Huck, C. (1977). Literature as the content of reading. Theory Into Practice, 16, 363-371.
Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
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| Integrated Literature-based Program | |||||||||||||
| by Max Voelzke | |||||||||||||
| Part 1: An Introduction | |||||||||||||
| The first of a series of articles regarding the use of children's literature in an ESL or bilingual classroom to improve students' English skills. | |||||||||||||
| The purpose of this article is to show how an integrated reading, writing, and discussion literature-based (IL-B) program as used in a classroom of native English (L1) speakers can be applied to the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. It is because of my experiences in using the IL-B program with 6th grade students and witnessing the improvement of students' skills, motivation and involvement that I felt it would be a program that would effectively apply to the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL). I will present research and first hand experiences in both English speaking classrooms and ESL classrooms that will show the IL-B program to be an effective, beneficial, and viable means of developing students? English language skills. | |||||||||||||
| The use of literature is the heart of an IL-B program. There are many reasons for using literature in a language program, one of which is that children's literature can be one of the most effective teaching materials available for students of all ages (Smallwood, 1991). Through the use of literature, students not only are able to practice their reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, and grammar skills and general language skills, but they can explore and reflect on the experiences of the characters in the book, their peers, and themselves. They can share their thoughts and beliefs and relate their own experiences and opinions to the story. In using children?s literature in the classroom, children, as Huck (1977) points out, take ownership of an experience they relate to on a personal level, much as they draw away from being manipulated for pedagogical purposes. If students have a focus, e.g., interesting literature, they naturally become involved with it. They form opinions regarding the characters and the characters' actions and behavior. In their writings and discussions they are able to relate their own lives and experience to the story, and they find that others are interested in and can benefit from their thoughts and experiences. This then motivates them to express themselves in more interesting, worthwhile ways in both writings and in their discussions. It is also a way in which they, in effect, monitor their comprehension through seeing their own ideas in writing, through expressing themselves, and in hearing the perspectives and understandings of their peers. This is especially significant for the ESL students who for the most part rely on activities within the classroom to provide them with needed English language practice. | |||||||||||||
| In their reading, writing, and discussing activities, students are practicing the rhythm of the story, of the language of the dialogues, and are continually enhancing their vocabulary. This is also important for the ESL students whose native language structure is often very different from English. Literature provides a natural focus for developing reading, writing, and speaking skills and as they read, write, and discuss, they have an authentic purpose ? an important element in learning. | |||||||||||||
| By integrating the teaching of these traditionally separately taught skills with a focus on literature, these skills can develop together with much greater benefit for the students in both the L1 and the ESL classrooms addressing both their similar and distinctive needs. It is an effective approach that develops students? thinking abilities, one that?s motivating for both the student and the teacher, and one that interrelates the reading, writing, and speaking aspect of language learning. | |||||||||||||
| REFERENCES Huck, C. (1977). Literature as the content of reading. Theory Into Practice, 16, 363-371. |
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| Smallwood, B. A. (1991). The literature connection: A read-aloud guide for multicultural classrooms. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. _____________ RESPONSES? [Close] |
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