Revista simpozionului Eficiență și calitate în educație - 19 mai 2017 Eficiență și calitate în educație | Page 54

CURRENT ISSUES REGARDING THE NECESSITY OF IMPLEMENTING
AN OPTIONAL COURSE OF ENGLISH LITERATURE IN HIGH SCHOOL
Lavinia Olga Radu, Liceul Teoretic „Onisifor Ghibu” Sibiu
Abstract:
In the last decade particularly, there have been some major changes in the teaching of English literature in
high school language-based classes, primarily due to the new requirements of the Ministry of Education and
Scientific Research regarding the Baccalaureate exam which is focused on testing students’ language
competence according to the four language skills. Thus, an optional course of English literature will clearly
answer the question:”Why teach literature?” The reasons are manifold: literature is the expression of life
through the medium of language; literature is seen as an authentic means of learning the target language;
literature complements language in the process of developing the language skills; literature opens up new
horizons towards developing the literary competence through exposure to a variety of texts which are
authentic and culturally valuable, offering a wide range of registers and styles which foster interpretive
abilities.
Key words: English literature, optional course, literary skills.
Motto: “ reat literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible
degree”.
Ezra Pound
Literature presents many perspectives on life, powerfully imagined and memorably
expressed. One of the major benefits of studying literature is exposure to a variety of ways
of perceiving the world, of becoming familiar with various literary genres as well as
enriching our language and literary skills.
This paper is meant to be a challenge for language teachers to implement an
optional course of English literature designed for high school students. The optional course
encourages students to relate their experience of literature in their native language and the
target language to their experience of life generally and to learn that different ways of
reading texts and the approaches applied to those texts can lead to enriching their
language skills as well as understanding their identity, culture and society. Thus, students
are given the opportunity to read, enjoy and respond to literary texts to which the genres of
prose, poetry and drama are central.
The target audience is represented by language teachers that are challenged to
acknowledge the importance of teaching literature in a language-based class. Ronald
Carter and Michael N. Long mention three main reasons that need to be considered (2-3):
The cultural model, that enables students to understand and appreciate cultures and
ideologies different from their own in time and space and to perceive correctly tradition of
thought, feeling and artistic form.
The language model, that promotes language development through exposure to the more
subtle, varied and creative uses of the target language.
The personal growth model, that motivates students to read by relating the themes and
topics depicted in a literary text to their own personal experience.
As a result, the audience is expected to reflect on and critically analyze their own
teaching from the perspective of the approaches used in talking about and interpreting a
literary text in a language-based class as well as the roles of the teacher and the
classroom practice devised to ensure students’ access or “way-in” to a variety of literary
texts.
Response and interpretation are central to this optional course of English literature.
Students make meaning by taking into account the relationship between reader, writer and
the text. Students are introduced to several different approaches and, as a result, they will
reflect on their own reading preferences, learn to analyze and account for them.
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