Language-Based Approaches to Understanding Literature: A Creative Activity Module

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IntroductionLiterature has always been a subject of study in many countries, however the teaching of literature in Malaysia has not been given much importance since English is taught as a second language in Malaysian schools. Recently this area seems to have gained interest by many groups of people. This renewed interest in literature was reported in The New Straits Times (2011, p.4) where literature was said to add “human touch to focus on science, maths.” This statement calls for the government to give literature a central position in the English syllabus. Parents and teachers feel that literary admiration and respect will make students value the importance of cultural awareness and societal wellbeing.According to Ganakumaran and Subarna (2008), the Ministry of Education of Malaysia does acknowledge the importance of literature in Malaysian ELT. However, the students do not take a keen interest in literature because they are unable to understand it due to its structural complexity. Another legitimate reason for not having the interest in literature is that English is only a second language taught in Malaysia.Problem StatementLiterature is often viewed as a boring subject due to its structural difficulty and its exclusive use of language. The students’ lack of interest in literature is perhaps due to the inappropriate teaching methods. Literature is also often said to be unpopular because the teachers are not exposed to or use various methods of teaching literature in a fun way. One of the major setbacks in learning literature is caused by the text itself that carries language and content that can be deemed to be beyond students’ language ability. It is suggested that activities constructed from the literary text should be the type that promotes intellectual development, independent thinking and interest towards learning literature (Agee, 1998).Given the change in the situation of the teaching of literature in Malaysia, it is vital to give some consideration to the learning and teaching approaches used in Malaysian classrooms. It is necessary to plan and create new approaches which take into consideration the limited English language proficiency level of the majority of Malaysian students, at the same time maintaining the goals and aspiration of the curriculum. It is crucial to have teaching materials to teach literature in a creative manner.Purpose of the Creative ProjectThe purpose of carrying out this project is mainly to identify the kind of activities that would motivate and facilitate students in learning literature. The end product is a complete module of literature activities that are creative, challenging and fun. Through these activities students can also develop their four language skills. The project is guided by the following questions:* How can teachers use the four language skills to teach literature in a creative manner?* How can language-based approaches be utilised to facilitate the teaching and learning of English Literature in Malaysian Schools?Literature ReviewThe need to have a creative approach in teaching literature is crucial in Malaysia. In today’s classrooms, literature teaching can be made creative through the help of creative activities which have language-based and stylistic and discourse approaches (Ganakumaran, 2003). In addition, students’ behaviour towards literature learning will determine their success in language learning. Attitudes towards literature, its text and the context of teaching may all play an integral part in determining the success or failure of learning literature (Candlin & Mercer, 2001).Before we talk about any classroom methodology we should ask, “What is Literature?” The Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary defines literature as “writings that are valued as works of art especially fiction drama and poetry in contrast with technical books and newspapers, magazines” (Hornby & Crowther, 1995, p