LECTURE NOTES FOR ENGLISH MAJORS

Professor: Lumarvin Apundar Tubo LPT, MAED

Choosing Words to Teach - Tier 1, 2, 3 Vocabulary

Beck and McKeown (1985) proposed that vocabulary should be categorised according to three Vocabulary
Tiers:

EXPLANATIONS EXAMPLES NOTES:

TIER 1 Everyday words Dog, go, happy,

encountered in drink ,phone ,play,
everyday conversation
sad and etc.
TIER 2 Words that are needed in relative vary formulate
an academic context, and specificity accumulate
provide access to more calibrate itemise
complex topics and falsely description
discussions outside of the
hypothesis
everyday. Words that are
misfortune dignified
useful across multiple
topic and subject areas. faltered distinctly
resolve
TIER 3 Words that lava carburettor
are relevant for specific legislature
subjects or content-
circumference
areas. Words that have
distinct meanings and aorta polyglot
purposes, relevant to a sonata isosceles
specialised topic or
discourse

Critical Approaches to Literature and Criticism

Reader-Response—Focuses on the reader (or "audience") and his or her experience of a literary work, in
contrast to other schools and theories that focus attention primarily on the author or the content and form of
the work.

Feminist Criticism—Focuses on female representation in literature, paying attention to female points of view,
concerns, and values. Three underlying assumptions in this approach are: Western Society is pervasively
patriarchal, male centered and controlled, and is organized in such a way as to subordinate women; the
concept of gender is socially constructed, not biologically determined; and that patriarchal ideology pervades
those writings which have been considered “great works of literature.”

Queer Theory—Combined area of gay and lesbian studies and criticism, including studies of variations in
biological sex, gender identity, and sexual desires. Emphasis on dismantling the key binary oppositions of
Western culture: male/ female, heterosexual/ homosexual, etc. by which the first category is assigned
privilege, power, and centrality, while the second is derogated, subordinated, and marginalized.

Marxist Criticism—Focuses on how literary works are products of the economic and ideological determinants
specific to that era. Critics examine the relationship of a literary product to the actual economic and social
reality of its time and place (Class stratification, class relations, and dominant ideology).

Historical Criticism—Focuses on examining a text primarily in relation to the historical and cultural conditions
of its production, and also of its later critical interpretations. Cultural materialism, a mode of NHC, argues that
whatever the “textuality” of history, a culture and its literary products are always conditioned by the real
material forces and relations of production in their historical era.

Psychological Criticism—Focuses on a work of literature primarily as an expression, in fictional form, of the

state of mind and the structure of personality of the individual author. In other words, a literary text is
related to its author’s mental and emotional traits. Furthest extension is Psychoanalytic Criticism, emphasis
on phallic symbols, wombs, breasts, etc. Theorists include Lacan and Klein.

New Criticism—The proper concern of literary criticism is not with the external circumstances or effects or
historical position of a work, but with a detailed consideration of the work itself as an independent entity.
Emphasis on “the words on the page.” Study of poetry focuses on the “autonomy of the work as existing for
its own sake,” analysis of words, figures of speech, and symbols. Distinctive procedure is close reading and
attention to recurrent images; these critics delight in “tension,” “irony,” and “paradox.” (Similar to Formalism
or Neo-Aristotelian)

Deconstruction—Focuses on the practice of reading a text in order to “subvert” or “undermine” the

assumption that the text can be interpreted coherently to have a universal determinate meaning. Typically,
deconstructive readings closely examine the conflicting forces/meanings within the text in order to show that
the text has an indefinite array of possible readings/significations.

Archetypal/Mythic Criticism—Focuses on recurrent narrative designs, patterns of action, character types, or

images which are said to be identifiable in a wide variety of literary works, myths, dreams, and even ritualized
modes of behavior. Critics tend to emphasize the mythical patterns in literature, such as the death-rebirth
theme and journey of the hero.

