Teaching Literature In An Optional Course For Middle Schhol

TEACHING LITERATURE IN AN OPTIONAL COURSE FOR MIDDLE SCHHOL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARGUMENT ………………………………………………………………….……….. 4

CHAPTER I

LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE TEACHING ……………………..…….. 4

I.1 General considerations ……………………………………………..………. 4

I.2 Reasons for learning literature ……………………………………..……… 4

I.3. The importance of language acquisition …………………………..……… 6

I.4 Developing students’ interpretative abilities ……………………..……….. 6

I.5 Literary competence ………………………………………………..……… 7

I.6. Reading literature ……………………………………………………..…… 8

I.7 Teaching study skills for English literature ………………………………………… 10

I.8 Literature in the foreign language class ……………………………..……. 13

I.9 Different models of teaching literature in class ……………………..……13

I.10 Text selection ………………………………………………………..…….. 14

I.11 Censorship …………………………………………………………..……. 16

I.12 Teaching Literature in the Age of E-Literacy ………………………..…. 16

I.13 The anxiety of teaching ……………………………………..…………….. 17

I.14 Planning ……………………………………………………………………. 18

CHAPTER II

DEFINING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE ……………………………..…… 21

II.1 Selecting and using children’s literature in the context of the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language …………………………….……. 22

II.2 Children’s literature by genre and text-type ……………………….….… 28

II.3 Children's literature by age category ………………………………………… 28

II.4 Children's literature by genres ……………………………………..…….. 29

II.5 Types of literature used in teaching English with particular reference to the role of texts ……………………………………………………………..…… 30

II.5.1 Poems for children …………………………………………..…… 29

II.5.2 Fiction for children ……………………….…………..…..………33

II.5.2.1 Novels and short stories ………….……………..……… 34

II.5.2.2 Science fiction and modern fantasy ………..….…….. 35

II.5.2.3 Ghost stories ……………………………………………. 37

II.5.2.4 Fairy tales ………………………………………………. 37

II.5.2.5 Didactic stories ………………………………….….….. 38

II.5.2.6 Fables and Animal sketches and stories ………..……. 39

II.5.3 Theater and drama for children ………………………….….. …40

CHAPTER III

ON TEACHING LITERARY WORKS ……………………………….……… 44

III.1 General considerations of literature ……………………………….……. 44

III.1.1 Literature and The Teaching of Language Skills ……….……. 44

III.1.2 Literature and Reading …………………………………………. 44

III.1.3 Literature and Writing …………………………………….…….45

III.1.4 Literature, Speaking, and Listening …………………….……. 48

III.2 Teaching novels and short stories ………………………………………. 49

III.3 How to teach poetry ………………………………………………………. 55

III.4 Plays and drama …………………………………………………………… 63

CHAPTER 4

ENGLISH LANGUAGE SYLLABUS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL 2010 ……. 76

CONCLUSIONS ……………………………………………………………………… 109

REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………. 122

APPENDIX 1 ………………………………………………………………………….. 115

APPENDIX 2 ………………………………………………………………………….. 121

APPENDIX 3 ………………………………………………………………………….. 127

APPENDIX 4 ………………………………………………………………………….. 130

CHAPTER I

LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE TEACHING

I.1 General considerations

Literature has been a subject of study in many countries at a secondary or tertiary level, but until recently has not been given much emphasis in the English learners’ classroom. It is only since the 1980s that this area has attracted again more interest among English teachers.

If the teaching of English language and the teaching of English literature have tended to coexist in many different ways especially where non-native speakers of English are studying language, however, in some schools, literature has been omitted altogether because it was considered to be not absolutely practical and necessary to certain specific purposes in learning the language. What seems to be new now, is a considerably revival of interest in the study of literature in relation to language. But what is literature? Literature has been defined in many different ways:

“Literature is ‘feelings’ and ‘thoughts’ in black and white”.

“Literature is the use of language to evoke a personal response in the reader or listener”.

“Literature is a world of fantasy, horror, feelings, and visions, put into words”.

I.2 Reasons for learning literature

There are many good reasons for using literature in the classroom, namely:

Literature is authentic material. It is good to expose learners to this source of unmodified language in the classroom because the skills they acquire in dealing with difficult or unknown language can be used outside the class. Literature exposes students to fresh themes and unexpected language and in this sense, ‘a literary text is authentic text, real language in context, to which we can respond directly”. This quality appears to make literature suitable and valuable to language teaching in many contexts and cultures.

Literature encourages interaction. Literary texts are often rich in multiple layers of meaning and can be effectively used for discussions and sharing feelings or opinions.

Literature expands language awareness. Asking learners to examine sophisticated or non-standard examples of language (which can occur in literary texts) make them more aware of the norms of language use.

From this point of view, literary texts are not created for the specific purpose of teaching, bur they talk about “things which mattered to the author when he wrote them”. Thus, compared to the language samples in the textbooks, the language is far richer and more varied. Many genuine features of the written language such as “the formation and function of sentences, the variety of possible structures, and the different ways of connecting ideas” are presented at many levels of difficulty.

Literature educates the whole person. By examining values in literary texts, teachers encourage learners to develop attitudes towards them. These values and attitudes relate to the world outside the classroom.

Literature is motivating. Literature holds high status in many cultures and countries and that is why students can feel a real sense of achievement at understanding a piece of highly respected literature. Also, literature is often more interesting than the texts found in course books. In many countries around the world, literature is highly valued, in Romania, as well. As Romanian students are familiar with literature in their own language, studying some literature in English can provide an interesting and thought provoking point of comparison.

Literature exposes students to complex themes and fresh, unexpected uses of language. A good novel or short story may be particularly interesting in that it involves students in the suspense of unraveling the plot. A play may engage students in complicated dilemmas. A poem may elicit a powerful emotional response from students. If the materials are carefully chosen, students will feel that what they do in the classroom is relevant and meaningful to their own lives, and a more important point is, that students become aware and convinced that English language, like Romanian, is a powerful means of communication. More and more in recent years there has been a tendency towards the use of authentic texts designed inherently for the native readers, not the foreign language students. However, in order to implement the students’ analytical skills more gradually, recourse must be given to texts more suitable to their abilities. From the literary point of view, there are two particularly interesting types of authentic texts,children’s literature and certain short works of adult literature.

I.3. The importance of language acquisition

One of the main problems of foreign language acquisition in countries where English is not the first language and is not widely spoken on a day-to-day basis is the lack of opportunity for receiving correct English outside the formal setting of the classroom. When this is the case, literature provides an interesting, stimulating and authentic way to further a student’s reading and interpretational skills and it can be readily used to supplement the restrictive classroom activities and add a new perspective to the language and its uses. Furthermore, recorded literary materials, where available, can prove to be an excellent resource by offering the opportunity to improve listening skills alongside reading skills. The use of literary texts is often a particularly successful way of promoting activities where students need to share their feelings and opinions, such as debates and group work. This is because literature is very rich in multiple levels of meaning. Reading works of literature is primarily an experience that presupposes the ability to gain access to it. A person who has not the reading or comprehension fluency to make sense of the words on the page is not in the position to respond to the literariness of the text, and the response should precede the analyses or description of that response. Therefore a ‘literary lesson’ can start only when a certain level of language as well as reading competence is acquired.

I.4 Developing students’ interpretative abilities

Any learning of a new language would seem to involve the learner in the forming of hypotheses and the drawing of inferences whether these relate to when a particular idiom is used appropriately, how far a grammatical rule can be generalized or what is implied behind the literal meaning of what someone says in a conversation. It has been argued that literature is a particularly good source for developing students’ abilities to infer meaning and to make interpretations. This is because literary texts are often rich in multiple levels of meaning, and demand that the reader/learner be actively involved in ‘teasing out’ the unstated implications and assumptions of the text. In a poem, for example, a word may take on a powerful figurative meaning beyond its fixed dictionary definition. Trying to ascertain this significance provides an excellent opportunity for students to discuss their own interpretations, based on the evidence in the text. Thus, by encouraging students to grapple with the multiple ambigu

interpretations. This is because literary texts are often rich in multiple levels of meaning, and demand that the reader/learner be actively involved in ‘teasing out’ the unstated implications and assumptions of the text. In a poem, for example, a word may take on a powerful figurative meaning beyond its fixed dictionary definition. Trying to ascertain this significance provides an excellent opportunity for students to discuss their own interpretations, based on the evidence in the text. Thus, by encouraging students to grapple with the multiple ambiguities of the literary texts, we are helping them to develop their overall capacity to infer meaning. This is a very useful skill that can then be transferred to other situations where students need to make an interpretation based on implicit or unstated evidence.

I.5 Literary competence

Most language teachers are familiar with Chomsky’s notion of ‘grammatical competence’. This is the idea that all speakers of any language possess an ‘internalized grammar’ which allows them to produce and understand utterances that they may not have heard before, provided that these utterances conform to the grammatical rules of the language they are speaking. If we see teaching of literature as more than simply the use of literary texts in classroom, we shall have to address the notion of ‘literary competence’. In practice, reading a literary text involves some sort of engagement by the reader beyond simply being able to understand the meanings of the utterances in the text.

The study of literature makes literature itself the content or subject of a language course, while the use of literature as a resource draws on literature as one source among many different kinds of texts for promoting interesting language activities. But, as long as the study of literature which represents our aim, developing the literary competence of our students is cru learning of a new language would seem to involve the learner in the forming of hypotheses and the drawing of inferences whether these relate to when a particular idiom is used appropriately, how far a grammatical rule can be generalized or what is implied behind the literal meaning of what someone says in a conversation. It has been argued that literature is a particularly good source for developing students’ abilities to infer meaning and to make interpretations. This is because literary texts are often rich in multiple levels of meaning, and demand that the reader/learner be actively involved in ‘teasing out’ the unstated implications and assumptions of the text. In a poem, for example, a word may take on a powerful figurative meaning beyond its fixed dictionary definition. Trying to ascertain this significance provides an excellent opportunity for students to discuss their own interpretations, based on the evidence in the text. Thus, by encouraging students to grapple with the multiple ambigu

interpretations. This is because literary texts are often rich in multiple levels of meaning, and demand that the reader/learner be actively involved in ‘teasing out’ the unstated implications and assumptions of the text. In a poem, for example, a word may take on a powerful figurative meaning beyond its fixed dictionary definition. Trying to ascertain this significance provides an excellent opportunity for students to discuss their own interpretations, based on the evidence in the text. Thus, by encouraging students to grapple with the multiple ambiguities of the literary texts, we are helping them to develop their overall capacity to infer meaning. This is a very useful skill that can then be transferred to other situations where students need to make an interpretation based on implicit or unstated evidence.

I.5 Literary competence

Most language teachers are familiar with Chomsky’s notion of ‘grammatical competence’. This is the idea that all speakers of any language possess an ‘internalized grammar’ which allows them to produce and understand utterances that they may not have heard before, provided that these utterances conform to the grammatical rules of the language they are speaking. If we see teaching of literature as more than simply the use of literary texts in classroom, we shall have to address the notion of ‘literary competence’. In practice, reading a literary text involves some sort of engagement by the reader beyond simply being able to understand the meanings of the utterances in the text.

The study of literature makes literature itself the content or subject of a language course, while the use of literature as a resource draws on literature as one source among many different kinds of texts for promoting interesting language activities. But, as long as the study of literature which represents our aim, developing the literary competence of our students is crucial. Teachers should be clear on the reasons for using literature with language learners. This way, literature should be used with students because:

it is very motivating

it is authentic material

it has general educational value

it helps students to understand another culture

it is a stimulus for language acquisition

it develops students’ interpretative abilities

students enjoy it and it is fun

it is highly valued and has a high status

it expands students’ language awareness

it is found in may syllabuses

it encourages students to talk about their opinions and feelings.

I.6. Reading literature

Privately, what makes us read a work of literature is a highly complex matter. It is in part to do with language and style, in part to do with authorial intention, in part to do with certain readers and critics in certain influential journals and educational institutions assigning the work to such a category.

Primarily, however, it is to do with how readers decide to read it. In this respect, what the work is called is not important. There are many works which are read or studied as literature although they do not fit the standard categories of novel, or play as for example Edward Gibbon’s ‘The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire’, Sir Winston Churchill’s ‘The Gathering Storm’, both of which are history books.

Literary education is seen by many as the inculcation in the students of the kind of sensitivity to literature, which allows discrimination of the ‘good’ from the ‘bad’. When we have achieved defined capacities of judgment, then we have acquired a literary competence and can be awarded appropriate ‘qualifications’. It would be wholly wrong to deny that value judgments change over time and, according to culture, they are as variable and as indefinable as many human faculties, and as such can affect how a work is perceived by subsequent generations. Our own ideology is ultimately defined by the sociohistorical contexts of the day as well as our own judgments as to what constitutes good literature, and they are passed on through popular opinion and education. Teachers have the ability to decide which texts they consider to be suitable for a particular literature course and these choices will naturally reflect their basic beliefs and interests and how these should be presented, and ultimately, these beliefs are the construct of the society in which they themselves where brought up and educated, and the ideals of their own social and nation group. Although there is nothing intrinsically wrong in this, it must be made clear that these are not in themselves value-free judgments, set apart from any kind of ideological influence as to what literature fundamentally is.

With regards to pedagogy, it can be seen from this statement that there are two main concerns for teachers of language and of literature, but in particular for those involved in the instruction of English as a foreign language and literature. The first issue is the fact that every culture values different traditions and that when teaching literature and language to foreign students, while care must be taken to present the texts within the correct framework of relevant English literature with sufficient recourse to the varying traditions, styles and writers, the texts must also be of some value or interest to the learner. The second point is that the teacher must establish some form of literary sensitization for the student. Without any awareness of the implications of style, form, convention and symbolism within the Western European English medium, all of which the writer would assume his readership to be well versed in, the student is quite unprepared to genuinely analyze his/her thought towards the text until the teacher has instructed or directed him/her in the text’s contemporary style and the response expected by the writer. These are all strategies that need to be implemented for reading, and they are indeed formed by social, historical and cultural circumstances. In many cases they must be taught implicitly in order for literary competence to develop. It is unreasonable to expect non-native speakers to approach literary texts in English with the intuitions of a native speaker, but they can be encouraged to approach them with increasingly command of different levels of language organization so they can systematically check and work out for themselves the expressive purposes a writer might embrace in fulfilling or deviating from linguistic expectations.

Not only does the vision of literature as a continuing range of styles help a student’s acquisition of the ability to make sense of the many forms of literature and to discuss and analyze text effectively, but it also helps to enlarge his/her understanding of the uses of language in general. The teacher has to be aware of the fact that these competence skills must be developed within some kind of framework which will contain some form of cultural assumption. The syllabus inevitably consists of particular canonical works relating linguistic and ideological concepts, and the practical exploration of English literature. This will have direct methodological implications on the course design.

It is very imperative for the teacher to know how to set up the procedures, where and when to make to a direct input, and when to rely on a learner-centered activity. The teacher’s role can be compared to a writer who should be able “to exploit the capacities of a literary text to express shifts in social context, role relationships, attitude to subject matter, emotional associations and so on” .

I.7 Teaching study skills for English literature

Literature and language teaching should be linked and made mutually reinforcing The eaching technique in the field of English language and literature to non-native speakers, and this is true for Romanians too, in the early part of the last century was largely dominated by the study of classical English literary texts, the founding principle being that the students, if exposed to the very best examples of English as used by history’s greatest writers, would somehow simply acquire the skills and forms of the language through familiarization. The problem with this was that these examples of great literature used styles and structures which were on the whole outdated by that time, and which had broken from the normal rules of linguistic convention for the purposes of artistic license. Indeed, even modern writers frequently write in styles which deviate from the styles as used in modern English. The style of classic literature remains apart from contemporary English. As time progressed, this style of learning fell beside the way and new techniques were adopted; predominantly the use of form- or structure-specific texts. These new texts eliminated the use of literature and the actual content of the piece was secondary, if existent, to the modeling of structure. I believe this to be dissatisfactory for a number of reasons:

a) contrary to much received opinion, it is difficult to make a linguistic distinction between literature and other kinds of language. If this is the case, there is no a prior reason for banishing literature from the language curriculum (although there may well be a need to grade literary texts in terms of difficulty and accessibility)

b) although language and literature may appear to be distinct from the point of view of a teacher, they do not, necessarily, appear so to the learner, for whom literature is also language.

c) many students enjoy reading literature and as enjoyment plays an important factor in any learning process, literature is a potentially useful aid to the language teacher.

d) literary texts often contain within them a number of different varieties of English. They can thus be extremely useful in sensitizing more advanced learners of English to linguistic variation and the values associated with different varieties.

e) if a student is taught language and literature by the same person, it is possible for the lesson to be mutually reinforcing. Literary texts, or extracts from them, can be used to break up language classes and used to identify difficulties that students experience in reading in general and reading imaginative texts in particular. Similarly, there is no reason whatsoever why time should not be taken in a literature lesson for a moment on a portion of text relevant to a previous language structure.

Currently not enough opportunities are realized in the teaching of language and literature as a foreign language. In the preliminary stages of literary study in foreign language learning, some language based techniques were suggested by Ronald Carter. Despite being language-based exercises, these by no means suggest that there is no difference between the understanding of language and the understanding of literature. Carter emphasizes that these study-skills are only a preliminary linguistic exercise to a study in literature, but if they are used in conjunction with a literary text they can promote a greater ability in literary study. This integration has benefits in both literary understanding and language acquisition skills. However, it is important to note that the use of linguist models in the study of literature only aids the students ability to see the literariness of the text as an implementation of its medium-language, and not as a means to analyze the competency of the text as a work of literature. Ronald Carter suggested that for students of foreign literature linguistic models and pre-literary linguistic activities could:

a) aid recognition of and sensitivity to the nature of language organization in related discourse types in the target language;

b) lay a basis for interpretation of texts by analyzing closely key structural features of the language of that text;

c) explain the literary character of particular texts;

d) point to features of literariness in texts by simultaneous application of relevant models to non literary texts and to texts conventionally considered literary;

e) promote learner-centered language activities that are useful in their own right.

Linguistic models and pre-literary activities should ensure:

1. The promotion of skills

a) literacy and oracy, aiming at accuracy and aiming at fluency and comfort

b) critical and analytical ability, specifically in response to writing or speech, specifically in response to literary texts, specifically in discussion of the nature of language and how it works, and by transfer, to all situations, particularly in response to aesthetic stimuli and to the rational argument

c) social skills particularly in the context of the society of which the pupil is a member

d) use of the imagination

2. Encouragement of attitudes and affective states

a) generally liberal, ethical, and humanitarian attitudes, through an active engagement with problems of writing and formulated ideas, and through response to works of literature

b) respect for the imagination and the intellect

c) respect for literary and cultural tradition, in general, and in particular

3. Provision of information

a) knowledge about literature, the English and Western literature as a human activity, as well as the literary tradition

b) knowledge about language, the English language and language as a human phenomenon

Many of the principles that are stated in the list above are so broad-based that they could indeed be applied to the entire educational system rather than to only one subject, and furthermore, many of the ideas are overlapping and connected. However, each individual item can be assessed singularly and tackled independently.

It is worth pointing out that these aspects of English teaching are seen, at least in part, as means of promoting more general attitudes or skills. While there is no doubt that there is value in the student’s response to literature in itself, we would suggest that this is parallel with the value of student’s work within other subject areas, all of which require, in different ways, extremely skilful response to- and use of –language.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that many of the principles above are not empirically testable. How is it possible to test a student’s literary respect for tradition and by what standards are we able to grade it? It is difficult to define “well-adjusted” and “imaginative” and to what extent they are simply set against traditional norms and stereotypes. Are imaginative and creative works learnt through the mimicking of style and, in that case, are they really so imaginative? Care also has to be taken not to perceive the teaching of literature as a tool for teacher to present his/her own values, something which could not be claimed against the sciences. This could result in a child not acquiring the necessary competence to express him or herself in a way that would allow selfexpression and confidence and the ability to respond to varying forms of literature.

