Introduction

The aim of teaching and learning English literature is to develop students’ potential in a balanced, holistic, and integrated manner. According to Beach et al. (2021), the world is confronted with numerous challenges and uncertainties concerning security, safety, and the future of humanity. Additionally, some systems perpetuate oppression and our vulnerabilities as human beings. In the face of these pressing concerns, literature offers a window to see others who differ from us and a mirror to perceive our limitations and strengths (Beach et al., 2021). In light of these concerns, teaching literature aims to foster not only language mastery but also cultural awareness, positive change, motivation, and self-discovery among students. Thus, this essay presents a vision for teaching literature that incorporates various approaches and methods to inspire students to appreciate and apply literary works in their lives and the world.

Since childhood, reading books, especially story books, has been part of my life growing up. Through reading, I could experience and find an escape into other worlds away from reality. Nevertheless, from my early simplistic view of literature as a form of escape to studying literature in school and now teaching literature to other students, I have developed an appreciation and deeper understanding of the importance of literature and its relevance in our modern society. For many people, their first encounter with literature is at school. As a student learning literature, I found it interesting that I could empathize with characters from literary works. Today, I insist to my students that this constitutes a crucial skill in learning literature.

Learning literature is supposed to enable students to sense messages and themes and a vessel that allows students to open up to a diverse way of thinking and ideas. Furthermore, learning literature allows students to go back in time and see the world through the eyes of those who lived before. Through analysis of literary works, students can develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures and historical contexts concerning their contemporary world. A big challenge for teaching literature is that many teachers often lack enthusiasm for teaching literature. Similarly, students in ESL secondary are often disengaged when learning literature (Dewaele & Li, 2021). As a literature teacher, I have experienced this firsthand in my students. Thus, my primary objective in teaching is always to get students interested in literature early in the year.

I leverage various techniques to capture my students’ interest—laying the foundation early so students are curious and engaged throughout the year. For example, upper-level ESL secondary students are more knowledgeable. Thus, I tap into their curiosity at the start of classes in the year by asking thought-provoking questions they can ponder throughout the year.

However, I leverage multimedia presentations such as videos for lower secondary levels to capture their interest. Secondly, choosing literary works to teach and learn is very deliberate. In my opinion, entertaining and enjoyable literary works are better in establishing a firm interest in lower secondary level students in learning literature later.

Another factor I consider in selecting literary works for my students is the themes that relate well with them. For instance, literary works focusing on friendship and sexual identity are suitable for teenage students in upper-level ESL. This is because, at their developmental stage, they grapple with these issues and can create a connection with their life experiences. Finally, allowing students to share ideas about books they think will be interesting to study is critical in sparking their interest in literature. This encourages students to engage and respond to literature (Beach et al., 2021). Similarly, seeking meaningful feedback from my students has worked well.

Aims and Objectives of Teaching Literature

Teaching literature is essential because it functions as a tool for learning written and spoken English language. Therefore, one of the objectives of teaching literature is to foster in- depth learning and mastery of spoken and written English. Literature allows teachers to authentically explore different elements of the English language, focusing on lexis and syntax and cultural and pragmatic points that cannot be obtained from non-literary sources (Kwakernaak, 2015; Taguchi, 2019). Literary works contain instances of language in their real- life format and varying contexts. In order to attain this objective, teaching literature must involve an extensive reading program to improve students’ interest in reading and analyzing text. An extensive reading program will expose students to various writing styles, vocabulary, and grammatical points (Seo & Kim, 2020). Thus, students will encounter complex and diverse structures and learn more vocabulary regarding their connotative and denotative meanings, idiomatic expressions, slang, proverbs, and colloquialism. Consequently, as Knoch et al. (2015) observed, students’ writing skills improve since they can incorporate various writing styles they encounter in literature.

The second objective of teaching literature is to foster cultural awareness and promote student empathy. Beach et al. (2021) affirm that one of the most important reasons why literature should be taught in schools is because it fosters empathy, which is critical for a well-functioning society. Culture and literature are inextricably bound. Literature is a reflection of cultures that existed before and contemporary cultures. Thus, in teaching literature, teachers must ensure that students engage with diverse literary works to allow them to peek into different people and cultures in the past and present. The benefit is that they develop intercultural awareness and cultural competency, which is crucial for people to function properly today socially. This is because, in today’s societies, where globalization, migration, and urban lifestyle are common, people from various backgrounds often live and work together. Therefore, having intercultural awareness and competency equips students to function properly.

The third objective of teaching literature is to foster positive change among students and society. Teaching and learning literature can alter perceptions and attitudes and minimize prejudices while enhancing sympathy, empathy, forgiveness, and tolerance. Therefore, teaching should guide students to identify and think critically about themes and create connections with real life. This can be achieved through group discussions, quizzes, and essay prompts, especially for upper-level ESL secondary students. Subsequently, they will become familiarized with these themes, extrapolating them to real-world experiences and situations. Through works of literature, students can appreciate and thoroughly perceive themselves and others to empathize with the characters in the literary works and subsequently generalize these emotions and feelings to real- life experiences and situations.