10. Cultural Criticism—This lens examines the text from the perspective of cultural attitudes and often
focuses on individuals within society who are marginalized or face discrimination in some way. Cultural
criticism may consider race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexuality or other characteristics that separate
individuals in society and potentially lead to one feeling or being treated as “less than” another. It suggests
that being included or excluded from the dominant culture changes the way one may view the text.

11. Modernism/Post-Modernism—Modernism is a rejection of traditional forms of literature (chronological

plots, continuous narratives, closed endings etc.) in favor of experimental forms. They have nostalgia for the
past that they feel is lost so Modernist texts often include multiple allusions. Post-Modernists follow the same
principles but celebrate the new forms of fragmentation rather than lamenting them.
Look for ironies within a text
Analyze fragmentation and a mixing of genres and forms
Blurs the line between “high” literature (classics) and popular literature (NY Times Bestsellers)
12. Mythological Criticism—This approach emphasizes “the recurrent universal patterns underlying most
literary works.” Combining the insights from anthropology, psychology, history, and comparative religion,
mythological criticism “explores the artist’s common humanity by tracing how the individual imagination uses
myths and symbols common to different cultures and epochs.” One key concept in mythological criticism is
the archetype, “a symbol, character, situation, or image that evokes a deep universal response,” which
entered literary criticism from Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. According to Jung, all individuals share a
“‘collective unconscious,’ a set of primal memories common to the human race, existing below each person’s
conscious mind”—often deriving from primordial phenomena such as the sun, moon, fire, night, and blood,
archetypes according to Jung “trigger the collective unconscious.” Another critic, Northrop Frye, defined
archetypes in a more limited way as “a symbol, usually an image, which recurs often enough in literature to
be recognizable as an element of one’s literary experience as a whole.” Regardless of the definition of
archetype they use, mythological critics tend to view literary works in the broader context of works sharing a
similar pattern.

13. Post-Colonialism Criticism—Post-colonialism literature is most commonly written about countries that
have been previously colonized. A post-colonial lens would approach literature and look for what effects
colonization has left on a society or on individual characters. This criticism looks through literature with the
post-colonial theory. It shows history and the effects that colonization can leave on a civilization even after
they have gained independence. The post-colonialism critical lens interprets the challenges and changes of a
previously colonized nation as the effects of colonization. The major important symbols are oppression and
power. There is an identity between the colonizer and the colonized. The goal of the critical lens is to seek to
understand the behavior of characters or the society. It can be analyzed by the setting and the actions or
behaviors depicted by characters in literature can be attributed to their country being previously colonized.
Characters or society can feel torn between the identities of their native culture and the culture of the
colonizing country. A reader needs to have a good grasp of historical knowledge in order to fully apply the
post colonialism lens to literature. A reader has to be aware of the previous or current colonial status of any
countries or societies that are presented in a work of literature.

14. Moral/Ethical Criticism—The moral/intellectual critical approach is concerned with content and values.
The approach is as old as literature itself, for literature is a traditional mode of imparting morality,
philosophy, and religion. The concern in moral/intellectual criticism is not only to discover meaning but also
to determine whether works of literature are both true and significant. To study literature from the
moral/intellectual perspective is therefore to determine whether a work conveys a lesson or message and
whether it can help readers lead better lives and improve their understanding of the world: What ideas does
the work contain? How strongly does the work bring forth its ideas? What application do the ideas have to
the work’s characters and situations? How may the ideas be evaluated intellectually? Morally? Discussions
based on such questions do not imply that literature is primarily a medium of moral and intellectual
exhortation. Ideally, moral/intellectual criticism should differ from sermonizing to the degree that readers
should always be left with their own decisions about whether to assimilate the ideas of a work and about
whether the ideas—and values—are personally or morally acceptable. Sophisticated critics have sometimes
demeaned the moral/intellectual approach on the grounds that “message hunting” reduces a work’s artistic
value by treating it like a sermon or political speech; but the approach will be valuable as long as readers
expect literature to be applicable to their own lives.

