teaching literature, teaching language: same difference?,

ISPI “San Bartolomé” II CONGRESO REGIONAL DE CAPACITACIÓN PARA LA

ENSEÑANZA DEL INGLÉS Teaching Materials: Adoption, adaptation or creation

Rosario, 2004

TEACHING LITERATURE, TEACHING LANGUAGE: SAME DIFFERENCE?

Mariel R. Amez

ISPI “San Bartolomé”; IES “O. Cossettini”

II CONGRESO REGIONAL DE CAPACITACIÓN PARA LA ENSEÑANZA DEL INGLÉS Teaching Materials: Adoption, adaptation or creation

TEACHING LITERATURE, TEACHING LANGUAGE: SAME DIFFERENCE? Mariel R. Amez – ISPI “San Bartolomé”; IES “O. Cossettini”

She is ravishingly beautiful She is infinitely changeable

She is the finest cook in the world She is always warm and welcoming She keeps the world’s finest cellar

She is always young yet full of experience

FRANCE

She has countless lovers. And is faithful to the end.



TEXT

Widdowson, H. G. (1979). Explorations in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: O.U.P.

McRae, J. (1991) Literature with a small “l”. London & Basingstroke: Macmillan CRITERIA FOR SELECTING LITERARY TEXTS interest

appeal

relevance

language difficulty Collie, J. & S. Slater. (1987) Literature in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: C.U.P.

personal + aesthetic

READER LITERATURE =

LANGUAGE

REFERENTIAL REPRESENTATIONAL

INFORMS INVOLVES



CRITERIA FOR EXPLOITATION

♦ RELATING THE TEXT TO ONE’S LIFE ♦ DEVELOPING INFERENCE AND INTERPRETATION ♦ LEARNING TO APPRECIATE TEXT Plot Character Themes Language Imagery Sounds



5

TASK 3

1- Sid lived in six houses. (d) 2- He had six different names to remember. (f) 3- All this work sometimes wore Sid out. (c) 4- One cold damp day he caught a nasty cough. (e) 5- Sid didn’t have just one spoonful of medicine. (a) 6- Sid's owners were furious. (b)

Opening situation(s)/ problem(s) (the main problem(s) that confront(s) the characters at the beginning of the story)

Key events (the main things that happen: characters’ choices/ actions & their motives; consequences of actions & events; events outside the control of the characters)

Climax (what happens to bring about the ending?)

Ending

1 2

3

4

5 6



6

TASK 4 Scaramouche

Bob Satan Sally Sooty Schwartz

behaviour swanky airs job naughty silly smooched rough and tough

food? chicken fish lamb mince fish beef and kidney stew

master? sophisticated, romantic lady

working class family

spoilt boy

obedient girl

lonely elderly lady

grumpy old man

TASK 6 D A E D S O I P M I L R A B U E S O N T C F I R E M Z N H Y H S N A P O E O K O U S V E R R J N H T U B T P S A W E M A N L D L P R B N S M E I R S A F A I B T Y O H G V M A I S E B Y U S E E I D T S P O I S



7

TASK 7 Catalogue poem Eating Sleeping Playing Chasing Sniffing Mewing Purring Catching a ball Entangling wool Sid, Sid, Sid.

POETRY

PATTERN POETRY

freedom to express ideas fast writing different patterns of interaction practice of different concepts challenging non-competitive

universal appeal inductive learning of wide range of lang. skills leeway for experimentation complete context for writing in a compact form



8

TASK 9 Narrator D.B. Mother Father

Next time I catch you … X Life’s super, man, super. X Can’t complain, really. I’ll soon be OK again.

X

You should know better than…

X

TASK 10

ADJECTIVE QUOTE

sensible his intelligence and his feelings were clearly separate

cautious wise judgment

contented on working days …he was a man of good character

serious a man of misty views

miserable??

dull?? thinking of what there would be for dinner

TASK 10 Eustacia Vye

Beautiful, self-centred. Dreaming, scheming, seething. Wishing for more, committed

Suicide. TASK 11 On a dark (1) desert highway, cool (2) wind in my hair Warm (3) smell of colitas rising (4) up through the air Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering (5) light My head grew heavy (6) and my sight grew dim (7) I had to stop (8) for the night.



9

TASK 14

”Hotel” is black and red. It tastes like alcohol and chocolate. It sounds like the silence of the desert. And smells like musky smoke. It looks like your worst nightmare. It makes you feel befuddled.



10

Representational language Reduced number of complementary, balanced activities Varied modes of presentation Main aim: foster enjoyment of reading

Adopt Adapt Create



11

AAANNNIIIMMMAAALLLSSS DDDOOONNN’’’TTT SSSMMMOOOKKKEEE ANIMALS DON’T DRIVE ANIMALS DON’T WEAR MAKE-UP ANIMALS DON’T USE PAINT ANIMALS DON’T DRINK ALCOHOL ANIMALS DON’T DROP BOMBS BECAUSE YOU DO WHY SHOULD THEY SUFFER?

