Week 2 LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE TEACHING

LITERATURE AND
LANGUAGE TEACHING
Dr. Şeyma Yıldırım
2023
What is literature?
 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, visions . . . put into words.
 Literature means . . . to meet a lot of people,
to know other different points of view, ideas,
thoughts, minds . . . to know ourselves
better.
General Definitions
 Allegory :
when an abstract concept is explained with the aid
of a physical object or idea
Examples: Animal Farm, a novel by George Orwell,

is about talking farm animals. It is an allegory for
the political struggle between Western forces and
Stalin’s communist regime.
 Parody:
when a text imitates the style of another work or
author
Examples: The movie 10 Things I Hate About You

is a parody of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.
Bored of the Rings is a novel that parodies the

popular fantasy series called Lord of the Rings.
Character Development
 Protagonist:
the main character
 Antagonist:
the rival or opponent to the main character; the
antagonist usually creates conflict for the
protagonist
 Archetype:
a model or standard character; something that other
copies are based on
There are several examples of archetypes including:
 Repeating symbolism:
a long journey, an orphaned prince raised in poverty,
twins separated at birth
 Repeating themes:
revenge, the inevitability of death, the power of love
to overcome obstacles
 Repeating characters:
an evil witch, a wise old man, the caring parental
figure, star-crossed (unlucky) lovers
 Colors:
Green: usually symbolizes life (the color of plants) or
fortune (the color of money).
Blue: a symbol for sadness. It also symbolizes water and
peacefulness.
White: a symbol for purity
Black: a symbol for darkness or evil
Red: a symbol for anger, blood, or passion
 Repeating images: a flower, an animal (such as a lion

to represent courage), blood, water, ashes, etc.
Thematic Terms
 Allusion: a figurative reference to a previous historical
event or another literary work
 Anthropomorphism: giving human-like qualities to an
animal or object
 Connotation: associations that people make with words
Examples:
Connotations of winter include cold, dark, snow, sad, relaxing,
etc.
Connotations of a computer might include convenient, fast,
popular, etc.
 Denotation: the dictionary term or literal meaning of a
word
 Flashback/Flashforward:
referring to an event or memory that happens either
before the current timeline of the story, or later on in
the story
 Foreshadowing:
providing a hint of what will happen next in the
story
Examples: Someone loading his gun might
foreshadow that he is going to kill someone.
 Hyperbole: when an author uses strong or over-the-
top language to emphasize or exaggerate something
A lot of English idioms are hyperboles:
I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
I have a ton of stuff to do.
Literary hyperboles:
The town had been sleeping for centuries.
There was enough knowledge in that man’s head to fill an
entire library.
 Inference: “to make an inference” means to draw
conclusions from what is implied in the text
 Imagery: using words to create “mental images”
for the reader
 Juxtaposition: to place an idea, character, or
theme parallel to another
Examples: youth and old age, good and evil, greed
and generosity
 Personification: Similar to
anthropomorphism, but it usually attributes
living qualities or emotions to abstract
ideas.
Examples:
The book jumped out of my hands. (the book
is personified, since it cannot jump)
An incoming storm might foreshadow future
trouble in the story.
Comparisons:
 Analogy: a parallel comparison between two
things
Examples of analogies:
An author referring to a book as his or her “child”
A politician referring to the government as his
“playground”
 Simile: A simile is similar to a metaphor,
but it makes a comparison using the word
“like,” “as,” or “such as”
Examples:
She ate like a voracious bear, tearing apart the
meat with her teeth.
The sun was like a giant copper penny in the
sky.
 Metaphor: A metaphor is a comparison between two
things that states one thing is another, in order to help
explain an idea or show hidden similarities. Unlike
a simile that uses "like" or "as" (you shine like the
sun!), a metaphor does not use these two words.
 For example, in a famous line from Romeo and Juliet

Romeo proclaims, "Juliet is the sun."
Forms of speech:
 Dialogue: the term used for speech or talking in a play
 Monologue: a speech given by a single actor to the
audience
 Soliloquy: a speech given by a single actor to him or
herself
 Scenery: the visual setting created for the stage
 Set: similar to scenery and backdrop, it includes things
like props, backdrops, lighting, furniture etc.
Why use literature in the language
classroom?
 - 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 encourages students to talk about their opinions and
feelings
MOTIVATING MATERIAL
 In many countries around the world, literature is
highly valued. For this reason, students of English may
experience a real sense of achievement at tackling
literary materials in the classroom.
 If students are familiar with literature in their own

language, then studying some literature in English can
provide an interesting and thought-provoking point of
comparison.
ACCESS TO CULTURAL
BACKGROUND
 It can be argued that reading literature in English does
encourage students to become broadly aware of the
social, political and historical events which form the
background to a particular play or novel.
 At the same time, literature does seem to provide a way

of contextualising how a member of a particular
society might behave or react in a specific situation.
 A description of a farm in the outback, for example, in
a short story by an Australian author, might familiarise
students with the typical scenery and social structures
to be expected in such a setting.
ENCOURAGING LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION
 Written English often takes on primary importance for
stimulating language acquisition.
 Literature may provide a particularly appropriate way

of stimulating this acquisition, as it provides
meaningful and memorable contexts for processing
and interpreting new language.
 Obviously, at lower levels, students may be unable to
cope on their own with an authentic novel or short
story in English.
EXPANDING STUDENTS' LANGUAGE
AWARENESS
 Using literature with students can help them to

become more sensitive to some of the overall features
of English.
 A novel or short story may even help students to
interpret its underlying themes more easily.
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 generalised 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
EDUCATING THE WHOLE PERSON
 Literature may also have a wider educational function

in the classroom in that it can help to stimulate the
imagination of our students, to develop their critical
abilities and to increase their emotional awareness.
 If we ask students to respond personally to the texts we
give them, they will become increasingly confident
about expressing their own ideas and emotions in
English.
 They will feel empowered by their ability to grapple

with the text and its language, and to relate it to the
values and traditions of their own society.

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LITERATURE AND

Examples: Animal Farm, a novel by George Orwell,

Examples: The movie 10 Things I Hate About You

Bored of the Rings is a novel that parodies the

 Repeating images: a flower, an animal (such as a lion

 For example, in a famous line from Romeo and Juliet

 If students are familiar with literature in their own

 At the same time, literature does seem to provide a way

 Literature may provide a particularly appropriate way

 Using literature with students can help them to

 Literature may also have a wider educational function

 They will feel empowered by their ability to grapple

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