Why most EFL teachers don’t teach ‘literature’
What can be done about it?
Dr. Rob WaringNotre Dame Seishin University
LiberLIT, February 18, 2012Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo
Why teach / use literature?
Authentic material - our lives are storiesLearners need to cope with unmodified languageLiterary texts have multiple levels of meaningLiterary texts expand awareness of the human conditionLiterature engages the whole person and help them to develop attitudes and belief systemsLiterature is the high water mark of a language reflecting its cultureProvides a challenge to learnersA good model for language due to inherent patterning and coherence‘To truly know a language, you must know something of the literature of a language’ (MacCabe)
Why teach / use literature? II
Provides a meaningful variety of contextsContains a wide range of vocabulary, dialog, prose etc.It appeals to the imagination, enhances creativityEncourages critical thinkingIt helps foster the learners’ own cultural, linguistic and interpretive skillsCan reduce cultural and affective barriersServes as a stimulus for writing and discussionBroadens intellectual perspectives and cognitive maturationHelps develop a feeling for the target languageHelps us to become ‘better people’
Some (US) reading statistics
33% of high school graduates (42% college) never read another book the rest of their livesMost people never get past page 18 of a book they bought80% of families did not buy a book last year (av person spent $7)70% have not visited a bookstore in the last 5 years44 million US subjects have difficulty with reading skills105 hrs reading, 195 hrs magazines and newspapers, 1600 hours TV40% of people admit to lying about having read a certain book So who’s to blame?
http://parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm
Teacher: Congratulations, Satoko.Satoko: Thank you very much.Teacher: You majored in literature, I think. Is that right?Satoko: Yes, American Literature.Teacher: That's great. Which author did you enjoy the most?Satoko: Umm, well we concentrated on Steinbeck.Teacher: I see. And which of his books did you read?Satoko: Well, I only read one book......Teacher: Oh, really? Just one book?Satoko: You see, there were so many difficult words. I had to spend hours looking them up in the
dictionary and my book is covered in translations, but I still couldn’t understand it well.Teacher: Wow, that sounds like a lot of work.Satoko: Actually, In order to understand it, I had to read it in Japanese. Well, I had to, or else I couldn't
graduate.Teacher: How long did it take to read the English version?Satoko: Well, we started in my junior year, and we translated about 4 or 5 pages a week so we could
understand it in detail. I guess it took about two years, but even then we didn't finish it. We spent the first 6 months just on the first chapter.
Teacher: One book in two years! I see. Can you understand it better now after all that work translating it?
Satoko: No, I still can't say I understand it well.Teacher: So, now that you’ve graduated and you have a bit more free time, are you going to read more
American Literature, in English this time?Satoko: No way! It was far too difficult. I'm never going to pick up another English book in my life. I'll
watch the movie instead!
Why don’t most EFL teachers teach ‘literature’?
Literature is considered ‘hard’ and irrelevant to the needs of most EFL learners (not on tests and not in Monkasho’s curriculum)Literature is highly culturally charged and therefore conceptually difficult and can hinder rather than facilitate language learningIt’s seen as a specialist luxury not a general topicIt’s inaccessible to many Japanese due to lack of language ability90% of what we read in life is non-fictionNon-standard and sometimes outdated language useNot interactive – doesn’t suit some learner typesMost EFL teachers are not trained in literary studiesMost non-lit teachers only read 1-2 books (50% no books) a year
Why don’t most EFL teachers teach ‘literature’? II
A primary goal of all teaching is to meet student needs -80-85% ‘because I like English’, for work, make friends, travel
4-7% of incoming English majors want to study ‘literature’ 3% want to be English teachersA focus on literature doesn’t prepare learners for business meetings,
careers in medicine, travel, EAP or ESP or the socio-pragmatic aspects or many other language needs
Other concerns are considered more important – eco-awareness, global issues, business, pragmatic English
Lack of awareness of what literary resources are availableLiterature surrounds us and they can learn the literary concepts in L1It’s basically random unstructured unplanned input
Models for teaching literature
As a cultural product- to explore the socio-cultural, historical or political
background to a textAs a vehicle for personal growth
- a learner-centered process-oriented approach to develop the learners’ own opinions, attitudes, feelings and match them to their own authentic experiences
As a language model- using texts to deconstruct the text into various linguistic features, increase general literary awareness of literary devices , investigate writing styles etc.