AGAINST ALL ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS

Join the Army; travel to exotic, distant lands; meet exciting unusual people



12

“In Extensive Reading the learner reads huge amounts of very simple text so that she can read smoothly, confidently and pleasurably.” “Extensive reading usually refers to the kind of reading many students already do in their own language, for example, reading novels, non-fiction texts or reference books.” Reading extensively will help students to: develop reading fluency and confidence in reading improve spelling, knowledge of grammar and vocabulary (a better understanding of how the language is used) improve other language skills including writing, speaking and listening develop a more positive attitude to the foreign language in general improve general knowledge



13

TASK 1 TASK 2 ACTIVITIES language? literature? FEATURES lit. text? other text?

matching repetition of words or phrases

completing a chart parallelism cloze multiple meaning of

words

pair work alliteration discussion assonance listening and note-taking figurative language role-playing creative writing TASK 3

7- Sid didn’t have just one spoonful of medicine. 8- Sid's owners were furious. 9- All this work sometimes wore Sid out. 10- Sid lived in six houses. 11- One cold damp day he caught a nasty cough. 12- He had six different names to remember.

TASK 4 a- What do you think the neighbours were like? Complete this chart to help you Scaramouche Bob Satan Sally Sooty Schwartz behaviour food? master?

b- Choose one of the neighbours and role-play his conversation with the vet. c- Imagine Sid’s life on Pythagoras Street. Fill in a similar chart. Tell your partners about it.

The beginning

The end

TASK 6 What did Sid have six of? Find five words in this puzzle.

D A E D S O I P M I L R A B U E S O N T C F I R E M Z N H Y H S N A P O E O K O U S V E R R J N H T U B T P S A W E M A N L D L P R B N S M E I R S A F A I B T Y O H G V M A I S E B Y U S E E I D T S P O I S

TASK 5 Choose the moral which you think most appropriate. If none seems suitable, write one of your own. Be prepared to justify your choice. 1- Variety is the spice of life. 2- Honesty is the best policy. 3- Communication is essential to happiness. 4- Lying never pays. 5- Your own: ……….……….……

TASK 7 Write a “Catalogue poem” describing Sid. 1-One present 2-participle 3-per line, 4-with each one 5-describing 6-the nouns 7-in the last 8-line of 9-the poem. 10-Noun, noun, noun.



14

TASK 8 Write the names of the characters on the spiders’ bodies. On their legs write facts about them, such as their age, sex, job, role in the story etc..

TASK 9 Who could have said the following?

Narrator D.B. Mother Father Next time I catch you … Life’s super, man, super. Can’t complain, really. I’ll soon be OK again.

You should know better than… TASK 10 Choose adjectives from the box to describe Gabriel. Then write phrases from the text that helped you decide. ADJECTIVE QUOTE TASK 10 Write a poem following this Cinquain Pattern Line 1: One word, both title and subject of the poem (noun) Line 2: Two words that describe the subject (adjectives) Line 3: Three words that express an action by the subject (participles ending in -ing) Line 4: Four words that tell a feeling the writer has about the subject (verb phrase) Line 5: One word that is a synonym for the subject or restates or sums it up (noun)

TASK 11 Fill in the blanks with one of the words suggested. There are no right or wrong answers. On a __________(1) desert highway, __________(2) wind in my hair __________(3) smell of colitas __________(4) up through the air Up ahead in the distance, I saw a __________(5) light My head grew __________(6) and my sight grew __________(7) I had to __________(8) for the night.

1- scary – quiet – dark 2- icy – cool – cold 3- lukewarm – warm – hot 4- rising – wafting

5- twinkling – shimmering – glowing 6- gloomy – weary – heavy 7- dim – hazy 8- rest – stop

arrogant – humble – sensible – rash – cautious – serious – clever – passionate – funny – dull –adventurous – contented – miserable –



15

TASK 12 Choose the most suitable meaning according to the text. More than one answer may be possible. 1- Spirit

a- a strong alcoholic drink such as whisky or brandy

b- an imaginary creature with special powers

c- a dead person who comes back into the world

2- Beast a- an animal, especially a dangerous or

strange one b- the Antichrist, associated with the

number 666 c- heroin; LSD

TASK 13 Work in groups. Discuss the different explanations for the phrases below. Decide which options are P (possible), I (impossible), and U (unlikely). More than one answer may be possible.