PLOT DEVICES:
1. AD HOMINEM- “Against the man” A literary term that involves commenting on or against the
opponent to undermine him/her instead of his/her arguments
2. ANAPHORA: It is the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an
artistic effect
Considered to be the oldest literary device
It is use to encourage, persuade or inspire people
3. APHORISM-A statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner
 To qualify as an aphorism, it is necessary for a statement to contain a truth revealed in a terse
manner.
EXAMPLE: Weak people Revenge, Strong People forgive, Intelligent People Ignore
4. CHIASMUS- A literary device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the
reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect.
Example: "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate." -John F. Kennedy.
“Love as if you would one day hate,
and hate as if you would one day love.”

5. CLIFFHANGER: A type of a plot device in which the end is curiously abrupt so that the main
characters are left in a difficult situation without offering any resolution of conflicts.
its main purpose is to maintain the suspense in the plot in ensuring the interest of the readers

Plot Techniques

1. Suspense: Frequently involves dilemma. e.g. Caught in a bad situation with a

choice in a boating accident, you can save either your mother or your husband from
drowning.
2. Flashback: The author waits until the story is moving and then flashes back to
reveal biographical data or deep psychological reasons why a character acts as s/he
does. It focuses more on whythings happen, rather than on what happens.

3. Telescoping: It's a matter of economy. The author can't describe every motion of
the character or event during the time the story covers. S/he has to choose the
significant and merely suggest the others by saying they happened, without much
description. Art attempts verisimilitude, not "reality."

4. Foreshadowing: The outcome of a conflict is often hinted at or "foreshadowed"

before the climax and resolution. These clues are usually very subtle; you don't
realize they are foreshadowing clues until you've finished the story. Early on in the
novel Lord of the Flies, the boys roll a rock down from the light of the hill into the
murky jungle below. The destruction of the foliage is a symbolic hint at what's to
come: the boys' descent into savagery and destruction. Open School describes
foreshadowing as "a technique that writers use to make the events in their stories
more believable. In foreshadowing, the reader is given little hints about an important
future event. Something like providing clues in a mystery novel, foreshadowing
ensures that when an important event occurs, the reader thinks: "Oh, I should have
seen that coming" rather than, "This doesn't fit anywhere in this piece!"
Foreshadowing can be a small series of events leading up to a big event, or an event
that is similar in a thematic way to something that happens later."

6. FLASH FORWARD: It is the literary device in which the plot of the story goes forward or into the future
events that will occur
Grabs the readers’ interest in the current events of the narrative to see how the story develops
towards the future that has already been shown to them.

Figurative Language
Alliteration - The repetition of the same initial letter, sound, or group of sounds in a series of words.
Alliteration includes tongue twisters.
Example: She sells seashells by the seashore.

Cliché - A cliché is an expression that has been used so often that it has become common and sometimes
boring.
Examples: Opposites attract. You are what you eat.

Hyperbole - An exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would believe the statement is true. Tall tales are
hyperboles.
Example: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.

Idiom - An idiom is an expression that has a meaning apart from the meanings of its individual words. It’s not
meant to be taken literally.
Example: It’s raining cats and dogs.

Irony – Irony is a literary device involving a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, or between
what’s expected to happen and what actually occurs. There are three main types:
Dramatic irony - A situation in which the audience knows something about present or future circumstances
that the character does not know.
Example: In Romeo & Juliet, Romeo thinks Juliet is dead, so he goes to her tomb to kill himself. This is ironic
because he doesn’t know, as the audience does, that she is has been given a potion to make her look dead.
Verbal irony - A contradiction of expectation between what is said and what is meant.
Example: In Romeo & Juliet, Juliet is upset after being told that her father has promised her hand in marriage
to Paris. She states to her mother "…I will not marry yet; and, when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you
know I hate, rather than Paris …" This is ironic because she is already married to Romeo.
Situational irony - A contradiction between what might be expected and what actually occurs. It’s often
connected to a really negative view of life.
Example: Dying of thirst while adrift on a boat in the ocean. There’s water everywhere, but none of it is
drinkable.