Literature can be …
… used as a resource …by using literary texts as a vehicle to develop language, literary awareness, personal growth and critical thinking
… seen as an academic topic to study to …gain qualifications in literary studiesstudy the literary concepts, conventions and metalanguage analyze of literary textsacquire information about its heritage and background(but may be seen as an object rather than a literature)
Text AuthenticityTraditional definition = ‘real’, ‘honest’, ‘pure’, ‘genuine’, ‘reliable’ ‘origin’,
‘authority’, ‘trustworthy’ ‘natural’ ‘real-life’ etc.Implies non-authentic materials = ‘unreliable, ‘lesser’, doubtful’, ‘false’, ‘
fake’ ‘unauthorised’ ‘artificial’ etc.
A dichotomous, divisive and narrow definition externally imposed based on native norms
The definition focuses on texts not the context – it implies a text taken away from its context is ‘inauthentic’
Implies that only native speakers can really process such texts authentically
Reinforces the notion that literature is the preserve of the inner circle – smacks of elitist imperialism and snobbishness
‘Levels of authenticity’
Brown and Menasche’s (2005) five levels of input authenticitygenuine input authenticityaltered input authenticityadapted input authenticitysimulated input authenticityinauthentic authenticity
All classrooms are artificial and therefore there’s no such thing as ‘real task authenticity’ in classrooms
Non-native materials are as valid and valuable as non-native materials – fitness-for-purpose
In some situations ‘authentic materials’ are ‘useless’
Refining the concept of authenticityWe cannot define authenticity in a vacuumConstantly changing extra-linguisitic elements impact authenticity –
learners, context, teachers etc.Authenticity is a property of the people, task, not the textAuthenticity is a function of a text’s intelligibility and fitness for
purposeThe learners are not natives so we should develop their ability to
express authentic reactions to the textsThe selection of appropriate texts is crucial for authentic interaction
to take placeA great text in the wrong hands may failA poor text in the right hands may succeed
We should focus on ‘the authenticating teacher’ not ‘the authentic text’
What levels of reading are there?
SlowReading speed
High
Low % of known vocabulary100%
LowComprehension
High
90% 98%
ReadingPain
(too hard, poor comprehension,
high effort,de-motivating)
Instructional reading
(can learn new words and grammar,
notice some new things)
High level reading
(very fluent, natural reading, ability to think
beyond the text, enjoyable)
Fluent reading(fast, fluent, adequate
comprehension, enjoyable)
Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains
There are different levels of learning and understandingCognitive domain - knowledge, comprehension, critical thinkingAffective Domain
- emotional reactions to materials, development of awareness in attitudes, emotions and feelings
Psychomotor- perception, sensory cues, skill use and control etc.
Cognitive dimension Affective dimension
Synthesis Production of unique communication, deriving abstract relationships
Characterizing Making the ideas part of one’s character
Evaluation Judgments of internal evidence and external criteria
Organizing Putting together values information into new ideas
Analysis Analysis of elements, relationships, organizing principles
Valuing Attaching a value to information, ideas
Application Using new knowledge to solve problems
Responding Active participation, reacting
Comprehension Translation, interpretation, extrapolation
Receiving Passive attention
Knowledge Facts, terms, classifications, categories
Reactions to texts and comprehensibility
SlowReading speed
High
Low % of known vocabulary100%
LowComprehension
High
90% 98%
Characterizing,Application, EvaluationSynthesis
ValuatingOrganizing
Literal comprehensionFocus on facts,
Responding
‘Knowledge -based’‘Efferent’
‘Experiencing’‘Affective’
Choice of texts should focus on
… the quality of the interaction and reaction to them… communicative potential… relevance to the learner and their situation… comprehensibility
Literary competence is intimately connected to the ability to perceive how patterns in the language reinforce messages
It’s not always appropriate to use literary textsGraded Readers have their place in this picture.
What do language learners need to know in order to understand native texts?