1- 'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell' a-This hotel could be either extraordinary or appalling b-This place could lead me either to salvation or to damnation c-Here I can find either happiness or sorrow

2- Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she’s got the Mercedes bends

a- She is losing her mind b- She has expensive tastes c-She owns a renowned car

3- bring your alibis a- You’re going to be charged with a crime b- You’re going to commit a crime c- It's a crime to have such a good time

4- Last thing I remember a- He fainted on hearing the night man’s words b- He woke up on hearing the night man’s words c- He suffered a stroke on hearing the night man’s words

TASK 14 Listen to the song again. Try to “feel” it with your five senses. Can you write a poem to convey your response? Follow this pattern. Line 1: What colour the song is. Line 2:. What the song sounds like Line 3: What the song tastes like Line 4: What the song smells like. Line 5: What the song looks like. Line 6: What the song makes you feel like TASK 15 Write an epilogue for the story. You can do it in verse or in prose. The narrator could be the protagonist, the woman, the night man, or somebody not mentioned in the song. Texts:

1-“Six Dinner Sid”, in English Panorama 1, C.U.P. 2- Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger) 3- Far from the Madding Crowd. Longman Simplified Series. 4-“Hotel California” (Eagles)



16

TEXT 1

Sid lived at number one, Aristotle Street. He also lived at number two, number three, number four, number five and number six. Sid lived in six houses so that he could have six dinners. Each night he would slip out of number one, where he might have had chicken, into number two for fish, on to number three for lamb, mince at number four, fish again at number five, rounding off at number six with beef and kidney stew. Since the neighbours did not talk to one another on Aristotle Street, they did not know what Sid was up to. They all believed the cat they fed was theirs and theirs alone. But Sid had to work hard for his dinners. It wasn't easy being six people’s pet. He had six different names to remember and six different ways to behave. When he was being Scaramouche, Sid put on swanky airs. As Bob he had a job. He was naughty as Satan and silly as Sally. As Sooty he smooched but as Schwartz he had to act rough and tough. All this work sometimes wore Sid out. But he didn’t care, as long as he had his six dinners. And besides he liked being scratched in six different places and sleeping in six different beds. In fact, life in Aristotle Street was just about perfect for Sid until one cold damp day he caught a nasty cough. The next thing he knew he was being taken to the vet. Poor Sid, he was taken not once, not twice but six times. He went with six different people in six different ways. The vet said Sid's cough wasn't nearly as nasty as it sounded; but, to be on the safe side, he should have a spoonful of medicine. Of course, Sid didn’t have just one spoonful of medicine. He had six. Now one black cat does look much like another, but nobody, not even a busy vet, could see the same cat six times without becoming suspicious. Sure enough, when he checked in his appointment book, the vet found six cats with a cough – all living in Aristotle Street! So he rang the owners at once and, oh dear, Sid was found out! When they discovered what he had been up to, Sid's owners were furious. They said he had no business eating so many dinners. They said, in the future, he would have only one dinner a day. But Sid was a six-dinner-a-day cat. So he went to live at number one, Pythagoras Place. He also went to live at numbers two, three, four, five and six. Unlike Aristotle Street, the people who lived on Pythagoras Place talked to their neighbours. So, right from the start, everyone knew about Sid's six dinners. And, because everyone knew, nobody minded.

Some useful websites: http://uk.cambridge.org/elt/readers http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/poetry http://www.macmillaneducation.com/resource.htm http://www.njcu.edu/cill/journal-index.html http://www.oupjapan.co.jp/jr/article.shtml http://www.penguinreaders.com/pr/resources/teachers.



17

TEXT 2 If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was

born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They're nice and all - I'm not saying that - but they're also touchy as hell. Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy. I mean that's all I told D.B. about, and he's my brother and all. He's in Hollywood. That isn't too far from this crumby place, and he comes over and visits me practically every weekend. He's going to drive me home when I go home next month maybe. He just got a Jaguar. One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour. It cost him damn near four thousand bucks. He's got a lot of dough now. He didn't use to. He used to be just a regular writer, when he was home. He wrote this terrific book of short stories, The Secret Goldfish, in case you never heard of him. The best one in it was ”The Secret Goldfish”. It was about this little kid that wouldn't let anybody look at his goldfish because he'd bought it with his own money. It killed me. Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute. lf there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me.

TEXT 3 When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread out towards his ears, his eyes

almost disappeared, and little lines appeared round them like the rays in a child's drawing of the rising sun.

His first name was Gabriel, and on working days he was a man of wise judgment and good character. On Sundays he was a man of misty views, and uncomfortable in his best clothes; he went to church, but often he was thinking of what there would be for dinner when he meant to be listening to the parson's address. He was at the brightest period of a man's growth, for his intelligence and his feelings were clearly separate, not yet united by the influence of a wife and family. In short, he was twenty-eight, and unmarried.



18

TEXT 4 On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell And I was thinking to myself, 'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell' Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say... Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place (such a lovely face) Plenty of room at the Hotel California Any time of year, you can find it here Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she’s got the Mercedes bends She’s got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat. Some dance to remember, some dance to forget So I called up the Captain, 'Please bring me my wine' He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine' And still those voices are calling from far away, Wake you up in the middle of the night Just to hear them say... Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place (such a lovely face) They livin' it up at the Hotel California What a nice surprise, bring your alibis Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said ‘'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device' And in the master's chambers, They gathered for the feast They stab it with their steely knives, But they just can't kill the beast Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back To the place I was before 'Relax,' said the night man, ’We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!’

teaching literature, teaching language: same difference?,

Education