I.8 Literature in the foreign language class

At present, the role of literature in the foreign language class is under close scrutiny. Whereas in the past great emphasis was placed on the use of literature as a tool for developing language competence skills, more and more are these principles being challenged and they no longer have an unquestionable position in the classroom. More emphasis is being placed on language skills and form and this is true when the communicative approach is implemented. Texts are selected with reference to their usefulness as vessels for structure and form and are chosen from subjects pertinent to the students’ abilities and interests. Texts in the classroom can perform different roles. One group of students may take a modern literary text and study it for the linguistic content. At the same time, another group may explore a more classical text with a view to discussing the human issues involved in it. Each group has a different aim and a different purpose in mind, and the varying roles of any piece of literature must not be confused and texts should be provided with these aims to the fore. In many countries, as it used to be in this country, too, an examination-centered approach is adopted. This often results in the professor taking the material directly from the Ministry of Education syllabus and enforcing the learning of these texts and their interpretations on the students with very little regard for the students’ individual opinions and insight. Little is done to encourage free-thought on the issue of literature.

I.9 Different models of teaching literature in class

There have been different models suggested on the teaching of literature to EFL students and the way the teacher will use a literary text depends on the model they choose.

The cultural model views a literary text as a product. This means that it is treated as a source of information about the target culture. It is the most traditional approach, often used in university courses on literature. The cultural model will examine the social, political and historical background to a text, literary movements and genres. There is no specific language work done on a text. This approach tends to be quite teacher-centred.

The language model aims to be more learner-centred. As learners proceed through a text, they pay attention to the way language is used. They come to grips with the meaning and increase their general awareness of English. Within this model of studying literature, the teacher can choose to focus on general grammar and vocabulary (in the same way that these are presented in coursebooks for example) or use stylistic analysis. Stylistic analysis involves the close study of the linguistic features of the text to enable students to make meaningful interpretations of the text – it aims to help learners read and study literature more competently.

The personal growth model is also a process-based approach and tries to be more learner-centred. This model encourages learners to draw on their own opinions, feelings and personal experiences. It aims for interaction between the text and the reader in English, helping make the language more memorable. Learners are encouraged to “make the text their own”. This model recognises the immense power that literature can have to move people and attempts to use that in the classroom.

I.10 Text selection

Although literature offers many useful benefits, pedagogically there are still some major difficulties encountered by teachers. It is worth investigating what difficulties encountered. Then we need to remedy these “hazardous diseases” immediately so that they will not damage the benefits that literature embodies.

Language is one of the most common problem encountered in using literary texts. Many EFL teachers and students see literature as a hindrance because the literary language is viewed as incomprehensible. Often teachers and students find the language “does not stick to more common usages, but exploits and even distorts the accepted conventions in fresh and unexpected ways”. Besides literary vocabulary and grammatical structures are often considered to be too complicated.

The length of the text is also often seen as one of the major difficulties. For some, longer texts may appear more difficult, whereas for others, shorter texts present more difficulties simply because “they do not offer extended contextual support and repetition which longer texts do”.

Culture is another problem of using literary texts in EFL classrooms. Literary texts can also bring problems if they imply too many cultural connotations. In order to minimize these difficulties, teachers need to select appropriate literary texts for their students and to adopt a set of criteria and priority for choosing a certain kind of literary text:

Language Competency

Teachers should select literary texts within students’ language proficiencies because students might feel demotivated if they are not linguistically ready. If the language of the literary text is quite straightforward and simple or not too difficult in regard to the linguistic level of students, students will want to have more access to literary works and find these texts more relevant to their experience.

Length of Text

Since literary texts vary greatly in length, teachers also need to consider whether the texts can be integrated in the amount of class time available. Teachers realize whether they have enough time available to work on texts in class, how long students have to work on the text at home (reading) and how much background information of the text the teacher needs to give students. If the text is long enough, teachers may conduct various techniques, for example by assigning homework so that they can finish exploring the text on time.

Cultural Competency

The texts selected should also be within the teachers’ and students’ competence culturally. Culture, which is beyond students’ competence, will not motivate the students to read. It is also true that texts which may appear to be very remote in time and place from the world today may still have appeal for students in different countries around the world. This is either because they touch on themes which are relevant to the students, or they deal with human relationships and feelings which impress them. It is an excellent means of motivating students to read literature whose setting and culture are familiar to them, whose themes are relevant to their lives.

Students’ Interests

If the students’ ideas, experiences and needs are completely at variance with what they are asked to read, it is useless to expect them to be motivated. On the other hand, if the assigned literary text is meaningful and enjoyable, students will try to overcome the linguistic obstacles enthusiastically.

Although literature might seem to present special difficulties, but carefully chosen, it can be very rewarding.

I.11 Censorship

Censorship refers to the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic or educational materials on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in the light of the standards applied by the censor. Most challenges arising to materials in school curricula in the following areas are:

– sex and drug education

– literature showing children challenging parents and authorities

– "invasions of privacy" projects requiring students to share personal information

The naivete and innocence of childhood has gone as a consequence of our society and of the world and times in which we live. There will be profound effects in children's literature and these effects will not go unnoticed. Too often, children's literature is looked upon as innocuous and of having no effect on society, but children's literature can and should have a profound effect on both. Writing for children is a great privilege and a great responsibility for those called to this profession. A teacher must be informed about the books some people thing are objectionable in today's culture. This is not an easy task and it makes selecting literature for the classroom a somewhat difficult task. Teachers must arrive at their own conclusions regarding these sensitive issues.

I.12 Teaching Literature in the Age of E-Literacy

This part of the chapter deals with the issue of teaching literature and with the use of technology for the purpose of human resource development in the age of internet.

Considering the increasing difficulty teachers of literature encounter today, following a decreasing interest in reading books, we should focus on the need to motivate students, which ICT resources can help accomplish. And then we should discuss, besides the Internet, about other virtual media and multimedia resources available for literary studies, using keywords such as: ICT, VLE, literacy vs. electracy, digital literature, cybertext.

English teachers, no matter the grade they are teaching, have always been and will always be dealing with literature in their EFL curriculum. Nowadays, most teachers use the computer and the Internet in order to better prepare their lessons. But very few encourage students to use technology for support in their literary studies and even fewer use the computer in a literature-oriented English class. We all know that there is a certain reluctance concerning computers and the Internet, not only on the part of the teachers, but also of the parents, who consider them a threat for education, but when it comes to literature and to reading, teachers and parents unite their voices and lament that children do not seem to read anything anymore. The number of pupils not reading literature at all and the growing number of pupils with limited reading skills is increasing. Some of them compensate this limited literacy with what is called electracy, (i.e. electronic or computer literacy).

ICT activities only have value if they allow students to develop key skills. A plot overview or a character description on websites such as sparknotes or wikipedia give students the easy way out when they are faced with a literary topic so they do not seem to help that much. There are, however, resources which can prove highly interesting and motivating for students. One of the best ways to encourage curiosity among students regarding a certain literary topic is to introduce them to what is called a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). VLEs can be those websites which are designed like spider webs, very well organised and once you enter such an environment you cannot leave it without having learnt something. VLEs do not actually save effort on the part of the student but extend possibilities of going beyond the traditional classroom setting and this can have a highly motivating effect on students, especially those who are more likely to think in terms of spatial rather then verbal models.

Coming to terms with the digital era can be a difficult task for English teachers, but it is a challenge that they have to face in order to keep up with the times and manage to provide motivation and necessary skills for their students.

I.13 The anxiety of teaching

Perhaps teaching literature feels especially unsettling because, unlike physicists or economists, many teachers are not confident of their authority. Moreover, they believe that what they say in the classroom reveals the deepest aspects of themselves. When it works, they feel that they have succeeded; when it doesn’t work, they feel that they have failed.

Although the anxieties of teaching literature are deep and multiple, we will look at seven basic types of anxiety that are more immediate, professional, and concrete: lack of pedagogical training, isolation, stage fright, the conflict between teaching and publication, coverage, grading, and student or peer evaluation.

I.14 Planning is one of the essential skills of the competent teacher.

Every lesson and class is different. The content depends on what the teacher wants to achieve in the lesson. However, it is possible to make some generalizations. Students who are interested in, involved in and enjoy what they are studying tend to make better progress and learn faster. When thinking about an English lesson it is useful therefore to keep the following three elements in mind:

Engage – This means getting the students interested in the class. Engaging students is important for the learning process.

Study – Every lesson usually needs to have some kind of learning focus. The study element of a lesson could be a focus on any aspect of the language, such as grammar or vocabulary or pronunciation. A study stage could also cover revision and extension of previously taught material.

Activate -Telling students about the language is not enough, one should help them learn it. For students to develop their use of English they need to have a chance to produce it. In an activate stage the students are given tasks which require them to use not only the language they are studying that day, but also other language that they have learnt.

The importance of planning

One of the most important reasons to plan is that the teacher needs to identify his or her aims for the lesson. Teachers need to know what it is they want their students to be able to do at the end of the lesson that they could not do before. Here are some more reasons planning is important:

· gives the teacher the opportunity to predict possible problems and therefore consider solutions;

· makes sure that lesson is balanced and appropriate for class;

· gives teacher confidence;

· planning is generally good practice and a sign of professionalism.

Is the plan necessary if one has a course book?

Many teachers find themselves having to use a course book. There are advantages and disadvantages to having a course book – but although they do provide a ready-made structure for teaching material, it is very unlikely the material was written for the teachers' particular students. Each class is different and teachers need to be able to adapt material from whatever sources so that to be suitable for their students. A course book can certainly help planning, but it cannot replace the teacher's own ideas for what he or she wants to achieve in a class.

The principles of planning

· Objectives – one should consider realistic goals for the lesson, neither too easy but nor too difficult. The following checklist may be useful:

· What do the students know already?

· What do the students need to know?

· What did you do with the students in the previous class?

· How well do the class work together?

· How motivated are the students?

· Variety – an important way of getting and keeping the students engaged and interested.

· Flexibility – teachers should expect the unexpected.

Things do not always go to plan in most lessons. Experienced teachers have the ability to cope when things go wrong. It is useful when planning to build in some extra and alternative tasks and exercises. In addition, teachers need to be aware of what is happening in the classroom. Students may raise an interesting point and discussions could provide unexpected opportunities for language work and practice. In these cases, it can be appropriate to branch away from the plan. Effective lesson planning is the basis of effective teaching. A plan is a guide for the teacher as to where to go and how to get there.

Literature syllabus

In adding literature to the syllabus of a foreign language optional course, apart from the intention of teaching language, a second reason is in order to teach ‘culture’. It is claimed that studying literature enables us to understand the foreign culture more clearly. Certainly, the role of literature in either language or culture courses should be well- thought and balanced. One difficulty ist hat the student is not the only one who can experience difficulty in identifying the textual status of a work of literature, as non-native teachers may also have trouble when bringing in literary texts to highlight nonliterary aspects of language. The language structures used in literature are considerably different from those used in everyday language. Neither are they necessarily the best resources for studies into British or American culture and life as the language and content of the work has been greatly modified by the writer to suit his particular literary requirements.

A language-based syllabus need not necessarily include literary texts, unless it is intended to also provide some form of cultural education. The final shape of a syllabus may depend to a large extend on the needs of the students who are going to be taught. The level of the students is vital too since we would expect a beginners’ syllabus to be very different from one for advanced students. The age of the students is important as well, especially where the selection of themes and topics is concerned.

Nevertheless, literature is a major study and may be defined as an area to be explored as a subject in itself. Due to the ready availability of many literature resources, being both abundant and normally cheap, and because it is often representative of current social mood and feeling, many people consider it an extremely well-justified addition to any education course.

According to Northrop Frye, everything must be done in the imagination before it can be done in actual life. ”Reading books educates the imagination: it expands our sense of the possible. This view of literature, as schemata for understanding our lives and as food for the imagination, also has consequences for teaching. This view would suggest we encourage students to read widely, in a wide range of genres. And, among other things, our discussions of the works should draw parallels between what is described in the books and the nuances of students' lives” .

CHAPTER II

DEFINING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Motto

Glass

Words of a poem should be glass

But glass so simple-subtle its shape

Is nothing but the shape of what it holds.

A glass spun for itself is empty,

Brittle, at best Venetian trinket.

Embossed glass hides the poem or its absence.

Words should be looked through, should be windows.

The best words were invisible.

The poem is the thing the poet thinks.

If the impossible were not

And if the glass, only the glass,

Could be removed, the poem would remain (Robert Francis, 1949)

Before the nineteenth century, very few books were especially written for children. Since then, changing attitudes towards childhood and children’s development, along with the increased sophistication of print technology, have led to the development of children’s literature as a major industry. There is, however, no simple, straightforward definition of children’s literature that can be applied with equal validity at different times and in different contexts. Just as concepts of ‘child’, 'childhood’ and ‘literature’ have changed over time, so too have definitions of ‘children’s literature’. It is not a simple matter to define ‘childhood’ or ‘literature’.

Definitions of children’s literature can be assigned to three broad categories (intended audience; purpose; style/quality), the second of which includes three sub-categories (entertainment; entertainment and information; empathy). Although, in terms of overall emphasis, the majority of definitions fall into one of these categories and sub-categories, some include aspects of more than one of them.

The most commonly occurring contemporary definition of children’s literature is one that focuses on intended audience. For many writers, children’s literature is simply a body of texts that is intended for a particular readership, that is, children, children being defined loosely in terms of a range of socio-cultural and individual characteristics. The focus on purpose is also common in definitions of children’s literature. That purpose is sometimes seen in terms of both information and entertainment; sometimes, however, entertainment alone is the critical definitional feature, the emphasis generally being on works belonging to the narrative genre. Less often, definitions that relate primarily to purpose focus on empathy, children’s literature being classified as literature that is designed to help children to understand, and emphasize with, the world views and experiences of others, including other children. Finally, children’s literature could be defined in terms of style and quality.

For the purposes of this study, an inclusive definition that focuses on intended readership is the most useful. Thus, ‘children’s literature’ could be defined here as any material that is written for, and read by, that group referred to as ‘children’ by any particular society.

Linguistic selection relates not only to the specific type of book involved and its purpose, but also to the age and language background of the children for whom it is intended.

II.1 Selecting and using children’s literature in the context of the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language

One of the biggest challenges in using children’s literature to facilitate the English language development of children relates to selection and methodology. The issues involved in selecting and using children’s literature with language development as a primary aim are necessarily very different in different contexts. It is therefore important to be clear not only about the intended audience but also about general and specific objectives and intended outcomes. In deciding whether and how to make use of children’s literature within an optional class, teachers of English in need to take account of the national curriculum, the amount of in-class exposure to English that learners will have at different stages, and the existing language competencies of their students. The factors that guide their selection and use of children’s literature in an optional English class will necessarily therefore be different from those that guide the selection and use of children’s literature in the ordinary English class.

Among the criteria that could be of genuine use in a the English literature optional course design and implementation, we mention:

• Books (including illustrations) should be age-appropriate in terms of theme, topic or story line.

• Language and sentence patterns should be fairly simple and somewhat controlled, with tenses, structures and vocabulary repeated often through a book.

• There should be limited use of metaphorical language and limited references to unfamiliar experiences.

• As many books as possible should include rhyming, which is an excellent tool for memorizing and for visual phonetic transfer. This can be done in a mature way, with songs and poems in picture-book format.

• The plot should be very straightforward, chronological in order and unambiguous. Action should predominate, with characters and descriptions clear but not complex.

• Dialogue should be used as much and as realistically as possible, but books with dialects and excessive use of idiomatic expressions should be avoided.

• Books should be successful read-alouds. Most literature for EFL students should be first introduced orally, with the teacher reading so that students are exposed to the stimulation of language beyond their reading level.

• Books should be single volumes, as opposed to part of a collection, wherever possible. This applies most often to fairy tales, poetry and songs.

• Illustrations should be clear and dramatic, ideally able to almost tell the story on their own. Both the teachers and students depend on these pictures to explain new vocabulary or experiences. The amount of text per page should be limited, with illustrations being predominant. With increased language proficiency, the balance should shift to more text.

When evaluating children’s literature with language teaching in mind, teachers should pay careful attention to each of the following:

• Length and complexity. Simple, short stories with repetitive language work best for young EFL learners.

• Type size and the number of words on each page. If the size of type is too small, or there are too many words on a page, young students may be intimidated.

• The level of vocabulary. If students know less than 75% – 80% of the vocabulary, they may lose confidence in their ability to understand the story.

• The nature of illustrations. Illustrations should be interesting and should help students understand both the vocabulary and the story.

• Personal enjoyment. It will be difficult to convince students to be enthusiastic about a story you don't like.

Another issue to be taken into consideration is that, quite apart from the fact that EFL learners may not be literate in their mother tongue, the question of language content and language level needs to be addressed in relation to both languages. Furthermore, a number of aspects of literary materials, such as humour, may be difficult to translate and to seize. The four categories of humour – physical, situationally-based, humour involving a play on language; and humour of character, can create problems in relation to the provision of bilingual materials.

II.2 Children’s literature by genre and text-type

The words ‘genre’ and ‘text-type’ can be used in two very different ways. In line with traditional usage (particularly in literary contexts), a number of academic researchers use the word ‘genre’ to refer to socially constructed categories that describe written and oral texts such as, for example, novels, short stories, poems, the term genre being reserved for the classification of texts according to primary communicative purposes such as instructing, explaining, arguing, describing, classifying and recounting. Thus, for example, a text belonging to a particular text-type such as a short story, may include a variety of different genres such as description, classification, explanation and recount.

As indicated above, children’s literature can be defined as narrative fiction whose primary purpose is entertainment. This, however, restricts children’s literature to one particular text-type (story) and one particular genre (narrative). In seeking to include different text-types within the scope of children’s literature, children’s literature can be described as good quality trade books written especially for children from birth to adolescence, covering topics of relevance and interest to children, through prose and poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Such a definition would include, in terms of text-types, novels, poetry, drama, biographies and autobiographies, and essays, as well as writings in fields such as philosophy, history, and science, presumably including topicbased books belonging primarily to the information genre.

Children's literature can be divided in many ways.

II.3 Children's literature by age category

Children's literature is an age category opposite adult literature, but it is sub-divided

further due to the divergent interests of children age 0–18.

Picture books appropriate for pre-readers ages 0–5. Early Reader Books appropriate for children age 5–7. These books are often designed to help a child build his or her reading skills.

Chapter book appropriate for children ages 7–11. Short chapter books are appropriate for children ages 7–9 and longer chapter books, appropriate for children ages 9–12.

Young-adult fiction is appropriate for children age 13–18.

The criteria for these divisions are just as vague and problematic as the criteria for defining children's books as a whole. One obvious distinction is that books for younger children tend to contain illustrations, but picture books which feature art as an integral part of the overall work also crosses genres and age levels.

Series are also very popular in science fiction and crime fiction. Sometimes the success of a book for children prompts the author to continue the story in a sequel or to launch a series, such as L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz. Sometimes works are originally conceived as series, such as the Harry Potter books.

II.4 Children's literature by genres

A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by technique, tone, content, or length. ). In seeking to include different text-types within the scope of children’s literature, Tomlinson and Lynch-Brown define children’s literature as “good quality trade books written especially for children from birth to adolescence, covering topics of relevance and interest to children . . . through prose and poetry, fiction and nonfiction”. According to Nancy Anderson, there are six major categories of children's literature, with some significant subgenres:

Picture books, including board books, concept books (teaching an alphabet or counting), pattern books, and wordless books.

Traditional literature displaying the following characteristics: (1) unknown authorship, (2) conventional introductions and conclusions, (3) vague settings, (4) stereotyped characters, (5) anthropomorphism, (6) cause and effect, (7) happy ending for the hero, (8) magic accepted as normal, (9) brief stories with simple and direct plots, and (10) repetition of action and verbal patterns. The bulk of traditional Literature consists of folktales, which conveys the legends, customs, superstitions, and beliefs of people in past times. This large genre can be further broken down into subgenres: myths, fables, ballads, folk music, legends, and fairy tales.

Fiction, including the sub-genres of fantasy and realistic fiction (both contemporary and historical). This genre would also include the school story, a genre unique to children's literature in which the boarding school is a common setting.

Non-fiction

Biography, including autobiography

Poetry and verse.