Metaphor - The metaphor makes a direct comparison between two unlike things. A simile would say you are
like something; a metaphor is more positive - it says you are something.
Example: Her eyes are stars shining in the sky.

Extended Metaphor – In an extended metaphor, the metaphor is carried over many sentences or lines.

Onomatopoeia – The use of a word to describe or imitate a natural sound or the sound made by an object or
an action.
Example: snap, crackle, pop.

Oxymoron – When something is described using contradictory terms.

Example: jumbo shrimp; definite maybe; deafening silence.

Personification - A figure of speech in which human characteristics are given

to an animal or an object.
Example: My teddy bear gave me a hug.

Pun – A play on words. A pun involves using a word or words that have more than one meaning.
Example: My dog not only has a fur coat, but also pants.

Simile - A simile uses the words “like” or “as” to compare one object or idea with another to suggest they are
alike.
Example: She is busy as a bee.
Rhetorical Devices.

These are sound devices used to convey meaning through rhyme and rhythm.
a) Onomatopoeia — uses a word having a sound that imitates what it denotes
hiss, hang, hilz7, hush , swoosh

b) Alliteration — involves the repetition of initial consonant sounds

wicked and wan, threatening throngs

c) Assonance — uses repetition of vowels without repetition of consonants, also called a vowel rhyme
alone, alone, all, all, alone

d) Consonance — repeats the final consonant sounds, also called a slant rhyme
dreary and weary; odds and ends

e) Rhyme — employs identical sounds from the vowel of the accented syllables to the end
hold, told, mold, gold; die, sky, my, fly, pie
f) Anaphora — repeats a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive clauses or verses
Cannons to the right of them/Canons to the left of them

Literary Elements (Every story has these)

Protagonist - The main character in a story, the one with whom the reader is meant to identify. The person is
not necessarily "good", but is the person whom the reader is most invested in.
Example: Peter Parker in the Spiderman movies / comic books.

Antagonist - Counterpart to the main character/protagonist and source of a story's main conflict. It may not
even be a person (see Conflict below).
Examples: The Green Goblin in Spiderman. The storm in A Perfect Storm.

Plot - Sequence of events in the story.

Setting - Time and place in which the story occurs.

Example: Spiderman takes place in modern-day New York City.

Conflict - A struggle between opposing forces which drive the action in a story. This is what keeps the reader
reading! The outcome of the story is usually a resolution of the conflict. The opposing force does not have to
be a person. The basic types of conflict are: Man vs. Self, Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Society or
Man vs. Machine.

Climax - The most dramatic part of a story. Right before the climax is the turning point, usually where
something goes wrong. The climax then ensues and comes to a resolution. A resolution does not necessarily
mean the problem has been solved; only that the high point has ended.
Diction – The choice of words used in writing. Authors pay attention to diction, because using one word
instead of another can dramatically change the meaning of a sentence.

Theme - A theme is a main universal idea or message conveyed by story. A theme is expressed as a complete
sentence.
Example: Little Red Riding Hood's theme may be "Don't talk to strangers".

Motif - A motif is an important, recurring idea, structure or image; it differs from a theme in that it can be
expressed as a single word.
Example: A motif in The Outsiders is family.

Mood - Mood refers to the general sense or feeling the reader is supposed to get from the story. Mood
doesn’t refer to a characters' state of mind. It’s how we feel when we read a story.
Tone – Tone is the attitude a writer has towards what they're writing about. Authors show tone through their
word choice, style, and opinion if they express one. It’s how the author feels when writing a story.

Point of View – Point of View is the perspective from which the reader sees the story. It may be first person
(there is no narrator and the story is told by one of the characters as events unfold) or third person (the story
is told by an observer of the story. This could be someone who may or may not be involved).

Common Literary Techniques

Allegory - Where an entire story is symbolic of something else, usually a larger abstract concept, idea, or
important event.
Example: Animal Farm is an allegory of Soviet Union.

