Learning Language Through Literature: A Sourcebook for Teachers of English in Hong Kong

Introduction

Introduction฀ This book is about using literary texts (with a small T) for language teaching. Although some writers would argue that there is an important distinction to be drawn between 'language' and 'literature', we maintain it is something of an artificial one. As Widdowson (1983) and Carter (1991) have pointed out, there are 'literary ' elements in non-literary texts . There is metaphor i n everyday language, the patterns of sound in poetry are also present in songs, nursery rhymes and adverts. (Some) jokes have the 'semantic density' of literary texts, while 'literary' vocabulary and syntax can be found elsewhere too. For Stanley Fish, the American critic, a literary text is simply one we choose to call literary. It is an arbitrary classification for what gets taught in 'literature' classes. It may be more helpful the n to think in terms of a continuum of literariness. Some texts have more 'literary' features, others far fewer. Until the 1980s, it was received wisdom that literature had no place in the teaching of English as a foreign language. Now, in textbooks and on language syllabuses worldwide, literary texts are beginning to appear alongside other texts. The change is finding its way into public examinations as well. There are signs that Hong Kong language syllabuses are also reflecting this change. In the new Target Oriented Curriculum just being introduced into Hong Kong primary schools , and in the revised Advanced Supplementar y syllabus , the importance o f the aesthetic dimension i s acknowledged an d given greate r prominence. Language Arts is no longer marginalized to 'Frida y afternoo n activities'. The ol d distinction s betwee n th e language an d th e literatur e syllabuses are beginning to break down. 2฀Introductio n฀^ ========^=====^=====^฀ WHY฀US E฀LITERARY฀TEXT S฀AS฀A฀RESOURC E฀I N฀TH E฀HON G฀KON G฀ LANGUAGE฀CLASSROOM ?฀ Text฀Content฀ The 1980s saw a preoccupation with technique i n English Language Teaching (ELT) in methods such as the 'communicative ' method, and the 'Silent Way'. More recently, the importance of content has come to be recognized. Selecting interesting texts to be read for disinterested pleasure may arouse suspicion in a wealth-producing economy , bu t suc h text s hav e a n essentia l rol e t o play i n effective languag e learning. Hemingway remarked that 'th e dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water'. This holds true for texts that have greater depth and are worth reading for their own sake. Unfortunately, we don't often fin d original, subtle or memorable texts in ELT textbooks. In Chapter 3, Tyrrell recalls a moment many teachers will recognize, when ' . . . that lesso n wen t wel l becaus e th e subjec t reall y caught the students' imaginations'. Text s that are more likely to catch students ' imaginations ar e those that evoke familiar experiences but 're-present ' the m in a new light and with greater clarity ('what oft was thought but ne'er so well express'd'). Tyrrell gives an example of such a text and shows how it might be used in the Hong Kong primary classroom . Unmodified texts such as business letters, tax forms etc. are often included in English language coursebooks on the grounds that they are 'authentic' texts students ma y encounte r late r o n i n 'rea l life' . Suc h shallo w notion s o f authenticity hav e been called into question. Texts used for English languag e teaching and not for their original purpose can only have a spurious authenticity. A mor e fruitfu l approac h i s to selec t text s consonan t wit h th e interests an d experiences o f th e learners . T o catc h th e imaginatio n a tex t need s t o b e 'authentic' in another sense — it should be writing that rings true, that connects directly with the students' own lives. Harris and Leung, in Chapter 5, present an argument for using authentic stories on educational television because they are worthy of such presentation in their own right — because of their intrinsic motivational interest to young students. Tibbetts shows, in Chapter 7, how classroom writing tasks are transformed when students are allowed to produce 'authentic ' texts. When learners are given a chance to put 'their personality and personal feelings into words', what ensues is a powerful sens e of...