II.5 Types of literature used in teaching English with particular reference to the role of texts

As the use of stories, poems, rhymes, drama, riddles and humorous short prose passages in the language class, it is therefore to be expected that the textbooks used by teachers and young learners will include texts of a variety of types and genres and that they will, in line with the expectation that the approach to teaching should be communicative, make some attempt to ensure that learners engage in authentic communicative interaction in the target language. In addition, the expectation is that the texts included in language textbooks will contribute directly to the achievement objectives outlined in the curriculum guidelines.

II.5.1 Poems for children

The poem is a work in verse expressing the author’s most imaginative and intense perceptions of the world. Its aim is to surprise and delight, to arouse emotions, and to please. While prose is also used to explain and expound, to onvince, and instruct, the ultimate effort of poetry is always that of giving pleasure.

The mind of a child is the perfect place for poetry to grow. Children are all young poets; they just need help to realize their potential. Poetry for children is a way to access areas of their imagination and grow as critical thinkers, and poems should be a part of every child’s life.

Reasons for teaching poetry in an optional literature class

The best way to build a love of poetry is to browse slowly through a number of poetry books, stopping to read what catches your eye. General anthologies, which contain poems by many different poets, are excellent places to turn browsers loose to wander. They allow readers to become acquainted with a variety of poets and develop a sense of what appeals to them. Anthologies are indispensable to teachers and librarians who want to immerse students in poetry. Rhythmic, repetitious, predictable words become easy reading material for beginning readers. Children know what the words say once they have heard them. They can predict what will come next when they are trying to read them. They soon match up what they say with what they see. Poetry has been characterized as deviating from the norms of language and it has been argued that poetry frequently breaks the rules of language, but by doing that, it communicates with us in a fresh original way.

Poetry for beginners includes: character sketches,scenes and incidents,nonsense and mumorous rhymes, satires and taunts, tongue twisters,riddles, charms and superstitions, aids to memory.

Poetry for older students

Some of the ways to teach older children poetry is to get them to think about different kinds of poetry. Thus, we should introduce older children to different kinds of poetry books – anthologies, concrete poems, narrative poems, and humorous poems and show them the huge sweep of what poetry can be about color, nature, and emotions.

If we were to clasify these poems, we would find:

modern ballads, such as Keats’s La Belle Dame sans Merci;

lyrics for one’s country;

love lyrics, to be found in Byron’s She Walks in Beauty and in Burns’s A Red, Red Rose;

poems of nature, in Shakespeare’s The Greenwood Tree, in Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, in Keats’ On the Grasshopper and Cricket;

lessons from nature, such as those in Bryant’s To a Waterfowl, in Tennyson’s The Bugle Song;

songs of life, such as Jonson’s The Noble Nature and Wotton’s The Character of a Happy Life.

Proverbs

Limericks

Haikus

As far as the use of sound devices such as rhyme, onomatopoeia, figurative language, and line breaks in children's books supports an exploration of poetry. For many of the pupils, their first introduction to poetry was through children's books and nursery rhymes. In addition to rhyme, children's books can be used to support pupils' recognition of sound devices such as alliteration, repetition, and onomatopoeia. The following children's books that can be used in the exploration of sound devices:

Children’s books in support of sound devices:

Table 1

Alongside with English poems, an optional English course on literature might deal as well with Romanian literature. When thinking about Romanian poetry, everybody remembers first and foremost Eminescu’s poems. Mihai Eminescu is regarded as the national poet of Romania. He was most loved for his pieces dealing with nature,
and love, and for his "lyric of thoughts". His famous poems have been translated into many languages and teachers might use different activities through the English classroom, based on his poems: Somnoroase pãsãrele (Drowsy Birds/Sleepy Birds), Ce te legeni (Why do you wail/Why 're you swaying), Freamãt de codru (Murmur of the Forest), Sara pe deal (Eve on the hill), La steaua (To the star), Odã (Ode), Pe lîngã plopii fãrã soti (Down Where The Lonely Poplars Grow), Lacul (The Lake), Rugãciunea unui Dac (A Dacian's Prayer), Luceafãrul (Evening Star), Scrisoarea I (First Epistle) and others.

Tudor Arghezi was another Romanian writer, best known for his contribution to poetry and children's literature; along with Mihai Eminescu and others. Among his most famous poems, pupils will certainly recognize Zdreanta (Rag), Lumina (Light).

II.5.2 Fiction for children

Reasons for teaching fiction in an optional literature class

There are some reasons for using fiction when teaching a foreign language:

1. To let students know something of the linguistic nature of the narrative genres that interest them or that they are likely to encounter in foreign language situations; it aims for students to understand the conventions of various genres that employ narrative, for example, anecdote, joke, urban myth, soap opera.

2. Fiction is a means to accomplish tasks that are different from the actual story. The focus then is not on the literary features of a text, but on a way in which it can be exploietd to other pedagogical goals. For exampole, stories can be used to teach a multitude of language-related concerns: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, all kind of discussions about the content.

Elements that should be focused on when teaching fiction

• A good plot produces conflict in order to build the excitement and suspense that can easily invite students to get involved.

• Characters must be memorable. The main characters in an excellent work of fiction for students are fully-developed, undergoing change in response to life-alerting events.

• The setting is an integral part of a story, which includes time and place. Although setting is often vague in traditional literature for children, detailed descriptions of settings can be an effective way of engaging students’ interest.

• Themes in children’s books should be worthy of students’ attention and should convey truth to them. Furthermore, themes should be based on high moral and ethical standards. A theme must not overpower the plot and characters of the story, however; children read fiction for enjoyment, not for enlightenment.

• Style is the way in which an author tells the story; it is an aspect of the writing itself, as opposed to the content. Style should be appropriate in relation to content. The elements of style include word choice, sentence selection and book organization. The words should be appropriate to the story told; sentences should be easy to read but melodic, and the paragraphs, length of chapters, headings and chapter titles, preface, endnotes, prologue, epilogue, and length of the book overall should be designed according to children’s age and stage of development.

II.5.2.1 Novels and short stories

One of the most common experience of students of English Literature is to read a novel and thoroughly enjoy it, but the natural tendency is then to rely on guidance from teachers or critics, but this is a poor substitute for constructing a personal response.

Children's novels are fiction books, generally over 100 pages long and with few or no illustrations, written for children. Children's novels can be all books written for children, excluding works such as comic books, joke books, cartoon books, and nonfiction works that are not intended to be read from front to back, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference material". Though, some works are also very popular among adults. For example, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series was originally written and marketed for children, but it was so popular among children and adults that The New York Times created a separate bestseller list. Often no consensus is reached whether a given work is best categorized as adult or children's literature, and many books are marketed for both adults and children.

Among the most famous and useful novels for an English optional class are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll, containing early surrealism, puns, nonsense, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain, and The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Carlo Collodi and The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling, a collection of several stories, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) by L. Frank Baum, The Call of the Wild (1903) by Jack London, inspired by the high adventure of the Yukon gold rush, Peter and Wendy (1911) by J. M. Barrie (better known as Peter Pan), The Little Prince (1943,) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) by Roald Dahl and Harry Potter (1997) by J.K. Rowling.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the original title of a novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and first published in 1886. The work is commonly known today as The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the misanthropic Mr Edward Hyde. The work is known for its vivid portrayal of a split personality, split in the sense that within the same person there is both an apparently good and an evil personality each being quite distinct from the other. The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was an immediate success and is one of Stevenson's best-selling works. Stage adaptations began in Boston and London within a year of its publication and it has gone on to inspire scores of major film and stage performances.

The short story has its origins in traditional oral storytelling. Many of the world’s greatest literary classics such as El Cid, La Chanson de Roland, Beowulf or the Odyssey were originally transmitted orally. In Europe, the short story began to evolve from oral storytelling in the early 14th century with Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Boccacio’s Decamerone, books consisting of individual short stories within a larger frame story. Only in the 19th century, modern short stories began to be considered a proper genre.

Oscar Wilde is a well-known author, whose collection of stories for children from 1888 – The Happy Prince and Other Tales (also sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories (The Happy Prince, The Nightingale and the Rose, The Selfish Giant, The Devoted Friend, The Remarkable Rocket) convey an appreciation for the exotic beauty.

II.5.2.2 Science fiction and modern fantasy

Science Fiction

The popularity of modern fantasy is tremendous with students demanding sequel after sequel from their favorite authors. Fantasy allows children to live in an imaginary world where anything is possible. It cannot be successful, however, unless it is grounded in logic. The author must provide strong characters and explain the fantastical world in great detail so the reader is willing to suspend disbelief and believe in the magic.

Science fiction is a type of modern fantasy. The magic of science fiction is the exploration of scientific fact. It can pose ethical questions about current scientific trends and predictions. Perhaps because it is written for children, their science fiction is often less bleak than that written for adults. Instead, science fiction for children focuses on the adventure of exploring the unknown and the wonder of discovering new worlds and peoples.

Science fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation). These may include:

A setting in the future, in alternative timelines, or in an historical past that contradicts known facts of history or the archaeological record.

A setting in outer space, on other worlds, or involving aliens.

Stories that involve technology or scientific principles that contradict known laws of nature.

Stories that involve discovery or application of new scientific principles, such as time travel or psionics, or new technology, such as nanotechnology, faster-than-light travel or robots, or of new and different political or social systems (e.g., a dystopia, or a situation where organized society has collapsed).

Popular modern fantasy includes Charlotte's Web, Tuck Everlasting, Matilda, The Borrowers, and the recent and very popular Harry Potter books.

One of the most famous science fiction books is The Time Machine, a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895 for the first time and later adapted into at least two feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations. It indirectly inspired many more works of fiction in many media. This 32,000 word story is generally credited with the popularisation of the concept of time travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively. The term "time machine", coined by Wells, is now universally used to refer to such a vehicle. Wells introduces an early example of the Dying Earth subgenre as well.

In The Time Machine H.G. Wells uses a rich and varied vocabulary. For the student with average reading skills, the reading generally presents few problems. Words that are unfamiliar can be figured out from context clues, and there is, of course, the dictionary. For the poorer readers, it is helpful to pre-teach vocabulary words that may trip them up before asking them to read. By the time they get to the reading, the words are practically familiar old friends. Teaching vocabulary is a good way to teach other concepts. Many of Wells' words rely on prefixes or suffixes, such as ex-pounding, re-condite or in-cadescent. The words can be used to reinforce grammar lessons. Intermittently, for example, is the adverb form of the adjective intermittent. They also can be used to introduce larger issues: speculation for example, is the form of literature that Wells wrote. Decadent as a vocabulary word can lead to discussions about society's direction. Non-British students need to be reminded that H.G. Wells was an English author and followed British spelling conventions, colour for color, for example.

Modern Fiction

Since modern fiction deals with problems, it is especially important to avoid books that are melodramatic or that have formulaic plots and loose story lines. A student may be better served by a book about a different topic altogether. It is best to stick to recommending books for their moving, engaging stories rather than their therapeutic values.

II.5.2.3 Ghost stories

A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has been developed as a short story format, within genre fiction. It is a form of supernatural fiction, and is often a horror story. While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to be scary, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to morality tales. Whatever their uses, the ghost story is in some format present in all cultures around the world, and may be passed down orally or in written form.

II.5.2.4 Fairy tales

A fairy tale is a wonder tale, involving marvellous elements and occurrences, although it is not necessarily about fairies. The term embraces such popular folktales as Cinderella and Puss in Boots, as well as fairy tales of later invention, such as The Happy Prince, which was written by Oscar Wilde in 1888. There are also many modern reworkings of traditional fairy tales.

Fairy tales function on a number of levels. Even very young children enjoy them as simple stories, while older children are able to appreciate, in a more complex way, their themes and symbols. Thematic and stylistic observations on fairy tales can act as a natural starting point for discussions and activities based on fairy tales, with reference to specific tales that are familiar to the pupils being taught.

An excellent story to begin with, particularly for younger pupils, is The Frog Prince. Other well-known stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast can offer a 'way in'. Or one could begin by discussing animated films that pupils are likely to have seen, such as Shrek. Many will have first encountered fairy tales via films such as Snow White, while the Disney Princesses, for example, may be a useful point of reference for stories such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

Fairy tales at first glance seem simple but can be complex and may have happy or violent endings. They often begin at a vague and unspecified point 'once upon a time' (Hansel and Gretel) but can also be based on historical events (The Pied Piper of Hamelin). Fairy tales have been relegated to children's literature, but are at the root of many narratives (older pupils could compile a list of Hollywood films and see how many plots are fairy tales retold). Fairy tales often depict opposites and extremes: good and evil; wealth and poverty.

Fairy tales are important as they display a wide range of common themes and motifs such as escaping mighty and evil enemies, accomplishing, difficult tasks, wisdom through suffering, generosity, selfishness and pride, triumph of humility over greed, triumph of the youngest, weakest, most oppressed animals: changing into animals, talking animals, animal helpers, companions and bridegrooms. All these unction just as moral sat the end of fables. They vocabulary and grammar formulaic patterns include the conventional beginnings ('Once upon a time') and endings ('and they lived happily ever after').

Charles Perrault was a French author who laid foundations for this literary genre, the fairy tale, and whose best known tales, offered as if they were pre-existing folk tales, include Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty), Le Maître chat ou le Chat botté (Puss in Boots), Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre (Cinderella), La Barbe bleue (Bluebeard), Le Petit Poucet (Hop o' My Thumb), Les Fées (Diamonds and Toads), La Marquise de Salusses ou la Patience de Griselidis (Patient Griselda), Les Souhaits ridicules (The Ridiculous Wishes), Peau d'Âne (Donkeyskin) and Riquet à la houppe (Ricky of the Tuft).[2] Perrault's most famous stories are still in print today and have been made into operas, ballets (e.g. Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty), plays, musicals, and films, both live-action and animation.

II.5.2.5 Didactic stories

Didactic stories describe narratives that have been deliberately created as vehicles for the transmission of wisdom. The range of teaching stories is enormous, including anecdotes, accounts of meetings between teachers and pupils, biographies, myths, fairy tales, fables and jokes. Such stories frequently have a long life beyond the initial teaching situation and (sometimes in deteriorated form) have contributed vastly to the world's store of folklore and literature.

Some examples of teaching or didactic stories are:

Stories from the Canterbury Tales such as The Franklin's Tale, The Pardoner's Tale and The Merchant's Tale

The Hymn of the Pearl

Cinderella

Tales from One Thousand and One Nights

Tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, such as The Water of Life

Aiken and Barbauld, Difference and Agreement, Eyes and No Eyes are also Germanic myths, such as Mabie’s Thor Goes a-Fishing.

Folktales

Stories, such as those from the Thousand and One Nights and other collections of traditional myths and folktales, are considered to fall into this category. These tales have been adapted and laid out in the simplest form of their wisdom, making them easily accessible for children in particular.

II.5.2.6 Fables and Animal sketches and stories

Among the most famous fables, tthere are those written by Aesop (The Dog and the Shadow, The Fox and the Grapes, The Hare and the Tortoise, The Shepherd's Boy, The Husbandman and the Stork, The Wind and the Sun, The Tortoise and the Geese, The Partridge and the Crow) and La Fontaine (The Fox and the Grapes and The Wolf and the Stork).

By writing a narrative about an animal rather than a traditional report, students can learn about literature, develop writing skills, and still fulfill science and research objectives. By researching animals, students learn about the adaptations and characteristics specific to their animals as well as the role their animals play in their natural environments. Creating a narrative allows students to present the information they learn through their research while learning valuable writing skills, studying traditional forms of literature — and even having fun.

Physical or behavioral adaptations as well as interactions can be the centerpiece of a story that explains why. Pourquoi tales, such as Kipling’s famous Just So Stories, explain how something came to be. Like a myth, the Pourquoi tale provides a supernatural explanation of the creation or alteration of a natural phenomenon or animal.

II.5.3 Theater and drama for children

The drama is a composition in prose or verse which portrays life and characters through dialog. Although it is usually written to be presented on a stage before an audience, in which case it is to be studied as a theatrical text, it may also be published in a book and then it is read as literary text. As theatrical texts, the play may be divided into tragedies, comedies and tragic-comedies or melodramas.

1. The tragedy is a serious play in which incidents arose pity and fear because they render the dramatic conflict between human will and destiny. The strong emotions stirred in the audience are supposed to produce in them a process of catharsis or purification.

2. The comedy is an amusing play which deals with situations and people in a light hearted way having a happy end. There are different types of comedies such as:

– the farce (containing numerous exaggerated and improbable situations);

– the satirical comedy (implying a critical attitude as to the vices of humanity, attempting to improve them);

– the sentimental comedy (in which feelings are used to move the audience);

– the comedy of humorous (exhibiting the humorous, i.e. the temperament or individual peculiarities of the characters);

– the comedy of manners and conventions of the society.

3. The tragy-comedy or melodrama makes a tragic plot have a happy end. It usually contains a sensational plot, improbable characters, and numerous romantic elements. It may also contain elements of comedy and satire, as is the case with G.B. Shaw’s melodramas.

Seen as literary texts the plays are a series of replies exchanged between characters, replies that make up the dialogue. Except for dialogues, which constituted the greatest part of a play other forms of speech are the monologues (when a character addresses other characters without being interrupted), soliloques (when a character alone on the stage utters his thoughts for the audience only) and asides (when a character consciously addresses the audience in the presence of other characters who do not hear him).

Besides these four types of speech, we may also notice forms of texts that exist only in the printed variant of the play and which disappear when the play is staged. They are the dramatis personae, the stage directions and the different prefaces, dedications, and comments of the author. Whenever a play is staged the stage directions are turned from a verbal text into a ‘scenic text’ containing non-verbal signs such as the setting, the costumes, the stage properties, choreography, music, etc.

Elements that should be focused on when teaching drama

First of all, teachers should make sure students have a basic understanding of drama terms:

Drama – any story told in dialogue form told by actors. Dramatic works include TV shows, live plays, and movies.

Characters – as with all literature, drama includes main characters, minor characters, round or dynamic characters, flat and round characters, protagonists, antagonists, and foils.Dialogue – conversation between characters. Drama uses unique dialogue types: monologue: a longninterrupted speech that reveals the speaker's thoughts and feelings. Soliloquy: a long uninterrupted speech in which the character is alone on stage.

Talking aside: a short speech to the audience that the characters cannot hear.

Stage directions – printed in italics or in parentheses, stage directions provide information on setting and how the play should be performed.

Reasons for teaching drama in an optional literature class

A play may engage students in complicated dilemmas, and may elicit a powerful emotional response from them. It involves little or no stylistic analysis. Its aims are to stimulate oral communication, reading for pleasure and to enrich thinking and expression. For this reason, drama techniques focus on waking the imagination and the body, including the vocal chords in preparation for reading or even enacting the text.

Plays represent an evolution of oral traditions and folklore. They are the way in which stories, traditions, and lessons were passed down through generations. Later, when written texts became more frequent and popular, plays eventually lost their immediate purpose of directly teaching the community and became increasingly known as a form of entertainment.

Drama is not made of words alone, but of sights and sounds, stillness and motion, noise and silence, relationships and responses. Using a play with students is a useful and exciting way of focusing on conventional language. The dialogue in a play differs from the everyday one, it is tidied-up in some ways whereas it contains hesitations, pauses, incomplete sentences and interruptions in everyday conversation. It can be used to highlight certain important features of conversational discourse. Plays can reveal the slightest meanings of somebody’s words, due to the intonation, interpretation (sarcasm, a sad rhetorical question, or a sharp rebuke).

Studying the dialogue of a play provides students with a meaningful context for acquiring and memorizing new language. Students often pick up new phrases or formulaic expressions by studying how these are used by the characters. The human conflicts, moral dilemmas or social issues communicated in a play engage students intellectually and emotionally, and can provide a valuable source for discussion. Students’ confidence improves and their oral skills develop. Even if they are shy or more inhibited students often feel not frightened when working after a written text than when they need to improvise. It also:

– encourages students to read and listen for gist;

– revises and consolidates the functional area of initiating conversations and meeting someone for the first time;

– develops the use of stylistic analysis to analyze the relationship between speakers in a dialogue;

– provides students with fluency practice;

– increases students’ awareness of how speakers demonstrate their status or assert their control in conversation;

– it expands students’ awareness of how language use differs according to setting, period and social roles by contrasting two texts.

