (Vandergrift, 1995) Background It is a perplexing question that what is authentic material that can satisfy learner’s linguistic needs in a class room. In this regard, various theories have been presented and ... ... middle of paper ... ... for advanced level readers, 4. motivates learners to read due to being an authentic material, 5. offers a world of wonders and a world of mystery, 6. gives students the chance to use their creativity, 7. promotes critical thinking skills, 8. facilitates teaching a foreign culture (i.e. serves as a valuable instrument in attaining cultural knowledge of the selected community, 9. makes students feel themselves comfortable and free, 10. helps students coming from various backgrounds communicate with each other because of its universal language, 11. helps students to go beyond the surface meaning and dive into underlying meanings, 12. acts as a perfect vehicle to help students understand the positions of themselves as well as the others by transferring these gained knowledge to their own world.
"A work of literature must provide more than factual accuracy or vivid physical reality... it must tell us more than we already know. " - E. M. Forster. This quote means that the work of literature is more defined and tells us a deeper concept than we already would know. Many other, including I, agree with this quote from E. M. Forster. This quote is true in the books Beowulf and The Great Gatsby because they both provide events and themes that you wouldn't think would happen.
This paper will target ELL students of a secondary age level. It will be assumed they are between levels 3 and 4 of the Ministry of Education ELL/D Performance Standards. This level of student will often need help to elaborate on certain ideas. Sequencing is generally good at this stage, as is accessing prior knowledge, however, a graphic organizer can always benefit a student no matter what level. Grammar is improving greatly through these stages, but things such as homonyms and figures of speech will still be difficult (BC Performance Standards, 2001). Having the students learn how to write a narrative will complete a Prescribed Learning Outcomes for English 10: writing in a variety...
I think that the good novelist tries to provide his reader with vivid depictions of certain crucial and abiding patterns of human existence. This he attempts to do by reducing the chaos of human experience to artistic form. And when successful he provides the reader with a fresh vision of reality. For then through the symbolic action of his characters and plot he enables the reader to share forms of experience not immediately his own. And thus the reader is able to recognize the meaning and value of the presented experience as a whole. (Kostelanetz 10)
Nilson, Allen Pace & Kenneth L. Donelson. “Stages of Literary Appreciation” in Literature for Today’s Young Adults. Longman, 2001: pp. 35-42. [PDF in Blackboard]
As one of the most renowned and well-known literary critics in the world of composition, Harold Bloom has self-importantly granted himself the privilege of specifying the reasons as to why we read. From human connection to self-actualization to the acquirement of knowledge, he adheres passionately and unquestionably that “the strongest, most authentic motive for deep reading…is the search for a difficult pleasure.” Bloom, as an experienced critic, fully recognizes the task of judging a book for its merit.
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
The idea of literature being an important aspect of life has always been greatly prevalent in my upbringing. This notion that I supported was spurred on at the cause of my obstinate parents insisting upon my reading of two books a week to benefit my vocabulary and to develop the articulate thought process of a skilled reader. As a young child, my biggest influences were my parents’ passionate and persuasive ideas regarding the correlation between
Abcarian, Richard. Literature: the Human Experience : Reading and Writing. : Bedford/Saint Martin's, 2012. Print.
...ruly realize the false reality that literature made. The reader also has a huge role into expressing these false realities to the public, which can cause prejudice in the near future. People need to be open and understanding of different people and situations. Perspective plays a huge role into the thinking of a human mind, and readers should be more aware of the information’s brought upon different ways. Readers should not come up with a preconceived idea based upon the beliefs of other people perspective but should experience these different societies.
Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.10.2/sections/sec2.3
Thus, the book answers numerous practical questions that teachers have often struggled with; for example, how to increase the chances of academic success for language learners, how to use technology to teach language effectively, or how to teach language and content material concurrently. From the preface, the author makes it very clear that the book is designed to support language teachers in their journey as new teachers and throughout their teaching careers. In total, the book contains eleven chapters, which have been divided into four parts. The first part, "What Do Language Teachers Think About?" includes topics of foreign/ second language acquisition theories and language teaching methodologies. This part introduces the background knowledge readers will need in their journey as language teachers. The second part, "How Do You Teach a Language?" introduces approaches to teaching and learning that improve students’ writing, listening, speaking and reading abilities. Each chapter in this part includes suggestions for how students can be motivated and describes teaching and testing approaches to assess students ' language skills and academic literacy. The third part, "How Do I Know What to Teach?" is instrumental in helping teachers adopt teaching practices to particular teaching settings. The fourth part, "Where Do I Go from Here?" helps teachers gain a clearer perspective of what language teaching is all about; this section also considers teacher 's self-assessment and personal
A large part of an English teacher’s job deals with helping students find their own voices amidst the many teachings of their parents and peers. A student’s voice can be their values, their interests, and their perspectives of the world in which they live. Their voice can be their critical questioning of the many situations they face, whether in a text, the school cafeteria, or a park after school. It is the job of an English teacher to aid in finding this voice through their writing. It is by putting words and thoughts down on paper that a student can sometimes feel comfortable enough to take risks and find their true voices. Although traditional grammar instruction has long been thought to improve this skill, this is no longer the case. Instead, by providing a classroom environment in which students are immersed in classic literature from many genres including poetry, short stories, and novels, students will learn how to harness grammar for their own purposes of finding their voice in their writing.
As a teacher language is the most important tool in order to support student learning. The book Elementary Classroom Management by Kerry Williams discusses how language is an important tool to use “language can be a powerful vehicle for activating thought, and as teachers we need to be aware of the role it is playing” (ref pg. 196). The use of words and tone that the teacher uses to the students is significant in the behaviour of students. For example if a student is displaying
Literature has many purposes, and opens doors to unique worlds. Through Literature, we discover ourselves and world time and again.
Literature has had a major impact on society, and, also our history. Literature has reformed and shaped civilizations, changed political systems, and has exposed injustices (3). Our literature has changed and developed as we have, keeping up with our society. “...literature is crucial for the advancement of society (3).” With literary works, we can convince others to view things a certain way, share our opinions, and more. Literature is greatly intertwined with our society and everyday lives, and they would not be the same without it. Literature plays an irreplaceable role in our