Allusion A reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known
historical or literary event, person, or work.
Example: The title of John Steinbeck’s book, Of Mice and Men is an allusion to a line from a poem by Robert
Burns.

Anthropomorphism - Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed as people.

Example: Cars the cars can talk and interact like humans.

Exposition – Exposition is when an author interrupts a story in order to explain something - usually to provide
important background information. An exposition can also be essential information which is given at the
beginning of a play or short story, about the plot and the events that are to follow.

Foil - A foil is character who is meant to represent characteristics, values or ideas which are opposite to
another character (usually the protagonist).
Example: Mercutio is Romeo’s foil in Romeo & Juliet.

Imagery – Imagery is the sensory details and images evoked by the words of a story. When you are asked to
discuss the images or imagery of a work, you should look especially carefully at the sensory details and the
metaphors and similes of a passage.

Parallelism - The use of similar or identical language, structures, events or ideas in different parts of a text.

Repetition - When a specific word, phrase, or structure is repeated several times, usually in close proximity,
to emphasize a particular idea.
Example: from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech –
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi.

Symbolism - A symbol is an object, color, person, character or figure used to represent abstract ideas. A
symbol, unlike a motif, must be visible. Symbols exist all around us in “real” life, like a heart () used to
represent “love”.
Examples: Cars are symbolic in The Outsiders. They represent the social mobility the Soc’s have that the
Greasers don’t (they also are an example of situational irony because Darry and Soda work on cars, and know
more about them than the Greasers who drive them).

Linguistics
 A. Scope of Linguistic Studies

1. Phonology — studies the combination of sounds into organized units of speech. the combination of syllables
and larger units.

a. Phoneme is a distinctive, contrasted sound unit, e.g. /b/,/g/. It is the smallest unit of sound of any language
that causes a difference in meaning.
b. Allophones are variants or other ways of producing a phoneme.
2. Phonetics — studies language at the level of sounds: how sounds are articulated by the human speech
mechanism.

3 Morphology — studies the patterns of forming words by combining sounds into minimal distinctive units of
meanings called morphemes.

a. Morpheme is a short segment of language which (1) is a word or word part that has meaning, (2)
cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts without violating its meaning, (3) recurs in different words with a
relatively stable meaning.
b. Allomorphs — are morphs which belong to the same morpheme e.g., /s/, /z/, and /ez/ of the plural morpheme /s/
or /es/.
c. Free morphemes can stand on their own as independent words, e.g., beauty in beautifully, like in unlikely.
Thus, they can occur in isolation.
d. Bound morphemes cannot stand on their own as independent words. These morphemes are also called
as affixes.
e. Inflectional morphemes never change the form class of the words or morphemes to which they are
attached. They show person, tense, number, case, and degree.
f. Derivational morphemes are added to root morphemes or stems to derive new words.
4. Syntax — deals with how words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences, and studies the way phrases,
clauses, and sentences are constructed.

a. Structure of predication —refers to the two components : subject and predicate

b. Structure of complementation — has two basic elements : verbal and complement
c. Structure of modification — includes two components : head word and modifier
d. Structure of coordination — covers two components : equivalent grammatical units
5. Semantics — attempts to analyze the structure of meaning in language and deals with the level of meaning in
language.

a. Lexical ambiguity — refers to the characteristic of a word that has more than one meaning.
b. Syntactic ambiguity — refers to the characteristic of a phrase that has more

6. Pragmatics — deals with the contextual aspects of meaning in particular situations studies how
language is used in real communication.

Speech act theory — advances that every utterance consists of three separate acts (1) locutionary force — an act of saying
something and describes what a speaker says, (2) illocutionary force — the act of doing something and what the speaker intends to do
by uttering a sentence, and (3) perlocutionary act — an act of affecting someone; the effect on the hearer of what a speaker says.

b. Categories of illocutionary acts —refers to categories proposed by John Searle to group together closely related intentions
for saying something:

 Representative — stating, asserting, denying, confessing, admitting, notifying, concluding. predicting, etc.
Directive — requesting, ordering, forbidding, warning. advising, suggesting, insisting, recommending, etc.