A great way to introduce theatre to students is to read a play to them and then have them act it out. Rehearsing daily will get them more into the story, and help them to remember it better as well. Eventually, they could even create costumes and a set together, and put on a real show. This is sure to be something the children will never forget.

There have been many attempts to bring Shakespeare’s texts to children, beginning with Lamb's Tales, but modern children find an eighteenth century narrative style inaccessible. Subsequent efforts to present Shakespeare to children have been updated versions of that narrative style of story telling, but modern children don't relate to that style of book – they demand something immediate, where they can enter the world of the text, 'see' the settings, 'hear' the characters speak, and feel their emotions, just as they do when they read the novels of their favourite children's authors and the Shakespeare for Kids series makes it immediately accessible to children in that way: A Midsummer Night's Dream for Kids, Macbeth for Kids, Romeo & Juliet for Kids, The Tempest for Kids are only a few examples.

Another genre that can be useful for optional English classes is Readers’ Theater – a dramatic presentation of a written work in a script form.  Readers read from a "script" and reading parts are divided among the readers. There are no memorization, costumes, blocking, or special lighting needed. Presentations can easily be done in a classroom.  Scripts are held by the readers. The focus is on reading the text with expressive voices and gestures, asking comprehending the text meaningful and fun for the student. According to some drama teachers, plays have built-in strategies to help students improve their reading skills. The acting out of dialogue causes readers to work more closely with the text to project and interpret meaning into the reading experience. Consequently, students gain improvement in vocabulary, comprehension and retention. Reading in a small group provides reading role models which is also proven to improve reading skills in students. Research has shown that Reader's Theatre can improve reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension

To conclude, it has always been considered that the ability to appreciate literature in a foreign language is a great achievement. This may be particularly true of English literature as it is seen to be one of the greatest achievements of the English-speaking nations. It is possible that the English-leaning students will not be able to appreciate these fine works at the beginning of the course, just as a native speaker will not study works of literature until quite later on in his/her school career and perhaps abridged editions of some of the more famous and popular authors, or specially written children’s tales, such as those by Dickens in the 19th century or through film adaptation in more recent times. These students need something simpler. The middle school syllabuses have a limited range of texts when the time could be better spent on a broader range of activities to encourage a more thorough understanding of English literature and language.

CHAPTER III

ON TEACHING LITERARY WORKS

III.1 General considerations of literature

The study of literature is worthless without due care to content. Student of literature should learn to examine and understand content thoroughly. For example, when studying any literary work, whether novel, poem or drama, we should consider the theme. Sometimes called the meaning or thesis of the work, it is expressed through the recurrence of certain events , images or symbols. If we are going to make statements about the theme of the work, we should always take into consideration the whole text; the title may also suggest a direction of interpretation. When the theme is related to the plot, it may be concerned with aspects of contemporary society which are criticized or praised; when it is related to the characters, it deals with social relations, destinies, psychological crises undergone by teenagers or old people, evolution of men and women. When analyzing a work, the students should take into consideration the style of the author i.e. to see how he builds the sentence structure the words he chooses and the types of style he cultivates.

III.1.1 Literature and The Teaching of Language Skills

Literature plays an important role in teaching four basic language skills like reading, writing, listening and speaking. However, when using literature in the language classroom, skills should never be taught in isolation but in an integrated way. Teachers should try to teach basic language skills as an integral part of oral and written language use, as part of the means for creating both referential and interactional meaning, not merely as an aspect of the oral and written production of words, phrases and sentences.

III.1.2 Literature and Reading

In order to be able to respond to literary text, one should be good at reading. There are different types of reading, which vary according to the purpose, the rate of reading and the mental attitudes involved in the activity. The best strategy is to alternate the following types of reading:

– skimming, a very rapid reading done to gain a quick impression on the work.

– extensive reading, a superficial reading, for pleasure only.

– intensive reading a slow and very careful reading with the help of the dictionary.

– study-type reading, a critical reading for getting detailed information about the ideas of the author, the plot, the characters, and the style of work.

To make reading efficient, it is important to visualize the main characters, and the setting of the work, and imagine mental pictures of the incidents as if you are watching a movie. It is important to remember the ideas of the author, and the main elements of the subject, being able to do that by retelling the content under the form of a summary and make notes, copy excerpts and memorize phrases, sentences or dialogues that seem suggestive in a way.

When introducing a new text EFL teachers should adopt a dynamic, student-centered approach toward comprehension of a literary work. In reading lesson, discussion begins at the literal level with direct questions of fact regarding setting, characters, and plot which can be answered by specific reference to the text. When students master literal understanding, they move to the inferential level, where they must make speculations and interpretations concerning the characters, setting, and theme, and where they produce the author’s point of view. After comprehending a literary selection at the literal and inferential levels, students are ready to do a collaborative work. That is to state that they share their evaluations of the work and their personal reactions to it – to its characters, its theme(s), and the author’s point of view. This is also the suitable time for them to share their reactions to the work’s natural cultural issues and themes. The third level, the personal / evaluative level stimulates students to think imaginatively about the work and provokes their problem-solving abilities.

III.1.3 Literature and Writing

Literature can be a powerful and motivating source for writing in EFL, both as a model and as subject matter. Literature as a model occurs when student writing becomes closely similar to the original work or clearly imitates its content, theme, organization, and /or style. However, when student writing exhibits original thinking like interpretation or analysis, or when it emerges from, or is creatively stimulated by the reading, literature serves as subject matter. Literature houses in immense variety of themes to write on in terms of guided, free, controlled and other types of writing.

Literature as a Model for Writing

There are three main kinds of writing that can be based on literature as a model:

– Controlled Writing

Controlled model-based exercises which are used mostly in beginning-level writing typically require rewriting passages in arbitrary ways to practise specific grammatical structures. For instance, students can be reporters doing a live newscast, or they can rewrite a third person passage into first person from a character’s point of view.

– Guided Writing

This activity corresponds to intermediate-level EFL. Students respond to a series of questions or complete sentences which, when put together, retell or sum up the model. In some cases, students complete the exercise after they receive the first few sentences or the topic sentence of a summary, paraphrase, or description. Guided writing exercises, especially at the literal level, enable students to comprehend the work.

– Reproducing the Model

This activity comprises techniques like paraphrase, summary, and adaptation, which are very beneficial EFL writing exercises. In paraphrasing, students are required to use their own words to rephrase the things that they see in print or hear aloud. Since paraphrase coincides with the students’ trying to make sense of the poem, it is a strikingly useful tool with poetry. Summary work goes well with realistic short stories and plays, where events normally follow a chronological order and have concrete elements like plot, setting, and character to guide student writing. Adaptation requires rewriting prose fiction into dialogue or, reversely, rewriting a play or a scene into narrative. This activity enables students ”to be aware of the variations between written and spoken English”.

Literature as Subject Matter for Writing

Finding appropriate material for writing classes is sometimes difficult for teachers since writing has no subject matter of its own. One benefit of having literature as the reading content of a composition course is that the readings become the subject matter for compositions. Students can make inferences, formulate their own ideas, and look closely at a text for evidence to support generalizations. Thus, they learn how to think creatively, freely and critically.

There are mainly two kinds of writing based on literature as subject matter: writing “on or about” literature, and writing “out of ” literature. These categories are suitable and useful for English literature optional class.

Writing “On or About” Literature comprises the traditional assignments – written responses to questions, paragraph writing, in-class essays, and take-home compositions – in which students analyze the work or in which they speculate on literary devices and style. riting “on or about” can occur before students begin to read a work. The teacher generally discusses its theme or an issue it raises, and the students write about it with reference to their own life experience. This helps interest them in the work and makes them ready for reading and writing about it. Most writing assignments done during as well as after the reading, however, derive from class discussion. They take many forms, such as questions to be answered, assertions to be debated, or topics to be expanded, discussion groups to be established.

Writing “Out of” Literature means making use of a literary work as a springboard for composition – creative assignments developed around plot, characters, setting, theme, and figurative language. There are many forms of writing out of literature, such as:

– Adding to the Work, which comprises writing imaginary episodes or sequels, or, in the case of drama, “filling in” scenes for off-stage actions that are only referred to in the dialog.

– Changing the Work, which implies that students can make up their own endings by comparing the author’s ending to their own. Short stories can be rewritten in whole or in part from the point of view of a character versus a third person narrator or of a different character.

– Drama-Inspired Writing activities can derive from plays, short stories, novels, and sometimes poetry. Thus, the student steps into the consciousness of a character and writes about that character’s attitudes and feelings.

– A Letter Addressed to Another Character, in which the student gives the character personal advice about how to overcome a particular problem or situation.

III.1.4 Literature, Speaking, and Listening

The study of literature in a language class, though being mainly associated with reading and writing, can play an equally meaningful role in teaching both speaking and listening. Oral reading, dramatization, improvisation, role-playing, pandomiming, reenactment, discussion, and group activities may center on a work of literature.

The golden rule for teaching students listening is to focus them on some listening goal. To fully comprehend the listening passage, students need to listen more than one, so the teacher should prepare more than one goal. Teachers can also assist students by pre-teaching some of the vocabulary or hard-to-understand pieces of language, such as words linked together (linking is where "want to" becomes "wanna" and occurs very frequently in language).

Listening for details

When students have the general idea of the listening text, and the instructor has asked them a few detail questions, learners can listen to answer specific, harder questions. The teacher shouldn’t overload the students with detail questions because students may get too busy thinking about the answers, and don't listen to the text that follows.

Teaching English Listening

After Listening for Details is finished and both teacher and students are satisfied with the answers, there's usually a lot of room left in the class. Even though it is a listening class, students can do some speaking exercises based on the text.

Discussions, debates, or even role plays based on listening material round out the learning process. It is always a good idea to integrate the other skill areas, including grammar, speaking, and reading, in a specialized skills class.

Listening classes can have the following stages:

– Topic and text introduction and pre-teaching of some vocabulary and linked words.

– Listening for gist.

– Listening for detail.

– Linking from the text – highlighted and practiced.

– A non-listening activity related to the text. If the text focused on a controversial subject, a class debate and a short writing exercise could follow.

– A few fun or enjoyable listening activities related or unrelated to the main text, such as a couple of songs, with students doing gap-fills for the lyrics.

Oral Reading

Language teachers can make listening comprehension and pronunciation interesting, motivating and contextualized at the upper levels, playing a recording or video of a literary work, or reading literature aloud themselves. Having students read literature aloud contributes to developing speaking as well as listening ability. Moreover, it also leads to improving pronunciation. Pronunciation may be the focus before, during, and / or after the reading.

III.2 Teaching novels and short stories

How to teach novels and short- stories

When reading novels and short stories Students may encounter some problems. From the inadequate reading strategies, they can get the tendency to focus on every word rather than general meaning. They also can have problems appreciating the style, or understanding the cultural background of the story. They also need the confidence to develop their own way of interpreting, not copying with ambiguity retelling what other critics said before them.

Stories use a holistic approach to language teaching and stories support natural acquisition of language. We believe language is learnt in contexts and in chunks, not in isolation, word by word or sentence by sentence. Stories are comprehensible inputs that children receive as they listen to and tell stories. Comprehensible input refers to the language given to children just above the level of their present language competence, which helps them get engaged and motivate them to understand and find out the new words, structures and make meaning out of the input.

Teaching reading with novels and short- stories

Today, in schools, pupil’s interest is increasingly difficult to stimulate, especially as far as literature in the English Foreign Language classroom is concerned. Students are used to fast information input without necessarily having to become active themselves, they lose concentration easily when the learning process takes too long, or they lose patience when they do not understand everything right away. The use of short stories in the English Foreign Language classroom is one possibility to respond to this problem teachers of foreign languages have to face and dealing with the use of short stories is a way of teaching literature.

Pre-reading activities

– The teacher can select a passage of literature that is rich in description, plot, and character development, a text that features adolescents and their related concerns, so that the students can easily make a personal connection.

– Teacher can help his students with the cultural background of the passage, about the author’s life or the historical and cultural background to the story.

– He also can ask them to make predictions on the genre of the story, or discuss events from our country during the period of the story.

– Teacher can organize a discussion about what the title means, or, after reading the first paragraph, make predictions about the way the story would evolve. The teacher can choose words or phrases from the story and make predictions on them, and he can start a general discussion, asking questions about some of the themes that occur in the story.

– Teacher preteaches vocabulary.

While reading activities

– Teacher can provide the students with some questions to check if they understood the plot, make them write summaries of the plot, make them provide titles for each paragraph, they are given ‘jumbled’ sentences that summarize the plot and they have to re-order them.

– Students are asked to attribute adjectives for characters in the story according to certain traits.

– Teacher should let them first look up any difficult words in the dictionary and prepare a glossary, provide them with questions to encourage them to guess the meaning from the context, provide definitions that students should match to words.

– Teacher should also encourage them to make a close textual analysis of a section of the text, use a section of a text to focus on a particular grammatical problem, using the ‘blanks’ exercises, and after the students should provide the right word from the text.

Post reading activities

It is important to provide students, with different critical interpretations for them to discuss and to help them to understand the narrative point of view, but the teacher should not insist on them too much. Some of the following activities are suitable only for elder students:

– ask students to note down any lexical areas which might take on a symbolic meaning in the story, and speculate about possible symbolic associations for these sets;

– ask students to write what they think will happen next, or what they think happened just before;

– ask students to write a background character description of one of the characters which explains why they are the way they are;

– ask students to personalize the text by talking about if anything similar has happened to them;

– ask students to improvise a role-play between two characters in the book;

– start critical discussion or debate about the world-view of values, which seem to be depicted in the text.

Teaching speaking with novels and short- stories

As far as speaking is concerned, story telling and narrating are the main activities for prose. Though children love to listen to stories, for example, we need to begin with short sessions, if they are not familiar with storytelling in the classroom. Teachers can make their own seating arrangement comfortable for children. The activity could begin with very short stories, riddles, anecdotes and tales which children like better.

Pre-Story telling to Post Story Telling

The aim is to capture the attention of children before we venture into our story telling session. Children learn with the help of their previous knowledge. They would pick up well and with interest, if they can connect to prior knowledge and experiences. Teachers should have activities, tasks, role play or actions that would connect their life experiences with the ideas, themes, incidents or the characters of the story.

Stories and story telling serve as an important input for enhancing language learning in the classroom.   Teachers need to know  how to select a story and the various techniques of telling a story and enabling students to be story tellers in an interactive way. Teachers should:

Find stories your children will like and appreciate.

Stories that match their age and language level.

Choose stories they like.

Choose stories with a simple structure

Choose stories with positive attitudes.

Choose stories that children could connect with their daily life and their thinking,  curiosity and interest.  

Also, reviewing language in the story children already know and teaching new vocabulary or expressions are necessary. Students would love to predict what will happen in the story, so it’s a good idea to stop when we reach such a point where the tension mounts, and ask them to predict. This can be done within the following stages:

Capture children’s attention.

Connect to their prior knowledge and experiences.

Review language in the story children already know.

Teach new vocabulary or expressions.

Have children predict what will happen in the story.

Give them a purpose for listening.

Post Story Telling Activities comprise activities and tasks that enrich the experiences of children after listening to the story.

Questions and answers based on the story. This has to be oral.

Total Physical Response

Group retelling

Create their own ending

Drama and role playing

Story mapping

Story boarding

Games that check comprehension (Start & Stop, retelling with mistakes, picture out of order.

Teaching listening with novels and short- stories

Listening skills can be taught explicitly, through direct instruction and in multiple formats: relating to similar experiences, predicting what will happen next, retelling a story in order, asking relevant questions (KWL activity referenced below), taking notes, analyzing and synthesizing what is read, distinguishing fact from opinion.

Some informal classroom opportunities to teach listening include mime games that demonstrate body language through physical and facial expressions, games involving listening for following directions (drawing an unseen object), understanding what is said, remembering what is said (telephone operator game),listening, writing and sharing a poem a day, scrambled sentences – putting them in the correct order by practising listening comprehension only, fill-in-exercise (e.g. a gapped summary of an episode which does not refer to lexical or grammatical problems but where relevant items of information have to be filled in); multiple-choice-tests and listening for:

• suggestions, e.g. We could put it…, We think the best place is…;

• descriptions, e.g. between the cupboard and the… near the sink;

• reasons related to the choice made and logically expressed, e.g. …because then the doctors can wash their hands. If it’s next to the door then…

Teaching writing novels and short- stories

After a reading phase the teacher should never take his/her pupils' textual comprehension for granted. There exist a number of methodical possibilities of varying classroom procedures: using the question-and-answer technique (closed questions), true-false-statements, fill-in-exercise (e.g. a gapped summary of an episode which does not refer to lexical or grammatical problems but where relevant items of information have to be filled in), multiple-choice-tests, summaries, putting one/some sentence(s) in the wrong place, the students find and correct it/them, scrambled sentences: put in five sentences which are irrelevant; mixing up two different summaries: have the students correct them, locating and contextualising quotations, completing defective dialogues, matching quotations and literary figures, matching paragraphs and headings, adding redundant sentences and having the students cross them out, having the students write one sentence for each paragraph, having the students make suggestions how to illustrate some paragraphs, spelling games, letter writing, writing persuasive arguments to deal with issues in the text, write editorials on protagonist's decisions in a book they are reading, writing movie reviews from a pet's perspective, creative writing: "What would you do if…", creating a story by multiple students (Chain Writing); writing personal narratives and using Concept Maps, turning a fairy tale into a television news report, creating a travel brochure to an imaginary place in that lesson; writing diaries, story writing.

Teaching vocabulary begins at the same time as pre-reading, when teachers can give students a few new words. During the following stages, vacabulary may be enriched with all activities in class. In order to help students use new vocabulary, teachers could bring activities such as games of vocabulary-word repetition for learning, quizzes, reading vocabulary word definitions using funny voices, applying knowledge of root words to illustrate vocabulary word concepts, matching exercises, fairy tales with a difference, which supposes rewriting or retelling the story from the point of view of another character, thinking up alternative endings or twists to the plot, comparing and contrasting one of the versions below with the original, and so on.

Teaching grammar is effective with prose, as any fragment from a novel or story may comprise several grammar patterns. In this respect, we must bring into discussion the story grammar technique, which refers to the system of rules used for describing the story parts, arrangement of the parts, and how the parts are related, i.e. the internal structure of the story

In story grammar, direct instruction involves helping learners to recognize the elements of narrative text and use theses elements to improve their comprehension of the story. Instruction begins with explicitly presenting the concept of story grammar (setting,

characters, problem, action, resolution and theme). The teacher may use, depending on the learners linguistic ability, the native language. A strategy teachers may use involves dividing the story into meaningful episodes and developing comprehension questions they will ask in guided silent reading and discussion. Such questions will cause students to focus on the relevant elements in the story. An episode may consist of one chapter or more.

In the classroom, students can be asked to read silently the parts of the episode which draw their attention to the story grammar and this is followed by answering the guiding questions and discussing the structure of the episode.

Example:

Setting: Where did the story happen? When did the story happen?

Characters: Who was the story about? Who were the people in the story? Who was the most important person in the story?

Problem: Did the people have a problem? What was the big problem that story was about?

Action: What did the people do to solve the problem? What were the important things that happened in the story?

Resolution: How did the people solve the problem? How did the story end?

Theme: What lesson could we learn from the story?

Teachers may use visual or graphic representations to illustrate the story grammar. Character maps and story maps are two common formats used to visually represent key components of a story. These activities may be used individually, in pairs, or cooperatively.

As an example, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, intended for four to six year olds, but which could be suitable for older beginner English learners, includes 100 different Words. An advantage of this book so far as learners of English as an additional language are concerned is its novelty cover (with a hole through the cardboards to indicate the caterpillar’s progress), its developmental theme, and the fact that it focuses on days of the week, foods and numbers in the context of repeated sentence constructions (On X he ate through Y. But he was still hungry.) However, it includes countable nouns (egg, lollipop, pear) and uncountable nouns (cheese; salami) and the past simple tense form of both regular (started) and irregular (ate; had; came; was) verbs. It also includes two different measuring units (a piece of, a slice of) and several examples of inversion of typical word order (e.g., . . . out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar). There are several prepositions (through, on, around; for), additive and adversative coordinating conjunctions (and, but), complex comparatives (more than, much better), a past participle- headed adjective phrase (He built a small house, called a cocoon). In addition, although young learners need, at some point, to be introduced to typically Western foods, it would be better in the early stages of learning to focus on foods (e.g., hamburger) that are both more common and less structurally complex than some of those included in this text. Less common foods (e.g., salami and Swiss cheese) could be introduced at a later stage. Moreover, some of the lexical items (e.g., nibble, pickle and cocoon) are not of high frequency occurrence. Although this short story has a number of features that would be likely to make it appealing to teachers of young learners of English, there are many aspects of the language that are likely to present problems for both teachers and learners. The use of collage is likely to make the illustrations attractive to young children.