Moreover, literature has pedagogical value because it engages students in problem- solving by resolving conflicts. For instance, literary works such as novels contain conflicts for readers to identify with and empower students to empathize with characters experiencing hazardous or challenging situations (Hendrickson, 2018). This aligns with Beach et al. (2021), who contend that literature is necessary because it equips students and society with skills to cope with uncertainties and challenges in today’s modern world. In teaching literature, teachers can allow students to identify conflicts in literature and dramatize how they would respond. Through this process, students develop skills to conceive the world better, discover innovative/creative solutions, and thus deal with conflict in real life.

Literature is a journey of discovery due to the wealth of experiences that can be applied to real-life situations and experiences. Therefore, the fourth objective of teaching literature is to foster and motivate students toward an impetus for learning. Things that imitate or elicit familiarity with real-life experiences, such as learning literature, often arouse enthusiasm and interest. Therefore, due to its association with real-life experiences, teaching literature can trigger motivation and immersion in experiences among students. The outcome of the engagement and immersion triggered through literature is the desire to learn. Literary can be motivating due to their authenticity and contextual meaningfulness. At the same time, learning fosters self- discovery. Therefore, the fifth objective of teaching literature is to set students on a journey of self-discovery. Motivation to learn literature increases students reading and analytical skills, exposing them to more literary works and setting them on a journey of self-discovery and development.

Literature Teaching Approaches

Multiple approaches to teaching literature have been researched and developed over the years. While no single approach is universally applicable to teaching literature, several approaches can be combined to generate maximum benefits for students learning literature. One approach is response-based, which gives the student experience primacy in making meaning from the literary work (Regmi, 2021). This approach benefits upper-level ESL secondary students because it develops independent reading ability, assimilation, and appreciation of the literary text. In using this approach, students are first undertaken through an extensive reading program. Next, they can elicit meaning from the reading and discuss it with their peers. This approach is suitable in the middle to the end of the year. This is because, at this point, students have a firm grasp of the literary text and formal elements.

Another approach to teaching literature is the new criticism approach which involves textual analysis of formal literary elements and analysis by close reading (Rogti, 2019). This approach requires students to evaluate aesthetic/literary text elements and their value (Rogti, 2019). This approach fosters students’ ability to “read between the lines” and logical interpretation by enhancing their literary text sensitivity through analysis of literary language and genre conventions. This method complements the response-based method because it narrows the students’ focus by disregarding external factors that influence interpretation. For the same reason, it is suitable at the beginning of the year because it allows students to internalize literary text before applying external factors to their interpretations. The teacher, in this approach, keeps the student-centered on designing activities (Rogti, 2019). For instance, students can be required to write essays on the literary text and its formal elements. This approach suits upper-level ESL secondary students who can decipher literary elements.

Methods for Teaching Literature

The most obvious method for teaching literature is lecturing. While this method is not the most effective, it is essential because it can be leveraged to introduce students to literary concepts for the first time. For instance, lectures can be used to train students how to move through a poem (Showalter, 2003). However, this method is teacher-dominated and can make students bored and disinterested. However, this method can be expanded through teaching and learning activities within the classroom. For instance, instead of teachers making presentations, students can be tasked with developing presentations on a given aspect of literature and allowed to present to other class members. This method excites the class and keeps the students proactive throughout the learning process.

Furthermore, Showalter (2003) recommends tailoring teaching methods to the specific literary genre. For instance, when teaching fiction works, it could be helpful to ask students to think about the experience of the writer and reader of the time when the work was published. Furthermore, performing plays can give students more insight into plays than they would have otherwise from simply reading. For Technical Secondary Education (TSO) and General Secondary Education (ASO) groups and levels in the Belgium context, it may be necessary to adjust the literary works chosen based on students’ interests and academic level. Additionally, incorporating technology and multimedia tools to complement traditional literature teaching methods may be beneficial. Providing opportunities for students to engage in real-life situations, such as debates or writing competitions, can also help to develop their language proficiency and critical thinking skills. Lastly, connecting literary works to real-world events and issues relevant to the students can make the learning experience more meaningful and engaging.

Finally, in an ideal world, the approach and method for teaching literature should be a decision undertaken by the teacher taking into account multiple factors about the needs and preferences of their students. The role of the teacher will be to assess students to develop an approach and method that best suits their needs and preferences at any given time. For instance, the new criticism approach can be used to develop students’ understanding of literary text and formal elements. Then, the response-based approach can be used to achieve specific goals in their students, such as independent reading ability, assimilation, and literary appreciation. As for teaching methods, the teacher must combine different methods to achieve different goals. For instance, capturing students’ interest requires interactive and thought-provoking methods such as videos, multimedia presentations, games, and plays.

Conclusion

In conclusion, teaching literature aims to holistically develop students’ potential by fostering not only language mastery but also cultural awareness, positive change, motivation, and self-discovery. Literature is a window to see others who differ from us and a mirror to perceive our strengths and limitations. To achieve these aims and objectives, teachers must adopt various approaches and methods for teaching literature. Firstly, teachers must leverage interactive methods such as multimedia presentations and videos and encourage feedback to capture students’ interest. The choice of these teaching methods must consider students’ level, such as lower-level or upper-level secondary students. Notably, chosen literary works should contain themes reflective of the student’s level and developmental stage, which they can relate to. These methods and approaches are meant to spark students’ interest to engage with literary work and develop meaning and interpretation that they can apply in their own life experiences.