Rationale, aims and principles
All authentic resources are interesting because of their very authenticity and because they are often created to be interesting, attractive, lively, moving or amusing.
Literary texts have the added value of cultural status, of linguistic richness and include an aspect of publication and/or performance.
The rationale for the ALL Literature project embraces the elements above and extends them, because of the additional requirements of encountering texts in the classroom, and for the purpose of language learning.
To that end the suggestions offered by Language teachers include:
• Approaches to playful, meaningful interaction with texts which supports language-learning as well as cultural and literary sensitivity.
Language teachers use texts for :
• Exposure to authentic language
• Interaction with language in an authentic literary context
- responding to story
- appreciating crafted language
- humour
- improving literacy skills/dictionary skills
- cultural awareness
- developing an ability to think outside the box – work out unknown words from context
At different points in a language learner’s career they explore different aspects of literary texts , such as:
• Storytelling
Learning to recognise storytelling structures, skills and specific language
Responding to cues in the story
- Choral / individual repetition
- interpreting images
- predicting next events
- matching actions to language and language to actions, responding to prompts
- audience participation
- recognising sequence e.g. by pointing to images / holding up flashcards / doing an action
- matching pictures with text, text with pictures
- sequencing scenes / paragraphs / sentences
- memorising to retell a story collectively
- dramatising scenes
- observing others enacting scenes
- adapting for creative writing
• Literacy skills
Observing similarities / differences between patterns in different languages
Recognising sound-spelling links in different languages
Reading aloud a familiar / unfamiliar text
Grammatical perceptions
• Cultural skills
Appreciating / enjoying a piece of language for its beauty
Learning an extract by heart
Making choices
Interpretation
• Understanding and responding
- inspiration for new writing
• Performing
From texts – e.g. summarising
From words – e.g. reading aloud
From prompts – e.g. recounting
From memory – e.g. reciting
A checklist of reasons to use Literature in the Languages classroom is included in Why teach literature in the foreign language classroom? Jonathan P.A. Sell Universidad de Alcalá, Encuentro 15, 2005, Journal of Research and Innovation in the Language Classroom.
[http://www.example.com https://ebuah.uah.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/10017/573/11_Sell.pdf?sequence=1
i]n Section 2. The case for literature.