III.3 How to teach poetry

Children like poetry because poetry is natural to them. They speak poetry themselves, unwittingly spilling out metaphors of the most surprising and engaging kind. Good poems do the same thing. All children love the sounds of poetry, even if they don't understand all the words or the meanings of the poems. Children of all ages seem to remember children's poems with relative ease, especially rhyming poetry. Moreover, poetry is also part of one's cultural identity, part of one's shared culture and, in this idea, people should just think of the number of times one hears references to "Humpty Dumpty" or "The Jabberwocky."

Visual elements

• The lines of the picture should help to create and convey both the meaning and the feeling of the story.

• Colours must be used to complement text. For example, soft warm tones are associated with calmness and contentment. If the events and mood of the story change during the course of the story, then the colors should change to reflect the shifts in the story.

• Shapes are evaluated for their simplicity or complexity, their definition or lack of definition, their rigidity or suppleness and their sizes. For example, negative or blank space may be used to highlight a particular object or to indicate isolation or loneliness. The shapes in a picture, the spaces surrounding the shapes and the proportion of objects in relation to one another are important aspects of non-verbal messages.

• Texture conveys the impression of how a pictured object feels and can add a sense of reality to illustrations. Textures can be rough or slick, firm or spongy, hard or soft, jagged or smooth.

• The compositional characteristics of illustrations can help to convey an overall sense of unity and can reinforce aspects of textual meaning.

Teaching reading with poems

Pre-reading activities

– Create a poetry book display in the school library.

– Preview audio and/or video tapes for use in class or a special school-wide assembly

– Read poems aloud to students.

– Let students guess the theme of the poem from the title, or from a few keywords or phrases in the poem;

– Provide the students with the historical and cultural background, reading text that describe it;

– Introduce a new poetic form each week and give examples of poems that use – or reinvent – the form.

– Reading a text about the author’s life may deepen students’ understanding of the themes of the poem. It is well to make them compare with appropriate behaviors and feelings in Romanian culture or society in a particular situation, paralleling them with the emotions in the poem;

– The teacher can pre-teach any important words, phrases, or grammatical constructions that appear in the poem.

While reading activities

– The teacher should consider the genre the poem belongs to. If there is a ballad, a poem with strong narrative, he may jumble the verses, or make students fill the gaps, after removing some words from the poem;

– Make the students predict what is next after reading a single verse;

-Students may consider all the words connected to a particular lexical set and then speculate on their metaphorical or symbolical meaning;

– They can also find the most appropriate definitions from the dictionary to some words and answer comprehension questions about the meaning of certain words or phrases in the poem.

Post- reading activities

To help students towards an interpretation of a poem give them a series of statements about the possible underlying meanings of the poem and decide which one are true or false.

Follow- up activities

– Read some other poems by the same author, or other poems on the same theme.

– Discuss with students the values and worldview which are either implicitly or explicitly expressed in the poem.

– Ask each student to create his or her own factfile with his/her favourite poems.

– Organize a poetry contest for students.

– Tape students reading their own poems or poems by others; encourage them to share the tapes with parents and friends.

Teaching speaking with poems

With poems, the speaking skill can be practised more with other literary genres, perhaps due to rhyme and to their charm. The best way to do it is to begin with what is called ”giggle poetry”, i.e. poems for beginners that are enjoyed by older students, too:

Character sketches :”Little Miss Muffet/ Diddle, diddle, dumpling/ Let's go to bed/ Jack Sprat/ There was a little girl.”

Scenes and incidents: ”Jack and Jill/ Hickory, dickory, dock/ There was an old woman/ Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater/ Little Jack Horner”.

Nonsense and mumorous rhymes: ”Old Dan Tucker/ Old Man John/ We're all in the dumps/ I had a little horse”.

Satires and taunts: ”Georgy-porgy/ April fool/ Johnny's mad/ Cry, baby, cry/ Tell-tale-tit”.

Tongue twisters: ” Peter Piper/ Swan swam over the sea”.

Limericks: ”There once was a girl from Troy/ She would always try to annoy/ She looked like a moose/ She laughed like a goose/ Her silliness always caught a boy”.

Haikus:”I am first with five/ Then seven in the middle –/ Five again to end.”

Teaching listening with poems

EFL students will rapidly improve their English listening skills when the teacher guides them in specific listening skill areas, such as linking, stress, and intonation. The golden rule for teaching listening is to focus on some listening goal. To fully comprehend the listening passage, students need to listen more than one, so the teacher should prepare more than one goal. Teachers can also assist students by pre-teaching some of the vocabulary or hard-to-understand pieces of language, such as words linked together (linking is where "want to" becomes "wanna" and occurs very frequently in language). The main listening types are:

○Listening for Gist

The first time students listen to the poem, they probably won't understand many details. If they do, it was probably too easy. The listening target should center their attention around the general idea of the listening text, what is usually called the gist of the text.

If the listening is a conversation between two people, students can listen for the topic, or for one character's opinion of the topic.

After playing the passage once or twice, the instructor should make sure students have the gist. Ask them additional questions about the listening that can help lead into the Listening for Details section of the lesson, such as the names of the characters and where the conversation is taking place.

○Listening for Details

Now that the listening students have the general idea of the listening text, and the teacher has asked them a few detail questions, learners can listen to answer specific, harder questions. In a descriptive poem, they can listen for the description of a specific place.

Teachers shouldn’t overload the students with detail questions. Ask one per section of the discussion, for a maximum of four questions. If overloaded with detail questions, students get too busy thinking about the answers, and don't listen to the text that follows.

Listening Materials

A lot of the EFL listening materials are difficult, especially the ones that come with textbooks. Most teachers rightfully avoid them, with the attitude that students can listen at home and that the teacher does the listening practice in the classroom. Many teachers carry out the listening in class, so teachers should try to make interesting questions and ensure the technology (CD player and correct track number) is ready to go so that students don't have to wait.

Authentic listening materials are texts for native speakers, such as songs, weather reports, news clips, or videos from YouTube. With a video, a teacher can use computers and this could be one of the best ways to teach listening.

Teaching English Listening – Lesson Plan Stages

It is a good idea to integrate the other skill areas, including grammar, speaking, and reading, in a specialized skills class. Listening classes usually have the following stages:

– Topic and text introduction and pre-teaching of some vocabulary and linked words.

– Listening for gist

– Listening for detail

– Linking from the text – highlighted and practiced

– A few fun or enjoyable listening activities related or unrelated to the main text, such as a couple of poems or songs, with students doing gap-fills for the lyrics.

Listening activities

One skill that goes very well with listening is pronunciation. It is very hard to teach listening without doing some pronunciation, and vice versa. Listening class can often focus on linking.

Generally, a teacher should play a recording or read a poem as many times as necessary, but students might tire of the same thing. Every time it is played over, the teacher can help learners with vocabulary and linking words rather than passively playing the recording. Students don't have to understand every word in a text, they only have to understand the main points and the important details and this focus on the essentials will build confidence. If students can see that after an optional English literature class they can understand some linking words and phrases better, they will ask for more. If the teacherr simply plays a bunch of listening texts for them and doesn't help or challenge them, they will not enjoy the class.

Listening skills can be taught explicitly, through direct instruction and in multiple formats. Some skills can be taught explicitly. Here are links to specific examples to activities where the following skills are taught:

– Relating to similar experiences

– Predicting what will happen next

– Retelling a poem in order

– Asking relevant questions (KWL activity referenced below)

– Taking notes

– Analyzing and synthesizing what is read

– Figurative language

Some informal classroom opportunities to teach listening include: mime games to demonstrate body language through physical and facial expressions discussing what listening “looks like”, games involving listening for following directions, understanding what is said,, remembering what is said (telephone operator game), etc.

Teaching writing, vocabulary and grammar with poetry

Poetry can be a rich and inspiring source for writing in EFL. The teacher can use it as a model or as subject matter in guiding students to practice writing. As poetry promotes language acquisition,too, through writing simple pattern poems, learners can play with words and see what fits because the burden of discovering a proper format for a poem is removed, they can create a polished piece of writing in a relatively short period, rehearse correct spelling, use familiar vocabulary and also discover new vocabulary while using the dictionary to find words that serve their ideas, refine summarizing skills, nurture creativity by giving their imaginations free reign, develop confidence in their ability to share ideas in writing and cultivate logical and sequential thinking skills through storytelling. As far as gramamr is concerned, by writing poems students can practice specific language structures such as phrases, word order, and verb tense. Despite their simple, uncomplicated nature, pattern poems reinforce, and even teach, multiple language skills while challenging students to share their vision of the world around them in a nonthreatening way. Most patterns can be used with all levels and ages of learners.

Writing activities

– Interactive modelling: (Working on a poem with the teacher) Students learn from observation and interaction with others in their immediate environment. Students easily learn writing strategies from writing with the teacher.

– Collaborative groups: Groups collaborate when they work on the same piece of writing together (small groups).

– Cooperative groups: Students help each other with individually written pieces. Various types of peer response: brainstorming, structuring poems, responding to each other’s drafts.

– Inductive thinking: structural patterns can be explained to students, or they can figure out the patterns themselves (problem-solving).

– Sensory stimulation: Sensory stimuli (pictures, sounds, video clips, textiles, etc.) help the creative process.

– Sharing students’ poems in the classroom (displays, poetry readings, exhibitions, cassette tapes, poetry greeting cards, calendars, etc.).

A few examples of poems were those mentioned in chapter 2 above, i.e poems that are suitable both for beginners and for older students:

Limericks, whose rhyme pattern is AABBA. An easy way to get started is to pick a boy’s or girl’s name that has one syllable (like Bill, Tim, Dick, Sue, or Jill), to make a list of words that rhyme with the last word in the first line, to write the second line using one of the rhyming words thinking of an interesting story.
Example:

”There once was a young girl named Jill.
Who was scared by the sight of a drill.
She brushed every day
So her dentist would say,
“Your teeth are so perfect; no bill.”

Haikus consist of three lines.  The first and last lines of a Haiku have five syllables and the middle line has seven syllables.  The lines rarely rhyme:

”I am first with five
Then seven in the middle –
Five again to end.”

Giggle poetry

Over the years, poets have had a lot of fun with the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" nursery rhyme. This rhyme is so simple, and so well known, that students will love creating new versions. For example, one way to do this is to make Mary into quite a hungry girl. Here’s one of the new rewritten versions based on this theme:

”Mary had a little jam,

she spread it on a waffle.

And if she hadn’t eaten ten

she wouldn’t feel so awful.”

Students could pick any one of these themes as a point of departure, or write all four on a sheet of paper and start making lists of ideas. No matter which themes you choose to pursue, teachers have to make sure they follow the ABCB rhyme scheme and the rhythm scheme shown.

Teaching vocabulary and grammar with poetry

Acrostics that can be made after a given example

: spelling, vocabulary, dictionary usage.

Example:

”Few people are

Real friends

In my life. I

Enjoy seeing true, not

New friends every

Day”

The adjective poem

The teaching points are: adjectives, adjectives after linking verbs.

Six lines develop a series of adjectives to describe a single topic or action. Good practice for identifying and creating adjectives.

Structure: Noun ; fog

Noun verb adjective 1: Fog is white

Noun verb adjective 1, adjective 2: Fog is white, wet

Verb adjective 1, adjective 2, adjective 3: Is white, wet, thick

Adjective 1, adjective 2, adjective 3. adjective 4: White, wet, thick, cold

Noun: Morning

Other similar poems are: The alphabet poem, Beginnings and endings poem, Adjective placement poem, Adverb poem, Cinquain,“I am” poem, Phrase poem, Preposition poem

How to choose the poems

Start with humorous poems that rhyme.

Choosing poems that go with other subjects can be effective. Find poems that have conversational parts

Find poems that have definite parts where the children can be divided into groups.

III.4 Plays and drama

How to teach drama

Literature-based dramatic activities are valuable for EFL because they facilitate and accelerate development of the oral skills since they motivate students to achieve a clearer comprehension of a work’s plot and a deeper comprehension and awareness of its characters. Though drama in the classroom can assume many forms, there are three main types, which are dramatization, role-playing, improvization.

Dramatization

Dramatization requires classroom performance of scripted materials. Students can make up their own scripts for short stories or sections of novels, adapting them as closely as possible to the real text. Based on the story, they must guess what the characters would say and how they would say it. Scripts written by students are also probable with plays. Poems comprising one or more personae may also be scripted by students. Students should attentively read assigned sections of dialog in advance and be able to answer questions about characters and plot. They should indicate vocabulary, idioms, or dialog they don’t understand and words they cannot pronounce. Then, students can rehearse the scene with their partners. Although they don’t memorize it, they learn it well enough to make eye contact and say their lines with meaning and feeling. Moreover, they discuss semiotic aspects of staging the scene (i.e. facial expressions, gestures, and the physical aspects). At last, the dramatization is presented before the class.

Improvization and Role-Playing

Both improvization and role-playing may be developed around the characters, plot and themes of a literary work. Improvisation is a more systematic activity, i.e., a dramatization without a script. There is an identifiable plot with a beginning, middle, and end in improvisation. However, in role playing, students picture characters from the work being read and join in a speaking activity other than a dramatization, such as an interview or panel discussion.

Group Activities

Making each student responsible for facts and ideas to be contributed and discussed, group activities stimulates total participation. All students are involved and the participation is multidirectional. When teaching English through literature, some of the group activities used in language classroom are general class discussion, small-group work, paneldiscussions, and debates. All of these group activities both develop the speaking abilities of the students and give importance to pronunciation practice. Teachers indicate pronunciation errors of the students during the act of such activities so as to correct such errors.

Teaching reading with drama

Pre-reading activity (warmer activity)

Warmer activities get the learners to anticipate what they are going to meet in the language of the text using guessing, pre-discussion. The idea is that the pre-reading/listening stage will sensitize the learner to the language and concepts to be encountered and engage prior knowledge and experience. The use of the text can be one of more depth and in sophisticated drama activities.

Elder students could be provided with some information about the author’s life and about the morality during that period, in order to understand more easily why the author respected some rules and conveniences. The teacher should also:

– explain to the students the time of the play (might be a historical play), for the students to transpose themselves in the atmosphere of that period, and understand the circumstances;

– provide the students with a short historical background (if the play is a historical one). It is important to understand the work in relation to its socio-cultural and historical-political context;

– provide with the vocabulary that would give them hard times.

While- reading activities

The while reading task involves the learner having a task to fulfill based on his reading, such as finding out a piece of information from the text. Students may act out a part of the scene ingroups, as follows:

– They make a radio play recording of the scene. They must record this onto cassette. Listen to the different recordings in the last five minutes of future classes. Whose recording is the best?

– Students find a lot fun in reading out the dialogue but to give the characters special accents (very “foreign” or very “American” or “British”). This works on different aspects of pronunciation (individual sounds and sentence rhythm);

– Students write stage directions, including how to deliver lines (e.g. angrily, breathlessly etc) next to each character’s line of dialogue. Then they read it aloud;

– To see if the students understand the text, they can be asked to re-write the scene. They could either modernize it or imagine that it is set in a completely different location (in Bucharest, for example). Then they read out the new version;

– For a better understanding of a text, the students should be asked to identify the story, characters, plot, to identify the author's/characters' viewpoint, attitude or opinion; they should give a personal, creative response.

Post- reading activities

– Teacher asks comprehension questions such as: Who? When? What? Multiple-choice questions are useful for evoking possible alternative answers;

– Text attack questions require the student to realize certain meanings in the text and the way they are achieved in the language use;

– Interpretation and response tasks/question: What is the message from the author? What general meanings can we infer from the antagonists' statements / actions? What conclusions can we draw about the character and motivations of the antagonists? How is that expressed through the language? How do you feel about the character? How did you feel as the character? Response calls for the learner to express an opinion or feeling and to often say why they feel this or have this opinion.

Reader’s Theater

Almost any story can be scripted for reader's theater, but some are easier and work better than others. In general, teachers should look for stories that are simple and lively, with lots of dialog or action, and with not too many scenes or characters.

Reader’s Theater involves children in oral reading through reading parts in scripts. Unlike traditional theatre, the emphasis is mainly on oral expression of the part. Reader’s Theater is "theatre of the imagination" because it involves children in understanding their world, creating their own scripts, reading aloud, performing with a purpose, and bringing enjoyment to both themselves and their audiences. Reader’s Theater gives children a purpose for writing, for reading, and for sharing their learning by inviting others into the space they create. Reader’s Theater is a simple, effective and risk-free way to get children to enjoy reading. As children write, read, perform and interpret their roles they acquire a better understanding of the literature.

Teachers can use these strategies in class discussion and journal entries to help students get the most out of their reading.

Teaching speaking with drama

It is always important to include warm-up activities when engaging in drama activities to help group members achieve a comfort and trust level in doing activities together. 

I Come From

Go around the circle several times with each person saying their name and completing the phrase “I come from.”  This is a game to start exploring all the places we come from – physical, emotional, geographic, spiritual, all the experiences and ideas that create us as individuals. For example:   I come from the South,/I come from a spiritual father,/ I come from hope for the future,/ I come from being tired aut,/ I come from a small house with only one bathroom/I come from feeling impatient,/  I come from art. Energy & Focus Work

These activities-games are primarily designed to create “safe space” where students can have an open and honest dialogue and prepare them to move ahead into deeper work that requires more focus and attention.

Circle Dash

Every one stands in a circle around one person who stands in the middle the object of the game is for 2 people in the circle to silently signal each other to switch places. The person in the middle tries to get to get to an open spot before the switchers.  The person left takes the spot in the middle.  This is a silent game.

Minefield

Everyone stands in a circle and tosses and object they can find that aren’t sharp or breakable in the center.  Spread the objects around so that the whole center is evenly covered.  A volunteer closes their eyes.  The rest of the group, using only their voices, tries to direct the volunteer to the space directly across from them in the circle without hitting any of the objects in the “minefield.”

Devising Role-Play Activities

Teachers can select a scene in a text or an issue portrayed in that scene.  Based on a conflict or tension portrayed in the text or related to the issue, they can create a role-play with four roles, one for each member of a peer group, including themselves, trying to build the situation around a conflict or tension that will serve to perpetuate the role-play. Students can be asked to specify the nature of the four roles: what are the traits, attitudes, typical behaviors, and agendas for each role—give names.  Teachers can either verbally tell each student this information so that everyone knows.  Or, they can tell each one separately or provide the information on slips of paper so that others do not know.  Then, they can perform the role-play.

Creating Drama with poetry is an exciting language learning experience. The technique employs a multi-sensory approach to language acquisition by involving learners physically, emotionally, and cognitively in the language learning process. The use of poetry as drama in the English literature optional class enables the students to explore the linguistic and conceptual aspects of the written text without concentrating on the mechanics of language. Some poems are mini-dramas, often written in dialogue form, and are suitable for dramatization because they are short and usually have one simple, but strong emotional theme. One example of such poem is "Why Did the Children Put Beans in Their Ears? " by Carl Sandburg, a poem that is recommended for beginning and low intermediate adolescent students. Students portray a husband and wife who ask two rhetorical questions about why children do things that they are expressly told not to do ("Why did the children put beans in their ears…") (…"Why did the children pour molasses on the cat…"). Through the dramatization, students can utilize intonation, rhythm, stress, body language, facial expressions, and gestures to convey the frustrated interchange between the disgruntled and bewildered characters (…"when the one thing we told the children they must not do was…").

