INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES IN TEACHING LITERATURE :

OBSERVATION OF ESL CLASSROOM IN MALAYSIA

Literature and language are closely related and this is a fact none can deny.
Literature is constituted by language and it represents one of the most recurrent uses
of language. Language and linguistic analysis can also be employed to access
literature from the learners point of view. Literature is one of the importance element
used in ESL classroom. Most of the teachers in school emphasize the use of literature
as a popular technique for teaching both basic language skills for example, reading,
writing, listening and speaking; and language areas such as vocabulary, grammar and
pronunciation in their times. In recent years, the role of literature as a basic
component and source of authentic texts of the language curriculum rather than an
ultimate aim of English instructions has been gaining momentum. Among the
language educators, there has been a hot debate as to how, when, where and why
literature should be incorporated in ESL curriculum. Vigorous discussion of how
literature and ESL instructions can work together and interact for the benefit of
students and teachers has lead to the flourishment of interesting ideas, learning and
improved instruction for all. The purpose of using literature in a language classroom
is also to make the class interactive and it can be stated that an interactive class can
obviously improve communicative competence of the learners and keep a lasting
impact on their mind. Such a class can enhance the critical thinking abilities of the
learners and at the same time maintain a learner centre environment. Literary texts are
a rich source of classroom activities and can surely prove to be very motivating for
learners. No wonder the use of literary pieces play a significant role in English
Language Teaching. Literature opens a new world to the students. It cultivates the
critical abilities of the students.

Now, we know that we can use literature to teach in ESL classes, the questions
would be what we use literature for. Is it used to teach language skills? Is it for
language components? To arouse cultural awareness or to build empathy? The
answers to these questions will take us to different approaches to the teaching of
literature in our ESL classes. On the basis of our purposes in using literary works as
instructional materials, I could choose one of the approaches which is The Personal
Growth in teaching literature. Based on the article Instructional Practices in Teaching
Literature: Observation of ESL Classroom in Malaysia, there is the most appropriate
approach can be used in the Malaysian classroom in teaching literature which is The
Personal Growth.

Teachers are very interested in the personal growth model of the students.
Teachers main goal is to help students achieve an engagement with the reading of
literary texts. Stresses the need to engage the students with literature. This idea is
overtly expressed by Carter and Long (1991) when they posit that the personal growth
model enables the students to achieve an engagement with the reading of literary
textand helping them to grow as individuals. In other terms, the model focuses on
maximizing the students personal pleasure in reading literature. When reading a
literary text, the students are actively involved with its content. This active interaction
will result in creating a more memorable, yet absorbing literary experience.
Furthermore, this model views literature as beneficial for encouraging the students to
draw on their own personal experiences, feelings and emotions. Students, therefore,
are no longer passive recipients of ready made interpretations. Instead, they become
active participants both intellectually and emotionally as they are continuously
prompted to let out their opinions and thoughts. In the personal growth model, it
attempts to bridge the cultural model and the language model by focusing on the
particular use of language in a text, as well as placing it in a specific cultural context.
In order to bring literature closer to learners lives, this modal also encourage learners
to make connections between their own personal and cultural experiences and those
expressed in the text. By doing so, the teacher will be able to help learners develop
knowledge of ideas and language - content and formal schemata - through different
themes and topics. In short, the emphasis is places on the interaction of the reader
with the text. Theoretically, the personal growth model serves to implement Reader
Response Theory (RRT) in which text itself has no meaning, but only provides
direction for the reader to construct meaning from the readers own experience.
Literary texts frequently contain social dilemmas and conflicts. Such reading
demands personal responses from readers (Yang, 2002). According to Gardon &
Castaneda (2015), based on Rosenblatts (1978) transactional theory of reading places
emphasis on the relation between reader and text while constructing meaning. The
term transaction, adopted from Deweys (2008) writings implies that, during the
reading process, the self of the reader and the text are more flexible. Hence, in the
RRT the construction of meaning in the personal literary experience is the main
characteristic when thinking of the connection between the reader and the text which
is related to the personal growth model. Thus, learning is said to take place when
readers are able to interpret text and construct meaning on the basis of pupils
experience. At the practical level, one way to explore pupils personal responses to
literary works is to ask them to give comments in written form. Many pupils are
actually not accustomed to giving their comments or opinions in written form due to
lack of proficiency in writing. Instead, they are usually asked to discuss a story and
then they would express their likes and dislikes orally. The idea of putting pupils
personal responses in writing is actually very helpful to get the meaning of a
particular work and at the same time, teacher can correct any mistakes made by the
pupils. That is why I could recommend that the personal growth model be used in
ESL classrooms as this approach combines together the purposes of the cultural
model and the language model.