Very high levels of text coverage:8000-9000 word families to know 98% of the words in
novelsThe grammatical and syntactic conventionsCollocations, colligations, lexical phrases, idiom, metaphor etc.High level analytical and synthetic comprehension skills
- to allow for analysis, an ability to read behind the lines, notice allegory, aphorisms, assonance, authorial intrusion, euphony etc. etc. etc.
High reading speed – so they can read a lot and process it well
A B C (= 100 / B) D (= x times C )
Word rankPercentage of
general English that
this word covers
Number of running words needed to be
met to meet all these words
once
Volume of text you need to read to meet the words at these recurrence rates
5 times 20 times 50 times
1st most frequent (the) 5.83898% 17 86 343 856
2nd most frequent (be) 5.12332% 20 98 390 976
25th (as) 0.44382% 225 1,127 4,506 11,266
50th (like) 0.24109% 415 2,074 8,296 20,739
100th (hear) 0.10505% 952 4,759 19,038 47,595
500th (present) 0.02477% 4,037 20,183 80,732 201,829
1000th (blood) 0.01172% 8,533 42,665 170,658 426,645
1500th (intent) 0.00677% 14,773 73,864 295,455 738,636
2000th (stumble) 0.00432% 23,103 115,625 462,500 1,156,250
3000th (sergeant) 0.00211% 47,343 236,713 946,850 2,367,126
5000th (satellite) 0.00076% 132,143 660,714 2,642,857 6,607,143
10,000th (relativity) 0.00016% 632,895 3,164,474 12,657,895 31,644,733
How many words do Japanese students meet in JH/ SH?
Number of different
words
Total Length
Horizon 1, 2, 3 (Junior High) 1,124 9,440
Powwow I, II, Reading (Senior High) 2,857 27,221
Centre tests (680 types / 3000 words average per test) x 4
~1,000 12,000
College Entrance tests (590 types / 1600 words average per test) x 4
~1,000 6,400
A total of approximately 55,000 running words will be met (not counting juku and self-study).A generous estimate is 100,000 words and about 3,500 types over 6 years.Listening input would be approximately 10% of this.
How much text?
To have a 9000 word vocabulary you need to read 30,000,000 wordsJH and SH learners meet a total of 100,000 words over 6 yearsAll Oxford, Cengage and Penguins (800 graded readers) from levels 1-6 total only 4,000,000 words (will give you a receptive vocab of around 4000 words)
Number of words
Average Incoming 1st year English major (N=2350)Average 4th year English major (N=1670)
Average JH English teacher (N=239)Average SH English teacher (N=195)Average Japanese College Literature professor (N=74)
(Maeda and Asano, 2001)
18202460
2980
3560
6530
What can learners of different ability levels do with native texts?
Beginner Intermediate Advanced Native
Words 500 2000 5000 9000 25,000
Can process native texts in an authentic way without
help
Higher order thinking skills
Inauthentic processing of native texts
Native texts
Can process native texts in an authentic
way with help
Literal interpretations
Coverage 70% 85% 90% 98% 99%
Language Learner Literature
Authentic reactions to texts
Language learner Literatureis graded
Phonics Easy vocabMore difficult vocab
Easy grammarMore difficult grammar
Nativebooks
The number of words a learner will probably learn from course work plus reading
Probably known Partially Known Probably unknown
50+ 30-49 20-29 10-19 5-9 1-4 Total
Course book only 523 210 229 472 580 1,261 3,275
Data from Sequences, Foundations, Page Turners and Footprints by Heinle Cengage 225,000 60,800 570,000 174,000 (=1,029,000)
Add one reader a
week1,023 283 250 539 570 1,325 3,990
Add two readers a
week1,372 380 367 694 877 2,882 6,572
Intensive Reading Extensive reading
Text type Intensive reading textbooks
Native literature, poems, movies etc.