The teacher should plan follow-up activities about the dramatizations and improvisations that allow for individual expression of the cooperative experience. The students can illustrate and write about the activity or poem. Future lessons can also include the dramatization and improvisation of short stories, fables, and plays. The same techniques and follow-up activities should be employed.

Mock trials

This strategy can be used with students at all ability levels and with students at multiple grade levels. Mock trials can also be used in disciplines such as literature, social science, health, science, history, religion, philosophy, world languages et. al. Both teachers and students need to know why they are participating in this project. Knowing the reasons adds value to the time spent in or out of class and points the way to putting the experience in an important educational context. Teachers and students can add to the list of educational outcomes before, during and after they complete the mock trial unit. Mock trials should be both fun and a learning experience. In Romania, this method is known as ”literary trial” and it can have as a starting point almost any literary work. Due to divergent opinions about the work, students get to ”sue” each other and they appear in front of the court in order for the judge and the juries in their classroom to ”decide” who is right. One of the main objectives is ”to promote increased confidence, poise, oral skills, critical thinking skills and teamwork skills, plus increase proficiency in basic skills such as reading, writing, speaking, analyzing and reasoning, and interpersonal skills such as listening and cooperating”.

Drama places the learners in situations that seem real and, as students use the target language for specific purposes, it is more easily internalized and, therefore, language is remembered.

Teaching listening and speaking with drama

Drama has a key role in the teaching speaking and listening. The dramatic exploration of different contexts gives the opportunity for pupils to explore situations which would normally be unfamiliar to them. Video of lesson where the pupils act out persuasive talking can also be used. Students can be asked to listen for relevant suggestions for improvement (You could make it better if you didn’t speak so quickly), language of instruction and order, (First you…, Next…, The game ends when…), reasoning or explanations of opinions. The speaking skill can be improved by planning and performing a play reading of their own or others reading, by evaluating classmates’ performing of a play, by the use of specific vocabulary related to the topic or by exploring alternative ways for the play.

Teaching writing with drama

After students are comfortable with the game and after having gone around the circle a number of times, the teacher stops and asks students to answer the question “I Come From” in their portfolio, giving them just a few minutes, and then going around the circle verbally one more time.  Some form of this activity can be repeated each day.  Teachers can ask students to keep all their “I Come From” statements together.  Their responses to all writing activities in this unit be collected in their portfolios, turned in at the end of the unit and returned later in the semester.  Writings will not be graded.

Teachers can encourage theatrical creativity by showing middle school pupils how to write their own scripts. Understanding how to guide them through scriptwriting can open doors to a beginning in becoming a creative writer.

The easiest way to help students write is to show them how to develop a character. Teachers can offer them guidance in showing character traits such as physical characteristics, personality and qualities that they like. Asking them to draw out their character or list the qualities will help them see a concrete description of who they imagine.

As to setting the scene, it is easiest to begin with the first scene and some of the background that is in that scene, which provides children with a way of making the entire piece of writing more concrete and will let them begin to visualize what is happening. After setting the first scene, they can combine the main character and some of the secondary characters with the scene that is currently in place.

After being guided by worksheets, questions and guidelines, students will be able to fill in the blanks and work out making their own script.

Finally, students can act out what they wrote.

Tension is a key word for this exercise. Writing a scene for a play is a good way of easing students into the idea of writing a full-length play. The scene must serve a purpose in that it moves the story forward with as much tension as possible. Evaluating the scene will help the students reflect upon their work and make possible improvements in order to progress.

Teaching vocabulary and grammar with drama

These skills can be enhanced with drama as well as with the other literary genres. For example, they can be asked to loisten for specific purposes, such as lletter writing, reasoning or explanations of opinions, (e.g. I didn’t like that story because I couldn’t hear parts of it.), relevant suggestions for improvement (e.g. You could make it better if you didn’t speak so quickly.), comparisons and reasons (e.g. This was a better story than last time because he told us more about how he lost his ice cream.), use of specific vocabulary related to the topic, the language of instruction and order (e.g. First you…, Next…, The game ends when…), questioning about possible techniques and strategies using if clause and modals (What happens if…? Can we…?),grammar and vocabulary games.

The importance of visual aids

Teaching is communication and in a good communication there are three important aspects: the person giving the information, the message/information that is to be passed and the receiver. For good understanding therefore, teachers must be aware that learners are abstracting. Meaning does not exist in isolation or in the words but in the context which the words are used. Students must be well exposed to usages of words through teaching aids as guides to learning grammar, concepts, spellings and even pronunciation. To avoid distortion the sender of the information/ message must make himself/herself explicit and present the information as best as possible. Generally, oral reports require research writing and speaking skills as well as effective use of audio visual aids and improvisation. It is therefore important that teachers of English use teaching aids or improvise to make learning easy, enjoyable and permanent. For example, in every day usage, there are confusing pairs of words in English. The confusion can be resolved through the teachers’ ingenuity of improvisation. The poor performances in English language in most schools are the fact that the teaching of it is textbook dominated.

Inteaching English Language such instructional materials include word cards, pictures, objects, puzzles and so on. These materials can be grouped into three sections.

a. Audio: dealing with what is heard (music, drums, radio, tape recorder, projectors, DVD and any sound effect that can be heard.)

b. Visuals: things that can be seen (posters, charts, chalkboard, flannel graph, flashcards, puzzles, objects – (real), projectors, cartoons, television, computer CD, internet and so on.)

c. Multi-sensory: where pupils learn through the five senses – see, hear, smell, taste and touch.

This can take the form of role-play, demonstration, models, simulation, experiments, excursion, visits and so on.

The reader response

One may wonder exactly what a “reader response” can be, if is it just what a reader writes after they read a piece of text, if it has to be written, or it can be in a different format.

Reader response may sound simple enough, but there are many elements to consider.

The aim of The Reader Response Approach is to encourage learners to respond to the text and express their own ideas, opinions and feelings freely. From a pedagogic perspective, “multiple interpretations” allow for creative and critical thinking to take place in an atmosphere where there are no threats nor any compulsion to learn for the “correct” answer or to compete for the “best” interpretation.

Before using the this approach in classrooms, teachers should first introduce it. Teachers should discuss with their students the difference between “reading literature” and “reading for information”. Students should be consciously aware of their contribution to the text.

Sin order to implement this approach in literature classrooms, several activities and techniques have been used to implement the this: reading logs, response journal, writing prompt, critical questioning and writing, role-play, drama and letter-writing, narratives from another character’s point of view.

Although for over the past twenty-years there has been an emphasis on reading, recently, writing and the reading-writing connection have come into focus as an area of need.

Ways to use the strategy

Asking students to respond to a piece of text by writing a summary is nothing new. In fact, although there is a time and place for summarizing, it can become a bit boring if all assignments hold this requirement. Using the strategy of reader response can provide students with new ways to channel their thoughts and creativity.

Cultivating Reader Response for Fiction

When considering how to cultivate strong reader responses, Larry Lewin offers suggestions such as:

Begin talk-back assignments with short readings. Starting simple will allow time for students to get used to responding. Use short stories and poems. You may even consider using picture books.

Tap into students’ oral language strengths during pre-writing. Teachers can group students in pairs or trios so that they can talk about their thoughts and feelings regarding the given text..

Teach students to use reading-response tools. Strategies like sticky notes, columned-note strategies, or double-entry diaries can be used to assist students with what they think is important. This will also increase their comprehension during reading.

Explain the difference between a basic and an elaborate response. Teachers can help their students understand that basic writing can be brief and general, as well as detailed and specific.

Show students what is expected from their writing. Teachers should offer examples and remind students to provide evidence from the text.

Plan time for students to produce several drafts of their writing.
Students need to have many opportunities to review and reshape their own writing. That is why teachers should provide activities and time for them to do this and also to get used to doing this, as revision is often misunderstood.

Give specific assignments:

– Postcards

This is a very basic form or response allowing students to get used to writing, and it should not intimidate those who may feel overwhelmed. Although short, students should still analyze the text and provide quality feedback to the author.

– First have students orally point out the positives of the story.

– Next, have students orally describe any negatives.

– Then, remind students to consider their tone as they discuss the text.

– Finally, introduce a postcard example. Have students analyze it and begin their own.

Sample Postcard:

”Dear Mr. Poe,

When you wrote the Tell-Tale Heart, I couldn’t believe how scary it was to read. I loved every, frightening moment. I will say that part of the eye kinda made me sick. I would have preferred that you skipped that part or talked about how you heard him whispering or something. The nervousness of this man reminded me of my Dad before my sister was born…”

– Writing exercises:  this activity has a number of short writing exercises.  Students are asked to act out different characters in 3 ways: verbal, physically (movement, mime, etc.) and on paper. 

– Letter to the (Textbook) Editor

Students will benefit by writing about the content and format of their textbooks. In order to write a response, the student will need to understand the material quite well. The teacher or student will need to decide if they are going to write a letter rating the textbook, critiquing the textbook, or improving the textbook.

– Storyboarding. Before beginning any storyboarding activities, students should understand what makes a scene in a story or play. The length of the story chosen for this activity should depend upon the amount of time allowed for it. Teachers can have students divide a short story into scenes.  Students should create a title and a description for each scene. Now the students will be prepared and asked to create a storyboard for the story using their scenes.

Assessment

Assessing students for reader response products usually can take the form of a rubric or checklist. While the teacher rubric is valuable, creating a checklist to use with peer-or-self evaluations will offer students an insight into what is expected of them before the final proof gets to the teacher.

Traditional forms of assessment, particularly standardized multiple-choice tests, have expressed a need for alternative forms of assessment. Sometimes traditional tests neglect to evaluate the kinds of competence expressed in "real-life" situations beyond school. An informative assessment of authentic achievement should consist of tasks that meet at least three criteria: disciplined inquiry, integration of knowledge, and value beyond evaluation. Three types of assessment which they suggest fit those criteria are discrete competency tasks, exhibitions, and portfolios and profiles.

Portfolios may be broadly defined as a collection of representative samples of writing such as audio, video, and photographic recordings of performances and projects. Portfolios have long been used since the 1970s, with the influx of part-time older students in colleges and universities and this method assessment became a mechanism for the evaluation of prior learning of student sat all levels.

Conclusion

A way to motivate students to read literature is through better text selection. The most important criterion in text selection is probably students’ interest, but it does not mean that the texts have to be about teenagers’ issues only. Students’ response suggested that they would like to read about adventure, mysteries and life experience. As students come from different background, interest and abilities, the best option is to choose texts which vary in terms of genres, topics and language level. Genewrally, students are satisfied with the short stories but are less enthusiastic about the poems and novels and that is the reason why contemporary poems should be include dat least in optional courses.

As teachers play a big role in students’ education, they need to be properly trained and equipped with proper knowledge and skills to successfully accomplish their tasks. Firstly, teachers need to be taught how to read any text (not just those listed under the programme) independently and to be able to make their own interpretations of the texts by using critical thinking skills. They also need to address the cultural elements of texts, which if neglected might result in misunderstanding and limited participation from students. Perhaps another skill that teachers need to acquire is the ability to produce their own supplementary materials.

Instead of relying on the Ministry of Education or reference books for materials, teachers can learn how to get information through the internet for example and adapt them to suit their students’ proficiency level and interest. It is important to ensure that teachers are equipped with enough pedagogical content knowledge which influences classroom practices, which in turns affect students’ learning outcomes and achievement.

Using a variety of attractive teaching strategies is another way to improve students’ attitudes and teachers can encourage students to be more autonomous by using computers as well as the internet, guiding them in activities like researching information on the author’s background or the historical elements of the texts. Using multitasking tasks in groups for large classes enable students to rotate tasks so that they can try a variety of activities and work at their own pace.

CHAPTER IV

ENGLISH LANGUAGE SYLLABUS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL 2010

”TEACHING LITERATURE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL”

TEACHER: X

TYPE: Language and communication

GRADE: 8th

SCHOOL: Secondary School …

PERIOD: 1 year

HOURS A WEEK: 1

NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 18

into independent learners, to have confidence in their individual abilities.

General objectives:

Improving the listening skill

Improving the oral and written skills

Improving the oral and written skills

Improving the oral and written skills

Enhancing cultural representations, positive attitudes and showing interest towards British language and civilization

Core objectives and learning activities:

1. Improving the listening skill

By the end of 8th grade the student will be able to:

understand the main idea from a normal message

true/false exercises;

dual/multiple choice;

identify the main specific traits of various literary genres and types (poem/prose/drama);

identify key elements (who, what, when) from a normal discourse on a familiar theme

asking questions to understand the message;

true/false exercises;

dual/multiple choice;

using the dictionary to understand new words;

skimming exercises;

talking about images in descriptive texts;

identify and select specific information in a normal message/conversation

dual/multiple choice;

gap-filling;

transferring information in charts;

perform normally-uttered instructions

nonverbal answers to commands;

identifying unusual traits given to objects by the author (epithets);

recognizing hidden comparisons that give words anew significance (metaphor);

seizing repetition as an artistical means;

recognizing personifications;

Improving the speaking skills

By the end of 8th grade the student will be able to:

use a proper intonation in various communicative situations;

making own sentences with the new words and phrases;

narrating, using the sequence of events from a narrative text;

extracting the main ides;

making the abstract of a narrative text;

talking about characters and classifying them acording to specific features;

finding suggestive titles in a description;

dramatizing and role-play;

2.2 giving and asking information about familiar topics

– using phrases from studied texts in their own contexts;

– retelling sentences;

– changing contents of excerpts from studied literary texts;

– describing objects;

– writing verse son a given topic;

– doing group project activities;

– simulations;

2.3 express explicitely opinions/ explain likes/dislikes about people/events/things

– identifying the message from a literary text;

– reporting the message from a literary text to personal experience;

– seizing the educational value of literary texts;

– doing group project activities;

– dicussions/debates on interesting topics;

2.4 realize short presentations n familiar topics

– relating something in a group by borrowing peers’ ideas (sory-building);

– reporting the contents of a text;

– projects;

Improving the reading skill

By the end of 8th grade the student will be able to:

3.1 find the main ides in a text written on familiar topics

– true/false exercises;

– double/multiple choice exercises;

3.2 reading for gist a simple text

– true/false exercises;

– finding the gist;

– findind the value of a literary text;

– competitions on a given topic;

3.3 finding and extracting specific information from thematic lists, graphics, charts, etc;

– gap-filling;

– true/false exercises;

– double/multiple choice exercises;

– making helping worksheets;

3.4 infer the meaning of unknown sentences from a context

– matching words with corresponding definitions;

3.5 seize the connection between paragraphs of a short text, taking into account linking words (for chronological order, cause and effect, concession);

– ordering sentences in a text;

– ordering ideas from a logical point of view;

– ordering paragraphs;

4. Improving writing skills

By the end of 8th grade the student will be able to:

4.1. write a thankyou or an apology letter

– writing a letter to a character/author of a book

4.2 write a short text/report about an event or a personal experience according to a given plan;

– paragraph writing;

– writing answers to questions;

– using linking words to connect sentences;

4.3 writing simple functional texts (messages, announcements, instructions, e-mails)

– writing exercises (with(out) a model/plan);

– writing simple functional texts, base don a pattern;

relaring the contents of a text in an expressive way, as drawings, sketches, gestures, dramatizationa);

– changing the ending of a story;

– writing imaginary dialogues about topics from the literary text;

4.4 writing the description of a person/object/paced, starting from a plan or from helping questions;

– filling in with personal details;

– writing answers to questions;

– rewriting descriptions from texts texts with opposite-meaning words;

5. Enhancing cultural representations, positive attitudes and showing interest towards British language and civilization

By the end of 8th grade the student will be able to:

5.1 identify and compare language and cultural aspects between the native/Romanian civilization and the British one; select information about British culture

– projects;

– activities base don audio/video means;

– making list with ”false friends” and special phrases;

– thematic files (Factfiles).

Performance standards

Evaluation methods:

1.Reciting poems

2.Debates on the studied texts.

3.Making a portfolio (collections of images and worhsheets , essays produced during/after stdying literary texts).

4.Group projects.

5.Oral evaluation – remembering short fragments.

6.Written evaluation: tests, crosswords.

7.Artistic programmes, competitions.

8. Observation.

9. Peer evaluation.

Resources

Literature anthologies

Worksheets

Books for children

Literature websites

Textbooks

Story maps

Posters

Laptop

Class organization: lockstep, pair work, group work, individual work.

Expectations

1. Students will understand better literary texts and their educational message.

2. They will have improved oral and written skills.

3. They will shaow a positive attitude towards literary authors and books.

4. They will learn to love literature.

Contents

– use semi-modal verbs: dare, need, used to, ought to in the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms;

– use simple past verbs and past perfect verbs

– use phrasal verbs.

– present continuous;

– use -ing participle

– use the conditional sentences;

– use adjective suffixes: -y, -ly, -ish, -like, -some, -worthy, -able, -ible, -ive, -ful, -al, -ous;

– practise word building using affixes to change grammatical class:

– noun to adjective, e.g. help + ful, context-contextual;

– verb to noun, e.g. sing + er, demolish-demolition;

– adjective to adverb, e.g. quiet + ly, vague-vaguely;

– noun to verb, e.g. haste + n, gravity-gravitate;

– lexical fields (rivulet/river; peace/peaceful; song/songster, etc.); derived adjectives (peaceful, effulgent);

– the use of archaic words (thy, gligeth, abideth).

– to understand the educational value of morals

– to use narrative target language to produce an original fable

– to use (in)direct speech correctly

– to use adverbs and present participles correctly for extra information about the speaker

– to use subject-verb inversion correctly for dramatic emphasis

Bibliography

Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching. Third Edition Completely Revised and Updated, Edinburgh Gate, 2001, Longman, Pearson Education Limited

Matei-Delgiudice, Luminita, Teaching Literature. Tips for Teachers, Editura Ariadna ’98, Bucuresti, 2006

UNITS PLAN

LEARNING ACTIVITIES PLAN

Unit 1: An Alternative Cinderella

Hours: 3

Unit 2: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide

Hours: 4

Unit 3: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Hours: 4

Unit 4: "Terri and the Turkey" – Thanksgiving Day Play

Hours: 4

Unit 5: Fables

Hours: 4

Unit 6: Poetry

Hours: 7

Unit 7: A pourquoi tale

Hours: 5

Unit 8: Evaluation

Hours: 3

LESSON PLAN 1

Teacher: X

School:

Date: 28th May 2011

Grade: 8th

Number of pupils: 18

Topic: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on a novel by Roald Dahl

Grammar – Direct/Indirect speech, imperative sentences; verbs describing movement; simple past versus past perfect simple;

Vocabulary: Narrating events; sweets;

Type: Mixed

Communicative aims:

Listening for specific information

Talking about events and people

Aims:

to understand information from a video

to retell a story, recognizing the main events

to use simple past and past perfect simple correctly

to use adjectives to describe people, places and sweets

to use verbs of movement

Language functions:

– talking about people, places and things

– describing events

Time allowed: 50 minutes

Organization:

individual work, pairwork, group work, lockstep

Methods: conversation, observation, exercise, puzzle

Skills: Speaking/ Listening/ Reading /Writing

Aids: blackboard, worksheets, laptop, notebooks, posters

Bibliography:

Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman, 2000

Matei-Delgiudice, Luminita, Teaching Literature. Tips for Teachers, Editura Ariadna ’98, Bucuresti, 2006

Procedure:

1. Warm-up:

T asks several questions about weather and SS’ mood .SS are asked to close their books. Chatting in English at the beginning of the lesson, T creates an ‘English language’ atmosphere, establishing contact between her and SS, and helps SS to feel relaxed.

Ss listen to their teacher and communicate to their teacher.

Aim: to get Ss accustomed with the atmosphere of the lesson.

2. Lead-in: Pre-listeninging activity – brainstorming

T tries to energize the class. She asks Ss if they like sweets and what their favourite sweets are. Ss answer.

Aims: to prepare Ss for the following activities.

3. Listening activity:

T hands out one sheet to each student, asking them to scan them and to do the exercises after or while watching the movie. Then she plays a CD with the movie.

Ss watch and do the exercises.

After watching the movie, T checks to see if they were right and explains new words, where necessary.

Aim: to understand information from a video

4. Post-listening activity – the story map

T asks Ss to work in 7 groups, in order to find the right information to fill in the story map, which is in front of the class; each group has to look for a different issue: characters, setting, main events, etc. In the end the big story map will be complete.

