Course Title: TEACHING LITERATURE in the ELT CLASSROOM

Course title: TEACHING LITERATURE IN THE ELT CLASSROOM

Instructor: Professor Jelena Mihaljević Djigunović, Marta Medved Krajnović, PhD., Renata Geld, Stela Letica Krevelj

ECTS credits: 5

Status: elective

Semester: IX

Enrollment requirements: none

Course description: Rationale for introducing literature in ELT classroom. The role of stories (preferably authentic, written by authors from English speaking countries) in teaching English at different ages and levels of knowledge. The nature of relevant activities varying from listening and understanding for the youngest beginners to creative story re-writing for the advanced. The role of poems: reading/comprehension/discussion. Expressing personal opinions about the topic, content and artistic merit of the poems. The importance of short stories and extracts from novels as means of introducing a particular problem. Problem-solving and expressing opinions, which contributes to developing both linguistic and communicative competence as well as shaping general world view. The use of plays with topics relevant to students. TV plays as language input and a source of topics for discussion. The nature of relevant activities varying from note-taking while watching to creative re-writing and performing.

Objectives: Obtaining an insight into ways of motivating students of different ages and levels of knowledge for reading and understanding a variety of literary texts in English; development of the ability to choose relevant and motivating texts that contribute to students' linguistic and communicative competence.

Course requirements: Students will be expected to read the literature assigned by the course instructor. High level of participation, especially in seminars, is expected. Students who pass the three revision tests do not have to sit for the final oral exam.

Week by week schedule:

week / Topics
1 / Introduction
2 / Role of literature in ELT
3 / Stories in teaching English to learners of different age
4 / Listening to and creating stories in ELT
5 / Revision – TEST 1
6 / Poems in ELT: reading, comprehension, discussion
7 / Using short stories and novel extracts
8 / Problem solving and expressing opinions
9 / Developing linguistic and communicative competence through literature
10 / REVISION - TEST 2
11 / Using plays in ELT
12 / Drama techniques in ELT
13 / Adapted, simplified texts and graded readers
14 / Sociolinguistic, educational and intercultural aspects of literature in ELT
15 / REVISION - Test 3

Required reading:

Collie, J., Slater, S. (1987). Literature in the Language Classroom: A resource book of ideas and activities. Cambridge: CUP.

Falvey, P., Kennedy, P. (1997). Learning Language Through Literature. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Recommended reading:

Gail, E., Brewster, J. (1991). The Story Telling Handbook for Primary Teachers. London: Penguin.

Lazar, G. (1993). Literature and Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP.

Maly, A., Duff, A. (1982). Drama Techniques in Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP.

Mc Rae J., Carter, R. (2004). The Routledge Guide to Modern English Writing. London: Routledge.

McRae, J., Pantaleoni, L. (1996) Chapter and Verse. Oxford: OUP.

Selected literary texts.