Approaches to Reading and Literary Texts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language - Then and Now
Table of contents
Introduction 3
1. The concepts of literacy, reading comprehension and literary competence. 4
1.1. The importance of literacy, reading comprehension and literary competence. 4 1.2. The importance of literacy, reading comprehension, literary competence and literature in teaching English as a foreign language. 6
2. Past approaches until the second half of the 20th century. 7
2.1. Analysis of the past methods with reading and literature in view. 8 2.2. The shift in the attitude towards reading and literary texts in teaching English as a foreign language. 11
3. Modern approaches – introduction to Communicative Language Teaching. 12
3.1. CLT analysis in the context of reading, literary texts and literature. 13 3.2. Using literature in modern English language teaching. 14
Conclusion 17
References 18
Anti-plagiarism statement 20
Introduction
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers." Charles W. Eliot
The idea behind this diploma paper is to analyse the issue of reading and literary texts in teaching English as a foreign language throughout the ages until recent times. What is more, the purpose of this paper is to answer the question if methods and techniques applied by teachers of English included reading and literary texts in the language learning process and whether they have been successful or not. Furthermore, an attempt will be made to state the reasons behind a significant change in the approach towards the use of reading and literary texts in particular, in teaching English as a foreign language. The ultimate goal, however, is to prove that it is crucial to use reading and literary texts in an English language classroom. The first chapter is devoted to clarifying the
Introduction 3
1. The concepts of literacy, reading comprehension and literary competence. 4
1.1. The importance of literacy, reading comprehension and literary competence. 4 1.2. The importance of literacy, reading comprehension, literary competence and literature in teaching English as a foreign language. 6
2. Past approaches until the second half of the 20th century. 7
2.1. Analysis of the past methods with reading and literature in view. 8 2.2. The shift in the attitude towards reading and literary texts in teaching English as a foreign language. 11
3. Modern approaches – introduction to Communicative Language Teaching. 12
3.1. CLT analysis in the context of reading, literary texts and literature. 13 3.2. Using literature in modern English language teaching. 14
Conclusion 17
References 18
Anti-plagiarism statement 20
Introduction
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers." Charles W. Eliot
The idea behind this diploma paper is to analyse the issue of reading and literary texts in teaching English as a foreign language throughout the ages until recent times. What is more, the purpose of this paper is to answer the question if methods and techniques applied by teachers of English included reading and literary texts in the language learning process and whether they have been successful or not. Furthermore, an attempt will be made to state the reasons behind a significant change in the approach towards the use of reading and literary texts in particular, in teaching English as a foreign language. The ultimate goal, however, is to prove that it is crucial to use reading and literary texts in an English language classroom. The first chapter is devoted to clarifying the
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