Ss work in groups to fill in the map.

T writes unknown or difficult words on board, if necessary.

Aim: to retell a story, recognizing the main events.

5. Elicitation

T hands out the a different worksheet for individual and pair work. (see appendix 2)

Ss pay attention.

Aims: to use grammar and vocabulary correctly;

6. Pre-writing activity

T asks Ss to:

– circle the right word (exercise A on the worksheet)

– find the instructions Willy Wonka gives in each room (exercise B on the worksheet)

– write the names of miracle sweets in the factory

– find adjectives that refer to sweets and to people, making two lists

Aims: to use simple past and past perfect simple correctly; to use adjectives to describe people, places and sweets; to use verbs of movement.

7. Writing activity

T asks Ss to do exercises C and D on the worksheets individually; they have to unscramble mixed-up paragraphs in the charts and to write down in their notebooks the correct version.

Ss read and write down in their notebooks and T helps them if necessary.

Aims: to retell a story, recognizing the main events; to use simple past and past perfect simple correctly; to use adjectives to describe people, places and sweets; to use verbs of movement.

8. Post-writing activity – feed-back

T asks Ss to make a K-W-L chart and checks too see what they know, what they want to know and to learn.

Ss fill in the chart.

Then T asks them to retell the story, to fill in the character map in the appendix, point E and to make a poster for the classroom from the story.

Aims: to retell a story, recognizing the main events; to use simple past and past perfect simple correctly; to use adjectives to describe people, places and sweets; to use verbs of movement.

9. Giving homework

T asks Ss to retell the story and to talk about plot, characters and settings, using the information in class.

Aims: to retell a story, recognizing the main events; to use simple past and past perfect simple correctly; to use adjectives to describe people, places and sweets; to use verbs of movement.

10. Evaluation

T makes an overall appreciation of Ss’ work and gives them marks.

Worksheet

A. Circle the right word:

Charlie Bucket is poor/rich.

He lives in an old?comfortable house with his parents and his brothers/grandparents.

They always/never eat cabbage soup.

Five/Fifteen children have found the Golden Ticket so they are visiting Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

Willy Wonka is wearing a red jacket /dress and a top hat/cap.

Willy Wonka had a sad/nice childhood. His father was a doctor/dentist. Willy liked/didn’t like him. He was/wasn’t allowed to eat sweets and chocolates. One day Willy decided to run away.

B. Find the instructions Willy Wonka gives in each room:

C. Each character, except for Charlie, is dropped because of his/her flaws. Unscramble the information:

D. Unscramble the columns and write a paragraph about each character.

E. Make a character map

F. Make a story map.

LESSON PLAN 2

Teacher: X

School: …

Date: 28th May 2011

Grade: 8th

Number of pupils: 18

Topic: Aesop’s Fables

Grammar – Direct/Indirect speech, subject-verb inversion; -ing participles; verbs describing direct speech

Vocabulary: Narrating events; animals; morals

Type: Mixed

Communicative aims:

Talking about fables and morals

Relating events

Aims:

to understand the educational value of morals

to use narrative target language to produce an original fable

to use (in)direct speech correctly

to use adverbs and present participles correctly for extra information about the speaker

to use subject-verb inversion correctly for dramatic emphasis

Language functions:

– talking about morals

– describing events

Time allowed: 50 minutes

Organization:

individual work

pairwork

group work

lockstep

Methods:

conversation

observation

exercise

puzzle

Skills: Speaking/ Listening/ Reading /Writing

Aids: blackboard, worksheets, laptop

Bibliography:

Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman, 2000

Matei-Delgiudice, Luminita, Teaching Literature. Tips for Teachers, Editura Ariadna ’98, Bucuresti, 2006

Procedure:

Warm-up:

T asks several questions about weather and SS’ mood .SS are asked to close their books. Chatting in English at the beginning of the lesson, T creates an ‘English language’

atmosphere, establishing contact between her and SS, and helps SS to feel relaxed.

Ss listen to their teacher and communicate to their teacher.

Aim: to use (in)direct speech correctly

Lead-in: Pre-reading activity

T tries to energize the class. The ‘’Fable swap milling exercise” makes Ss retell their own fable several times; each repetition should gain in confidence and fluency and gives a chance to correct and elaborate. This step also allows exposure to the target language pinpointed later.

Aims: to use narrative target language to produce an original fable; to use (in)direct speech correctly

Reading activity:

T hands out one of the eight fables and one “Fable titles/morals” sheet to each student, folding the latter so only the titles are showing. After that T asks Ss if they know what a fable is and if they have heard of Aesop’s Fables. T should give Ss necessary time to understand and memorise the fable.

Ss mill and tell their fable to every other student, hearing one and ticking it off their titles list in return.

Aim: to use narrative target language to produce an original fable

4. Post-reading activity

T asks Ss to sit down in pairs and unfold their sheet to match the tales heard with the morals listed, giving them enough time for discussion.

Ss. unfold papers and match.

Aim: to understand the educational value of morals

Elicitation

T explains the stories read well partly due to certain language features in them. After that (s)he hands out the Analysis worksheet for individual and pair work. (see sheet)

Ss pay attention.

Aims: to use grammar and vocabulary correctly;

6. Pre-writing activity

T asks Ss to:

– underline all the verbs that describe the direct speech of the animals in the fables’

– find two examples of adverbs which describe a manner of speaking in the fables;

– find three examples of present participles (-ing verbs) which describe what the speaker is doing at the same time, working in groups of 3;

Ss work in groups and find the answers.

Aim: to use adverbs and present participles correctly for extra information about the speaker; to use subject-verb inversion correctly for dramatic emphasis

Writing activity – puzzle

T asks Ss to work in 4 groups; each group has to find:

– five examples of subject-verb inversions in a conditional phrase

– five examples of subject-verb inversions after direct speech

– five examples of subject-verb inversions after “so+adjective”

– five examples of subject-verb inversions which need subject-verb inversion.

Then, each group has to write on board his example, so that the whole class can write all examples in their notebooks;

Ss work in groups and write down. T explains and corrects them, if necessary.

Aim: to use adverbs and present participles correctly for extra information about the speaker; to use subject-verb inversion correctly for dramatic emphasis.

Post-reading activity – feed-back

T asks Ss to choose some animals and one of the three morals in order to sketch their own fable. (see the appendix). T asks them if a fable would have an educational value without amoral.

Ss write down.

Aim: to use narrative target language to produce a fable; to understand the educational value of morals

Giving homework

T asks Ss to write fables based on the ideas and exercises in class.

Aims: to use (in)direct speech correctly.

9. Evaluation

T makes an overall appreciation of Ss’ work and gives them marks.

Worksheet

A. Tick the stories off as you hear them:

The Lion and the mouse; The Crow and the Pitcher; The Cock and the Fox; The Wolf and His Shadow;The Hare and the Tortoise; The Eagle and the Cocks; The Fox and the Crow; The Dog and His Reflection.

B. Match the morals of the stories below to the titles above:

a. People who work slowly and carefully often work better than people who work quickly but are careless.

b. A way can always be found if you make up your mind to fiind it.

c. People sometimes say nice things to you just to get something they want for themselves.

d. If you rightly own a good thing be sure you do not lose it for something you are not certain about.

e. Do not be too proud of yourself.

f. Even the smallest may fiind a way to help.

g. Do not let vanity make you careless.

h. Other folks can play tricks as well as you.

C. After reading the fables, give one adjective to describe the character of each of the animals portrayed. Tell you partner the adjective and say why you chose it.

– Underline all the verbs that describe the direct speech of the animals in the fables.

– Fiind two examples of adverbs which describe a manner of speaking in the fables.

– Fiind three examples of present participles (-ing verbs) which describe what the speaker is doing at the same time.

D. Underline:

– five examples of subject-verb inversions in a conditional phrase

– five examples of subject-verb inversions after direct speech

– five examples of subject-verb inversions after “so+adjective”

– five examples of subject-verb inversions which need subject-verb inversion.

E. Choose one of these three possible morals from imaginary fables:

1. Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

2. Do not believe all that you are told.

3. By changing your appearance you cannot change your nature.

Write a fable to illustrate the moral.

"Terri and the Turkey" – Thanksgiving Day Play

By Wade Bradford

Anyone can use this short play for educational purposes.

Stage Right: The humble home of Grandpa and Grandpa.

Stage Left: The animal pen.

Narrator: Thanksgiving. A time of joy and celebration. Of food, relaxation, and family. A day beloved by everyone. Everyone that is except… Tom Turkey!

(A Turkey named Tom walks on stage left, flapping his wings.)

Tom: Gobble, gobble!

On stage right, Grandma and Grandpa enter. Tom listens to them as they speak.

GRANDMA: I mashed the potatoes, I crammed the cranberries, I yammed the yams, and now it’s time for you to do what you always do on Thanksgiving Day.

GRANDPA: Watch football?

GRANDMA: No! It’s time to prepare the turkey.

TOM: Prepare? That doesn’t sound so bad.

GRANDMA: Prepare? That’s such hard work! I have to pluck the feathers.

TOM: Ow!

GRANDPA: And pull out the innards.

TOM: Eek!

GRANDPA: And toss him in the oven.

TOM: Oh my!

GRANDMA: But don’t forget. First you must chop off his head.

TOM: (Grabs his neck, fearful.) And all this time I thought I was going to be the guest of honor. (PIG enters.) I’ve got to get out of here! These people are going to eat me!

PIG: Oink, oink. Welcome to my world, buddy.

GRANDPA: Well, I guess I better get busy.

A happy couple, Mom and Dad, enter.

MOM and DAD: Hi Grandpa!

MOM: Happy Thanksgiving.

DAD: Is there anything we can do to help?

GRANDPA: I’m glad you asked that. Go out back and chop off the turkey’s head.

DAD: Oh. I was hoping you would have me set the table.

GRANDPA: Too bad. Get chopping!

MOM: Be brave dear.

DAD: But honey, you know the sight of blood makes me queasy.

MOM: I’m needed in the kitchen.

DAD: Well, sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do–

(A son and a daughter (Terri) enter.)

DAD: Make his kids do the work.

SON: Hey Dad, is dinner ready yet?

DAD: Son, this is a very special Thanksgiving because I’m giving you a very special responsibility. I need you to chop off the turkey’s head.

SON: Gross!

DAD: And while you’re at it, pluck the feathers, take out the innards, and give it to Grandma to put in the oven.

SON: But – but – but…

DAD: Have fun, son.

The son turns to Terri, who has been engrossed in a book.

SON: Terri! Hey bookworm! Did you hear what Dad just said to me?

TERRI: No, I was too busy reading my history book.

SON: You mean you didn’t hear a single word Dad said?

TERRI: No. What did he say?

SON: He wants you to kill the turkey.

He pushes her toward the animal pen, then exits. Note: All of the other human characters have cleared the stage too.

TERRI: Well, I guess if we want a turkey dinner, someone has to do it.

Optional: She picks up a prop ax – make sure its something safe.

TERRI: (Approaching Tom) Sorry, Mr. Turkey. The time has come.

TOM: I – I – I feel faint!

The turkey starts to sway back and forth. He falls to the ground.

TERRI: Oh no! I think he’s having a heart attack!

GRANDMA: (Entering.) Who’s having a heart attack?

TERRI: (Checking the turkey’s pulse.) He doesn’t have a pulse.

GRANDPA: (Entering.) I don’t have a pulse?

TERRI: Not you, Grandpa. The turkey!

DAD and MOM enter.

DAD: Terri, what are you doing?

TERRI: CPR. I learned it in health class.

MOM: She’s such a good student.

SON: (Entering.) What the heck is going on?

TERRI: I think it’s working. Live, Mr. Turkey! Live!!!

(Optional: If you want to get really silly with this skit, the actress can pretend to use a defibrillator.)

TOM: (Coming back to life.) Gobble gobble!

MOM: You did it honey!

DAD: You saved his life.

TERRI: Yep. Now I guess I better cut off his head.

GRANDMA: Now wait, child. It just doesn’t seem right.

TERRI: You know, according to my history book, presidents such as Harry Truman and John Kennedy have spared the lives of their turkeys. And since 1989, the White House has been granting a presidential pardon to each live turkey that is presented to the president. Maybe this year we could do the same kind of thing.

GRANDMA: I think that’s a lovely idea. After all, one of the many things we should be thankful for is simply how many families have been able to have wonderful Thanksgiving dinners all because of this noble bird. Besides we have many other delicious foods we can eat. Yams, cranberries, freshly made bread, and mashed potatoes.

GRANDPA: That’s right, Grandma. Now, who’s up for some pork chops?

PIG: (Feeling faint.) I gotta get out of here!

The End.

CONCLUSION

Literature plays an important role in the English programs of many countries. However, there are some problems encountered by language teachers within the area of teaching English through literature. First, there are very few pedagogically-designed appropriate materials that can be used by language teachers in a middle-school classroom. Second, there is a lack of preparation in the area of literature teaching in TEFL programs. Third, there is the absence of clear-cut objectives defining the role of literature in EFL. Many teachers try to include literature in their middle-school classroom, but lack the background and training in that field. In this sense, one suitable way is to teach literature within an optional class.

The teacher has an important role in teaching English through literature. First, he should determine the aim of language teaching in relation to the needs and expectations of the students. In the meantime, he should select the appropriate language teaching methods, teaching techniques, and classroom activities. Then, the teacher should select the literary texts relevant to the aim and the objectives of his teaching. While selecting literary texts to be used in language classroom, the students’ language proficiency, interests, age, sex, should be taken into acount in order not to bore students with inappropriate materials. At lower levels, for example, students should be given simplified or specially written stories. At advanced levels, however, students can be given excerpts of literature in their initial form so that they can develop their literary competence in the target language. To put it another way, students learn practically the figurative and daily use of the target language in the literary texts and encounter different genres of literature (poems, short stories, plays) at advanced levels. Observing how characters in a play or a short story use figures of speech, such as simile, metaphor, metonomy, so as to express their communicative intention, students learn how to write English more clearly and more creatively.

For al teachers, the aim is for students to acquire a native-like competence in English, express their ideas in good English, learn the features of modern English, to learn how the English linguistic system is used for communication, to see how idiomatic expressions are used, speak clearly, precisely, and concisely, and to become more proficient in English, as well as become creative, critical, and analytical learners. More than that, literature can open horizons of possibility, allowing students to question, interpret, connect, and explore. In sum, literature provides students with an incomparably rich source of authentic material over a wide range of registers. If students can gain access to this material by developing literary competence, later they can effectively internalize the language at a high level. Especially, for students with linguistic intelligence, the language teacher’s using literature in a foreign language class serves for creating a highly motivating, amusing and lively lesson.

Literature is not only a tool for developing the written and oral skills of the students in the target language but also is a window opening into the culture of the target language, building up a cultural competence in students and in this respect, the present work hopes it has given useful directions. For instance, literature can teach students about the cultural and historical aspects of the society in which it was produced. Through the study of a nation’s literature, anyone can better understand its culture. However, it is important to remember that literature does not necessarily represent the author’s nationality or country accurately, due to its fictional nature. Students should be explained that Charles Dickens portraits life in Victorian London as an example, but he distorts on the reality to produce characters which are often pure in their evilness or intrinsic goodness and living conditions which go to extremes to highlight the differences between poverty and wealth. Although such contrasts may have existed, the reality has been exaggerated to produce a successfully entertaining novel. Moreover, using literature with students may enable them to gain useful and often surprising perceptions about how the members of a society might describe or evaluate their experiences. Anyway, children’s literature plays an important role in cognitive and linguistic development, providing both the opportunity of improving skills and of encountering in a non-threatening way a diversity of possible perspectives on philosophical issues, worldviews, social ideas, and cultural practices. For instance, stories develop in children an understanding about other cultures, respect for others and other cultures, they help children develop critical thinking and making a judgement about things and happening and actions of people, ideas and so on. Fairy tales are the ideal for linking material familiar in the UK to stories from around the world because they are all links to our past and they’re universal in nature. If a students in Europe reads a Native American folk tale, he or she will still be able to relate to it because the underlying themes between folk tales of all cultures are the same. All ancient cultures have creation tales, mythic heroes, and legends in their literature. Storytelling is an ancient art form that brings stories to life and helps children understand the world around them a little better.
As far as fables and myths are concerned, although they are part of our literary heritage, students may not appreciate their didacticism, but they can be made to see the universal morals they illustrate. Students are willing to apply moral lessons to others so long as they see themselves as occupying a superior moral position. Legends are the “superheroes” of literature: King Arthur and Robin Hood are two examples of legends, based on real people who lived in a different time and place. Johnny Appleseed is a good example of an American legend, just like John Brown. Although these people really lived and although the stature they’ve been given in books is something no mortal person could ever live up to, they may encourage students to study history, they can teach them about courage, loyalty, sacrifice, providing thus students’ characters with moral values that nowadays society does not encourage any more. Contemporary realistic fiction is very useful for students as it presents problems that could be from anybody's life such as family situations, peer relationships, growth and maturity, and acceptance of cultural differences. Thus, students need to read this kind of fiction because it gives them a sense of not being alone, a sense that someone else is going through the same thing. In this case, teachers should pay attention to the use of such books within an optional class at school and to the way they handle their topics. The human conflicts, moral dilemmas or social issues communicated in plays engage students in facing real everyday situations.

Literature can do much for children as it expands horizons and instills in children a sense of the wonderful complexity of life. No other pastime available to children is so conducive to empathy and the enlargement of human sympathies and no other pleasure can so richly furnish a child’s mind with the symbols, patterns, depths, and possibilities of civilisation. For each community, language is a badge of identity and a means of discovering the world, and one of the main vectors of cultural diversity. Literature helps student to grow as individuals as well as in their relationships with the people and institutions around them, which is a crucial part of an education that might not be offered by the textbooks.

From these various discussions, we can conclude that the use of literature yields many benefits, as literature can educate the whole person, sharpen linguistic and cognitive skills and help students understand human condition more deeply.

APPENDIX 1

A practical activity on poetry

Teaching procedures:

I. Vocabulary

According to research, vocabulary is the main reading problem for second language learners (Mckinley, 1974). This is not surprising, considering the extensive English lexicon. Thus, to prepare students for a poem, the teacher should define vocabulary items critical to understanding the text as a whole. However, only the most critical items need to be taught in advance. Students should be encouraged to use context clues to derive meaning by themselves. Besides that, it is necessary to allow the students to practice the pronunciation and usage.

In teaching the poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” the teacher should give the meanings of glade, cricket, and glimmer to students beforehand, for these words form very important images in this poem which may affect the students’ appreciation of it.

Definition of Vocabulary:

glade: open space in a forest

cricket: small brown jumping insect that makes a shrill sound by rubbing its front wings together

glimmer: weak faint unsteady light

Then, the meanings of arise, hive, linnet, lapping, pavement, and core can be guessed:

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

(Students can get the meaning of arise from the phrase arise and go.)

Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,

(The phrase honey bee indicates the meaning of hive.)

And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

(From the word wings, students can define the word linnet as a kind of bird.)

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

(By using their schema, students can easily know lapping is the action of lake water.)

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

(The words roadway and grey can be connected with pavement.)

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

(The meaning of core can be guessed by deep heart.)

II. Grammar

Grammatical complexity does not seem as a great problem as vocabulary in reading to students. As a result, the key to dealing with grammatical structures is to clarify them when encountered. They should be analyzed within the reading to facilitate and thereby deepen the students’ understanding of the material (Stern,1991), and at last to enhance their writing ability. Sometimes, grammatical irregularities occur in poems; the teacher can forewarn students to pay more attention to them and try to work on their own to see what they can make of it.

In teaching poems, restructuring and simplifying can help students master the irregularities and unfamiliar grammatical structures.

Restructuring

Nine bean rows will I have there,

→ I will have nine bean rows there. (The unusual front of the noun in the beginning is to emphasize what the poet has. It may be small but important to him.)

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;

→ And a small cabin made of clay and wattles builds there. (The ungrammatical division of the adjective clause is to impress the readers with the picture, where there is no other building except the small cabin.)

Simplification

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;

→ I will arise and go to Innisfree now, where a small cabin of clay and wattles is build.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

→ And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slowly from morning till night.