Graded Readers
Main focus Language development, comprehension
Literary appreciation, critical reading
Fluency, natural reading practice
Difficulty Difficult (i+ 3-4) Native (i+α) Fluent level (i+ 0 -1)
Learning focus Deconstructive Deconstructive Reconstructiive
Input Rough graded / linear Unsystematic / Random
Carefully graded / linear
Selection Teacher Teacher (learner) Learner
Text matching Text to learner Learner to text Text to learner
Speed Slow Slow Fast
Amount Little Little Lots
Activities Lots Pre / Post Lots Pre / Post Few post
Retention Low Very Low High
Motivation Acceptable ???? Acceptable / High
Language learner literature
For language learners not natives Doesn’t conflate the ‘end goal’ (reading native texts) with the
method to get there (structured, scaffolded learning)Can aid literary competence through well-constructed
interesting materialsSimplified but natural - collocation, phrasing, grammatical use,
colligation, text structure, etc. (Claridge, 2012) Aim is to build reading skills and fluency in a controlled way as a
temporary bridge to native textsSystematic scaffolding and support at all stages
Language learner literature II
Aim is to build reading processes and reading ability – a LANGUAGE goal
Huge gains in motivation for English in generalThe publication of classic graded reader titles is largely an incidental
by-product of trying to find good storiesCriticizing the simplified nature of the text in graded readers is an
argument focused on the text, not the learner’s needsNot ‘dumbed down’ or ‘infantile’ – they serve their own purpose‘Classical’ Graded readers are not trying to emulate the original –
they are different things – the simplification process necessarily changes is as many literary elements are removed and are thus not best used for studying ‘literature’.
If anything the purpose is to whet the appetite for more reading
Limitations of Language Learner Literature
Very hard to write motivating engaging stories with 300 wordsSome are boring (as are many classical works of literature)Simplification may lead to comprehension but not necessarily to enjoymentSome graded readers are better received and understood than the originals (Mustafa, 2011) Many are not.Many well-known titles cannot be simplified due to copyrightOften restricted by government ‘compliance’.
How can Graded readers be used in a Literature course?
To give practice in reading stories and processing textTo build language awareness and overall language abilityBy comparing a simplification to an original to assist noticingAs a primer for literary studies
Suggestions for ‘Literature’ in EFL
Focus on matching texts to learner, not learners to texts(i.e. primacy on where the learner is linguistically, affectively and emotionally)
Focus should be on a genuine authentic reaction from engaging, motivating materials
Learners are diverse –> diverse variety of input -> diverse reactionsWe should also take into account the dynamic relationship
between the context, the learners and the teachersDe-emphasize the source and purpose of a text Emphasize naturalness, appropriateness and the quality of the
texts and their reactions to themFocus on the use and interpretation of the texts (Breen, 1985)
(Hişmanoğlu) Literature in EFL is a good, but …
Very few pedagogically-designed appropriate material that can be easily used by ordinary EFL teachers In a classroomA lack of preparation in literature in TESL/TESOL trainingLack of clear objectives, defining the role of literature in ESL/EFL
There are very few rigorous research papers showing the benefits of literature over more controlled input
How easy is it to find appropriate ‘literature’?
Very very few resources are available for 95% of EFL students in JapanAlmost all websites have lists of authors and texts without explanation or guidance – thus of little or no helpAlmost all of the material is native-levelVery little student-generated literature
SummaryNative texts can only be taught intensively for the vast majority of learners in Japan
- few chances to develop reading speed- unplanned and random language selection with low recycling- learners cannot ‘get’ many high level elements of literature
on their own – they need to be taught -> deductive approach- often done in Japanese- de-emphasis on language ‘they pick it up incidentally’
There’s a need for- a bridge between where learners are and where they are going- massive practice in reading of motivating interesting texts to
build fluency, confidence and give practice in reading stories- need to see EFL and Literature as complementary not in opposition
Homework
Create a set of common goals for students learning literatureTurn it into a curriculum (Breadth? Depth?)Disseminate examples of age appropriate literature which learners of
various levels can read ‘authentically’ and extensively, not intensively
Create a website (‘Literature central’ ???) to disseminate information to learners and teachers
Create step-by-step guides and lesson plansCreate online ‘Literature in EFL’ teacher training coursesDon’t make literature ‘appear’ hardConduct research into claims about literatureWrite your own materials and make them widely available
Thank you for your time
Dr. Rob Waring
http://www.robwaring.org/er/http://www.extensivereading.net
www.erfoundation.org/