One of the activities can help learners gain insights into multicultural experiences
in literature is dramatization. As an English teacher, I have often been amazed at how
effective drama is to capture the attention of the students in the ESL classroom. I also
have experiences in getting involved in dramatization competition. Drama activities
would sometimes have surprising and unexpected results. ESL teachers need to use
this medium more because the artificial world of the classroom can be transformed
into a quasi-real language situation and provides an endless amount of opportunities
for students personal growth. We cannot only teach grammar and phonetics with
drama but also it has the power to transform the actors as well as the audience. Most
teachers see the value of drama in offering training in speech. What is not obvious is
how even abstract learning is easier when acted or demonstrated. Drama can also be
used to bring literature to life for the students. It is more dynamic than simple text and
helps the visual learners as well as recycles new vocabulary. While drama does have a
characteristic of recreation, the fun aspect should not be under-estimated. When the
students are enjoying an activity, they are learning and letting their guard down. The
shyness and fear of using English very often blocks learning. When the students are
submerged in an active fun activity, they are more open to new concepts and learning
will occur. When the students are having fun, they let their second language guard
down and become less inhibited. The student will tend to relax and stop blocking out
the new language. They will forget how hard it is and start absorbing the ideas
presented. Changing the students perception of the language learning from a negative
to a positive is a huge plus for the learning process.

Besides being fun for most children, kinesthetic activities can help young
learners, especially English language learners, develop decoding skills, fluency,
vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, discourse knowledge, and meta-cognitive thinking
(Sun, 2003). Teaching language skills through drama and movement gives children a
context for listening and meaningful language production, provides opportunities for
reading and writing development (Chauhan, 2004) and involves children in reading
and writing as a holistic and meaningful communication process. Drama can be
informal or formal. Informal drama is where children create their own drama using
props. Another variety of informal drama is dramatic story reenactments where
children use puppets or act out stories they recreate (Sun, 2003). The teacher can
make props available for acting out stories that are read in the classroom. For example,
for Year 4 pupils, they use Jungle Book novel for their literature. Teacher can create
animals mask characters that involved in the novel and make props that relevant in the
novel. A more formal approach to drama involves students in improvisations based on
situations for which they create dialogue. OMalley and Pierce (1996) encouraged
teachers to use situations or scenarios that relate to students everyday lives for use
with improvisation.

Besides, the advantage of using drama in teaching literature is inclusivity in the

classroom. One of the most important features is that drama, as Aldavero (2008)
explains, not only helps pupils with a good background of English but include those
with limited vocabulary. It is suitable both for students who have a good knowledge
of the language and for those who are having the first contact with it. As the same
activity can be adapted to the different levels, they can do it at the same time. While
dramatizing, students use all the channels (sight, hearing, and physical bodies) and the
language will enter through the most appropriate channel for each pupil (Desiatova,
2009). Drama also makes constant demands on a pupils imagination, and it develops
the learners ability to think more effectively. It encourages childrens creativity and
develops their imagination while gives them the opportunity to use a language that is
outside their daily needs. Ronke (2005) affirms that when pupils are involved with
drama they develop a higher order thinking skills such as: inventing, generating,
speculating, deducing, analyzing, selecting, refining and judging. In conclusion,
drama techniques have many advantages as a method to teach a foreign language.
However, there are also important aspects to take into account when using it like
having good training and knowledge about dramatization.