III. Reading

(A) The experience of poetry

In teaching poetry, the reader response theory is an effective approach to keep the students interested in the text (Maxwell, 1993). In Taiwan, most students feel afraid of reading poems for lack of touch with it. Thus, to evoke their feeling about poems, the teacher’s job is to get rid of their fear and create a relationship between poems and them. The first step of teaching should be about the experience of poetry.

In teaching a poem, the teacher can ask the following questions after the first reading:

Is there any place you desire for?

What do you yearn for in life?

It is easy for students to think of what they really wish because of the strong emotion expressed in the poem. Teenagers as they are, they are under heavy pressure from their family and society. Traditionally, they are expected to do well in studies; it means that they have to cram a lot of books and take a lot of tests to prepare for the Joint College Entrance Exam. Most of them feel unhappy, but they accept the fact as their responsibility to their family. Anyway, they must have some dreams in their minds just like the author, who lives in a big city but longs for the peaceful country life.

(B) The interpretation of poetry

After the previous reading and discussion, the teacher can lead the students to learn more about the poem. This further interpretation should rely on our intellectual comprehension and rational analysis rather than on our emotional response.

In “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” the author uses many visual and sound images to express his longing for returning to nature. The teacher can inspire students to read the poem more slowly and carefully to find them and form the connections:

Visual Images: a small cabin, nine bean rows, the various scenes from morning till night.

Sound Images: bee, cricket, linnet, water lapping.

In more details, the teacher can indicate the following phrases to students:

the veils of morning: Veil means a covering by women to protect or hide the face, and here, it means Morning opens her face from the darkness. It becomes a process of daybreak.

where the cricket sings: As we know, crickets sing only at night, so the phrase vividly refers to the abstract noun—night.

midnight’s all a glimmer: The definition of glimmer is weak faint unsteady light. Thus, it implies the twinkling stars in the sky.

and noon a purple glow: Originally, purple is the color of scarlet, so that it means the sun shines brightly at noon.

and evening full of the linnet’s wings: Birds use the wings to fly, so the author tries to describe the scene that the linnets are flying to their nests in the evening.

IV. Writing

Poetry can be a rich and inspiring source for writing in EFL. The teacher can use it as a model or as subject matter in guiding students to practice writing.

Reproducing the poem

The teacher can ask students to rewrite the poem in narration. Students should describe the poem in their own words. Here is an example.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

”I wish I could go to Innisfree now. Innisfree is my dreamland. If I go there, I’d like to grow some beans and have a hive for bees, for the busy bees can keep me company in the beautiful place. Here, I could enjoy peace by myself and admire the various scenes from morning till night. In the morning, I could see the daybreak; at night, I could hear the crickets singing; at midnight, I could watch the star twinkling in the sky. At noon, I could feel the sun shining brightly, and in the evening, I could watch a great number of linnets flying to nest.

How I wish I could go to Innisfree right now. I think of it every day and night. Sometimes, when I stand on the roadway, or on the grey payment, I can hear the lake water lapping softly by the shore in my heart”.

Imitation

This is the most advanced stage of model-based writing. However, it will be interesting for students to imitate the pattern of the poem and write their own one. In the beginning, the teacher can give them a cloze test, but different from the real test, there is no correct answer. Here is the example.

”I will arise and go now, and go to ,

And there, of made;

will I have there, a for the ,

And I live alone in the .

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from to ;

There midnight’s all , and noon a ,

And evening full of .

I will arise and go now, for always night and day,

I hear ;

While I stand on the road way, or on the payments grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core”.

Besides that, the teacher may ask students to create their own poems freely. Students can follow the pattern of the original poem, or just use the same theme. However, creating a poem is difficult. Before assigning the kind of practice, the teacher should estimate carefully the students’ abilities.

Writing on the poem

Writing on the poem includes the traditional assignments—written responses to questions, in-class essays, and take-home compositions (Stern, 1991). Such assignments may be appropriate for all students. As with reading, questions and topics for writing can be found at all three levels of literary understanding. First, the literal level can be for short writings dealing with comprehension of the poem. Second, the inferential level can be writing topics requiring analysis. Third, the personal level can be the basis for essays in which students express their personal reactions to the poem and comments about it.

The literal level

What is the cabin made of?

What will the poet have in Innisfree?

The inferential level

How many insects and birds are found in the poem? Do they have any special meanings?

Try to find the visual images used by the poet, and explain them.

The personal level

What do you yearn for in life?

If you yearn for some place, what kind of place is it?

V. Oral reading

Poetry is distinguished from other kinds of literature by its sound and rhythm. Thus, the teacher should make good use of this characteristic in teaching language. The teacher may play a tape or read the poem himself in class to make listening comprehension. Or he may have students read the poem aloud to practice pronunciation and rhythm. Having students read poems aloud helps develop not only speaking but also listening ability.

As a conclusion, poems can serve as excellent material in language teaching as long as the teacher knows how to make the utmost of it. If the teacher can adapted the integrated approaches presented in this article to teach the poems in the textbooks, students will be stimulated not only to take an interest in language learning but also to love literature. As a teacher, we should not neglect the benefits literature offers. After all, besides teaching English, we expect the students to be a lifelong reader after leaving school, which is our responsibility and ultimate goal.

APPENDIX 2

A practical activity: Story Story

This game is based on a similar one called "Story Story Die" and it is suitable for middle school students.

How to Play

The group sits in a semi-circle around the acting area. The teacher must establish an order of play, as in a board game, so everyone will know whose "turn" it is. The first player takes her place in the acting area. The second player begins to tell a story. The first player must act out the story as fully as possible, in whatever seems the best way. This can involve playing more than one character, using props–whatever she thinks will work best and with whatever limits the leader may choose to impose. When this has gone on for a minute or so, the leader rings a bell. The first person sits down. The second person enters the acting space. The third person continues the story exactly where the second person left off, and the second person must now act it out. After a minute or so, another bell, and another rotation. Continue until the story concludes or seems to peter out, or until everyone has had several turns as storyteller and as actor.

The beauty of the order of play is that each person must be the "actor" immediately after being the "narrator." This tends to prevent people from deliberately inserting difficult or embarrassing details to trip up the actor, since they know they will soon be on the receiving end.

Variations

The teacher can put any sort of limits or guidelines on any part of the game. For example, the teacher could insist that the story "make sense" or that it be "serious." Sometimes he/she can allow the use of a set store of props and costumes, while other times he/she requires that everything be pantomimed. Students can play a version of this game in which they write instead of speaking. Each person begins a play, and when the bell rings (usually after three or four minutes) everyone passes her paper to the right, reads the new play and continues where it leaves off. After about three or four passes, the teacher tells them to find a way to bring the play to a close. Then we share the results. Lots of fun, and it helps reinforce the idea that sometimes it is helpful and fun to write even if you are not "inspired."

Other activities for teaching drama

♦ Teachers can also create a drama adaptation, working as a pair, select a scene or scenes in a story or novel or an entire story and adapt to a play with only dialogue and stage directions.  When they have completed the adaptation, they can read it aloud to the entire class, each of them assuming one or more of the characters’ roles.

♦ Teachers can create dialogue for two characters.  Working as a pair, they can create two characters, give them names, and put them in a situation or scene, then create about 10 – 14 lines of dialogue for the two characters, including an initial description of the situations or scene and finally read aloud your dialogue to the class, each of them assuming one of the character’s roles.

♦ Teachers can devise a drama unit by selecting a play and developing a unit for teaching that play.  They can include activities that involve making inferences about characters’ traits, beliefs, attitudes, agendas based solely on their dialogue, activities involving study of stage directions and play production so that students could envision how they would produce a play and having students perform parts of the play in small or large groups. 

♦ Shakespearean language. Based on their reading of a Shakespeare play, teachers can have students create their some dialogue or insults using iambic pentameter or other uses of figurative language and have students perform their dialogue or insults in the class.

►Other methods

Trust Work builds on and increases safe space for a feeling of trust and community to grow in the class.  These activities help youth get to know each other through physical and verbal activities. 

Students will read together the handouts Trust Work and then follow the workshop guide.  They will be able to choose from the following activities: Trust Circle, Trust Falls , Blind, Find your Mother like a Little Penguin, Glass Cobra, Circle Height, Falling, Tour of a Place

Storytelling: with writing activity (teacher facilitated)

This activity works best following a very physical activity.  Students can choose a partner, tell him any story, give the story a beginning, middle and end, and details.  Each person will have 3-5 minutes.  After both people are finished give the students 5 minutes to write down the other persons story and tell the person back their own story. 

Bridge Work starts to introduce more traditionally theatrical methods to thegroup.  These activities help prepare students’ imaginations for improvisational work.  This is not traditional stilted role-play but instead a process that continues to create a safe space for dialogue and creative energy.   It helps students begin to think about their issues and concerns in preparation for creating scenes. Students will read together the handouts on Bridge Work and then follow the workshop guide.  They will be able to choose from the following activities: Environment, Two Revelations, Complete the Image, Sculpting, Monologue work.

Values Clarification: with writing activity (teacher facilitated)

This is a silent game. Everyone sits in one part of the room facing the largest open space.  They have their writing portfolios with them.  In the open space are signs that say: Agree, Disagree, and Unsure.  The Teacher reads a statement and students move to the sign that expresses their view.  Statements are written by the teacher to be appropriate for the age group and community.  After everyone has chosen, students are given 2 minutes to write in their portfolios why they made their choice.  After all the statements have been read students will gather into a circle and discuss each statement and their beliefs.  After this discussion students will be given 10 minutes of writing time to revise or reinforce their choices in the portfolio.

Group work

The teacher can put children into four groups, give each group a prediction/ending to work on, (e.g. Mrs Sparrow might give the gerbils away; the original owner of the gerbils might return;

the gerbils are attacked by a cat; Peggy decides to set the gerbils free.) and ask groups to talk about how likely their ending might be, using the clues from the story so far. Each group can be given a set of prompts to aid discussion, adapted if necessary to the specific scenario.

• How might this (scenario) happen?

• Would any member of the family be pleased if this happened?

• What would happen next?

• How would Sid and Amy react?

• How might the story end?

• Could this ending be classed as a disaster?

After 15 minutes of group activity, the teacher can ask groups to appoint two spokespeople to report their discussion to the rest of the class and give time for the rest of the group to prepare feedback, using the prompts as a guide.

Talking with Puppets – Encourages discussion and questioning skills through the use of puppets.

Speaking Non-Sense – Lets children practice their public speaking in the privacy of their own classroom.

Now Who's the Teacher? – A fun way of reinforcing what children have learnt throughout the week.

Interviews – A number of ideas for how to organize interviewing in the classroom.

Why do you Like it? – An enjoyable way of encouraging children to support their own opinions.

Copy Me – A simple drama activity, which is good for team building and developing observational skills.

Character Acting – A great way of encouraging children to think more about characters in stories.

Learning from Talking Books – Use technology and talking books to support your Literacy teaching.

Film Making – A wonderful way for children to work together in a wide variety of subjects.

Drama Sound Effects – Download a number of free sound effects which can be used in a variety of classroom and school activities.

Magic Pen – Useful time-filler activity in which the class creates a story together.

Story Circles – An enjoyable way of generating some stories around your class.

Describing Pictures – A fun activity which increases describing (and listening) skills.

Poetry theatre includes poems that can be acted as plays

REFERENCES

Primary sources

Arghezi, Tudor – Selected poems of Tudor Arghezi, translated by Michael Impey and Brian Swann, Princeton, c1976, N.J. : Princeton University Press, The Lockert library of poetry intranslation Carle, Eric, A Very Hungry Carterpillar, New York, 1987, Penguin Young Readers Group

Dahl, Roald, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, New York, 1998, Puffin Books.

Dayrell, Elphinstone and Lent, Blair, Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky, New York, 1996, Houghton Mifflin Company

Ilaș, Ioan, Engleza distractivă, Iași, 1991, Casa Editorială Regina

Caroll, Lewis, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, New York, 1866, D. Appleton and Co. , 445, Broadway

Perrault, Charles, Old-Time Stories told by Master Charles Perrault, translated by A. E. Johnson, New York, 1921, Dodd Mead and Company.

Stevenson, Robert Louis, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Edinburgh, 2004, Edinburgh University Press Ltd

Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, New York, 1986, Penguin Books Ltd.

Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, New York, 1981, Bantam Dell

Walker, Brenda, Popescu, Horia Florian, In Celebration of Mihai Eminescu, Bucharest, 2007, Forest Books

William B Yeats, The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, New York, 2006, Cambridge University Press

Tiger Caroline, The Classic Treasury Of Aesop's Fables, Fairfield, 1999, Courage Books

Secondary sources

Brumfit, C.J.and Carter, R.A., Literature and Language Teaching. Oxford, 1996, Oxford University Press.

Collie, J. & Slater, S., Literature in the language classroom: a resource book of ideas and activities. Cambridge, 1994, Cambridge University Press

Dutescu, Dan, Engleza fara professor, Bucuresti,2001, Editura Teora

Francis' Collected Poems, published by the University of Massachusetts Press, appeared in 1976

Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching. Third Edition Completely Revised and Updated, Edinburgh Gate, 2001, Longman, Pearson Education Limited

Jones, A, Performing the body: performing the text. London, 1999, Routledge

Larry Lewin, Reading Response That Really Matters To Middle Schoolers, New York, 2006, Scholastic Professional Books

Lazar, Gillian. Literature and Language Teaching: A guide for teachers and trainers. New York, 1993, Cambridge University Press

Maley, A & Duff, A. The inward ear: poetry in the language classroom. Cambridge, 1989, Cambridge University Press

Matei-Delgiudice, Luminita, Teaching Literature. Tips for Teachers, Editura Ariadna ’98, 2006, Bucuresti

Frye, Northrop, The Educated Imagination. Bloomington, 1968, IN: Indiana University Books

Romanian syllabus, PROGRAMĂ ȘCOLARĂ REVIZUITĂ LIMBA ENGLEZĂ, CLASELE V-VIII, LIMBA MODERNA , Aprobat prin ordinul ministrului Nr. 4877/22.07.2008 BUCUREȘTI

Rosenblatt, L. ‘The transactional theory of literary work: implications for research’. In C.R. Cooper (Ed.) Researching response to literature and the teaching of literature. Norwood, 1985, NJ: Ablex.

Celce-Murcia, Marianne (Ed.) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Boston, Massachusetts, 1991, Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

Stevick, E. Teaching and Learning Languages. Cambridge, 1982, Cambridge University

Press.

Tomlinson, C. M., & Lynch-Brown, Essentials of Children’s Literature. Boston, 1996/2002, Allyn and Bacon.

Widdowson, H.G. Practical Stylistics, Oxford, 1992, Oxford University Press.

Sites

Murat Hișmanoğlu , Teaching English Through Literature, in Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, Vol.1, No.1, April 2005, at http://www.learningdomain.com/MEdHOME/TESL/LITERmaterials.html, accessed on 28th July, at 10:34 p.m.

Nancy Anderson, associate professor in the College of Education at the University of South Florida in Tampa, "Biography of Nancy A. Anderson, EdD, at http://www.nancyaanderson.com/, accessed on June 4th 2010, 10:12a.m.

Wade Bradford, "Terri and the Turkey" – Thanksgiving Day Play , About.com Guide, at

http://plays.about.com/od/oneactplaysandscenes/a/turkey.htm, accessed on 4th August, 2010, 11:a.m.

Copp, Linda A., Kids Poems, at http://www.sunniebunniezz.com/poetry/poetpage.htm, accessed on 26th July, at 9:12 a.m.

http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=1689 –Copyright from The Collected Poems of W B Yeats edited by Richard J Finneran (Macmillan 1991), reprinted by permission of A P Watt Ltd on behalf of Michael B Yeats

REFERENCES

Primary sources

Arghezi, Tudor – Selected poems of Tudor Arghezi, translated by Michael Impey and Brian Swann, Princeton, c1976, N.J. : Princeton University Press, The Lockert library of poetry intranslation Carle, Eric, A Very Hungry Carterpillar, New York, 1987, Penguin Young Readers Group

Dahl, Roald, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, New York, 1998, Puffin Books.

Dayrell, Elphinstone and Lent, Blair, Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky, New York, 1996, Houghton Mifflin Company

Ilaș, Ioan, Engleza distractivă, Iași, 1991, Casa Editorială Regina

Caroll, Lewis, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, New York, 1866, D. Appleton and Co. , 445, Broadway

Perrault, Charles, Old-Time Stories told by Master Charles Perrault, translated by A. E. Johnson, New York, 1921, Dodd Mead and Company.

Stevenson, Robert Louis, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Edinburgh, 2004, Edinburgh University Press Ltd

Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, New York, 1986, Penguin Books Ltd.

Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, New York, 1981, Bantam Dell

Walker, Brenda, Popescu, Horia Florian, In Celebration of Mihai Eminescu, Bucharest, 2007, Forest Books

William B Yeats, The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, New York, 2006, Cambridge University Press

Tiger Caroline, The Classic Treasury Of Aesop's Fables, Fairfield, 1999, Courage Books

Secondary sources

Brumfit, C.J.and Carter, R.A., Literature and Language Teaching. Oxford, 1996, Oxford University Press.

Collie, J. & Slater, S., Literature in the language classroom: a resource book of ideas and activities. Cambridge, 1994, Cambridge University Press

Dutescu, Dan, Engleza fara professor, Bucuresti,2001, Editura Teora

Francis' Collected Poems, published by the University of Massachusetts Press, appeared in 1976

Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching. Third Edition Completely Revised and Updated, Edinburgh Gate, 2001, Longman, Pearson Education Limited

Jones, A, Performing the body: performing the text. , 1999, Routledge

Larry Lewin, Reading Response That Really Matters To Middle Schoolers, New York, 2006, Scholastic Professional Books

Lazar, Gillian. Literature and Language Teaching: A guide for teachers and trainers. New York, 1993, Cambridge University Press

Maley, A & Duff, A. The inward ear: poetry in the language classroom. Cambridge, 1989, Cambridge University Press

Matei-Delgiudice, Luminita, Teaching Literature. Tips for Teachers, Editura Ariadna ’98, 2006, Bucuresti

Frye, Northrop, The Educated Imagination. Bloomington, 1968, IN: Indiana University Books

Romanian syllabus, PROGRAMĂ ȘCOLARĂ REVIZUITĂ LIMBA ENGLEZĂ, CLASELE V-VIII, LIMBA MODERNA , Aprobat prin ordinul ministrului Nr. 4877/22.07.2008 BUCUREȘTI

Rosenblatt, L. ‘The transactional theory of literary work: implications for research’. In C.R. Cooper (Ed.) Researching response to literature and the teaching of literature. Norwood, 1985, NJ: Ablex.

Celce-Murcia, Marianne (Ed.) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Boston, Massachusetts, 1991, Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

Stevick, E. Teaching and Learning Languages. Cambridge, 1982, Cambridge University

Press.

Tomlinson, C. M., & Lynch-Brown, Essentials of Children’s Literature. Boston, 1996/2002, Allyn and Bacon.

Widdowson, H.G. Practical Stylistics, Oxford, 1992, Oxford University Press.

Sites

Murat Hișmanoğlu , Teaching English Through Literature, in Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, Vol.1, No.1, April 2005, at http://www.learningdomain.com/MEdHOME/TESL/LITERmaterials.html, accessed on 28th July, at 10:34 p.m.

Nancy Anderson, associate professor in the College of Education at the University of South Florida in Tampa, "Biography of Nancy A. Anderson, EdD, at http://www.nancyaanderson.com/, accessed on June 4th 2010, 10:12a.m.

Wade Bradford, "Terri and the Turkey" – Thanksgiving Day Play , About.com Guide, at

http://plays.about.com/od/oneactplaysandscenes/a/turkey.htm, accessed on 4th August, 2010, 11:a.m.

Copp, Linda A., Kids Poems, at http://www.sunniebunniezz.com/poetry/poetpage.htm, accessed on 26th July, at 9:12 a.m.

http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=1689 –Copyright from The Collected Poems of W B Yeats edited by Richard J Finneran (Macmillan 1991), reprinted by permission of A P Watt Ltd on behalf of Michael B Yeats