Literature components in English have been introduced to Malaysian curriculum

since the year 2001. Since then, a lot of poems and short stories have become the item
of learning literature especially in secondary schools. In order to teach literature to
students, there are several ways to deliver the content of literature and to ensure the
students understand what literature is all about. Since literature is quite new to
Malaysian educational system, not much techniques and approaches can be applied by
teachers in classrooms to teach literature. From my opinion, this is because teachers
lack of exposure to literature teaching techniques. They only use the explanation and
answering comprehension questions techniques which are rather boring for students.
Similarly, some other teachers only manage to teach their students by using the
traditional method, by giving focus only on the literary texts for it pronunciation and
vocabulary when teaching literature. This problem is not only comes from the teacher
itself but there are some difficulties of teaching literature such as linguistic difficulty
of the text is one of the major arguments against using literature in the language
classes and learners may need a lot of background knowledge about English language
and culture to interpret some texts (Sullivan, 1991).

In order to overcome these difficulties, we as a teacher should select appropriate

texts from literary works for their students which can help learners benefit from
learning literature based on the following these criteria:
 1. Language proficiency: Teachers should select the texts of literary works from
within students language proficiency. If the students are not linguistically ready to
deal with such texts, they can become frustrated. When the language of the literary
work is quite straightforward and based on the linguistic level of the students, they
will want to read more literature and will find these texts more relevant to their
experience. The abstract language of poetry and the length of novels may create
problems in overcrowded classes. Employing literature so that students find it useful
and enjoyable is a challenge for teachers in ESL classes. For children who are
learning ESL, they should choose a simple poem, a simple short story or a simple
novel excerpt. It does not mean that the learners know all about the vocabulary being
used. To avoid frustration, however, the learners should be familiar with 80% of the
vocabulary.

2. Length of the text: The brevity of the text is important for the students because
they will see that they can read, understand, and complete something in English. This
will give the students a feeling of achievement and self-confidence. The aim of using
the short story in teaching English is to encourage students to use what they have
previously learned, and therefore, it is a student-centered technique.

3. Time consuming: Drama can be used in classes, but it will be difficult to act
out a play in crowded classes within limited hours. Teachers should consider whether
the texts can be integrated in the amount of class time available. When selecting texts
from literary works, teachers should bear in mind 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 on the text the teacher will
need to provide.

4. Personal involvement: Selecting texts that can stimulate a kind of personal

involvement and arouse the learners interest is very crucial too. If the learners ideas,
experiences, and needs are completely at variance with what they are asked to read, it
is useless to expect them to be motivated. McKay (2001) points out that students read
and enjoy a text if the subject-matter of the text is relevant to their life experience and
interests. Recent trends in literary criticism have moved away from worrying about
definitions and objectives for teaching literature and have focused more on pedagogy.
 5. Exploitability: This implies tasks and activities that the teacher can devise to
use and exploit the text fully. The teacher should then assign literary passages and
devise some activities in order to invest the latent linguistic, cultural, and artistic
knowledge in the text. Activities should be varied to test the reader's linguistic as wall
as literary competence. Activities to test and evaluate the learners level at figurative
language, versification and prosody, theatrical and drama techniques are to be
incorporated to enhance the learners' literary awareness. Some extra audio-visuals
could be used like films adapted to a story or a novel, recordings of a play or poem
and readings about the life of an author. On the whole, here, the teacher is required to
use many techniques any activities any audio or video support to exploit the text and
benefit from the literary and linguistic knowledge inherent in that text.

As a conclusion, there are many benefits in using literature in the ESL classroom.
It offers a distinct literary world which can widen learners understanding of his/her
own and other cultures. At the same time, it can also create opportunities for personal
expression as well as reinforce learners knowledge of lexical and grammatical
structure. In short, the use of literary texts in the language classroom can be
potentially powerful pedagogic tool.
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