Question —asking, inquiring, etc.

 Commissive — promising, vowing, volunteering, offering, guaranteeing, pledging, betting, etc.

Expressive — apologizing, thanking, congratulating, condoling, welcoming,

deploring, objecting, etc. Declaration — appointing, naming, resigning, baptizing, surrendering, excommunicating. arresting, etc.
7. Discourse — studies chunks of language '0. which are bigger than a single sentence.
B. Language Views / Theories of Language

1. The Structuralists support the idea that language can be described in terms of observable and verifiable data as it is
being used.
 a.
Language is a means of communication.
b.
Language is primarily vocal
c.
Language is a system of systems.
d.
Language is arbitrary.
2. The Transformationalists believe that language is a system of knowledge made manifest in linguistic forms but innate
and, in

its most abstract form universal.

a. Language is a mental phenomenon. It is not mechanical.

b. Language is innate. Children acquire their first language because they have a language acquisition device (LAD) in their brain.

c. Language is universal: all normal children learn a mother tongue; all languages share must share key features like sounds and
rules.

d. Language is creative and enables speakers to produce and understand sentences they have not heard nor used

3. The Functionalists advocates that language is a dynamic system through which members of a
community exchange information. It is a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning such as
expressing one's emotions, persuading people, asking and giving information, etc.

They emphasize the meaning and functions rather than the grammatical characteristics of
language.
4. The Interactionists believe that language is a vehicle for establishing interpersonal relations and
for performing social transactions between individuals.


Language teaching content may be specified and organized by patterns of exchange and
interaction.
C. Language Acquisition / Theories of Language Learning

1. Behaviorist learning theory — the

language behavior of an individual is conditioned by sequences of differential rewards in his/her

environment.

According to Littlewood (1984), the process of habit formation includes the following :

a. Children imitate the sounds and patterns which they hear around them.
b. People recognize the child's attempts as being similar to the adult models and reinforce (reward)
the sounds by approval or some other desirable reaction.
c. In order to obtain more of these rewards, the child repeats the sounds and patterns so that
these become habits.
d. In this way t he child's verbal behavior is conditioned (`shaped') until the habits coincide with adult
models.
 Behavioralists see three crucial elements of learning: (1) a stimulus, which serves to elicit
behavior, (2) a response triggered by the stimulus, and (3) reinforcement which serves to mark
the response as being appropriate and encourages the repetition of the response.
2. Cognitive learning theory. Noam Chomsky believes that all normal human beings have an inborn
biological internal mechanism that makes language learning possible.

 Cognitivists / innatists mentalists account of second language acquisition include hypothesis

testing, a process of formulating rules and testing the same with competent speakers of the
target language.
3. Krashen's Monitor Model (1981).This is the most comprehensive theory in second language
acquisition. It consists of five central hypotheses.

a. The acquisition / learning hypothesis

— claims that there are two ways of

 developing competence in L2: Acquisition — the subconscious process that results from informal,
natural communication

hp l u ip pn n pn n i p w h p r a l a n a i l a n c z i S Learning — the conscious process of knowing about

language and being able to talk about it, that occurs in a more formal situation where the properties
of a language are taught
b. The natural order hypothesis
suggests that grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable order for both children and
adults _ certain grammatical structures are acquired before others, irrespective of the
language being learned.
c. The monitor hypothesis claims that conscious learning of grammatical rules has an extremely
limited function in language performance: as a monitor or editor that checks output.
d. The input hypothesis. Krashen
proposes that when learners are exposed to grammatical features a little beyond their current
level those features are acquired.
e. The affective filter hypothesis. Filter consists of attitude to language, motivation, self-
confidence and anxiety. Learners with a low affective filter seek and receive more input, interact
with confidence, and are more receptive to the input they are exposed to.
3 Teachers must continuously deliver at a level understandable by learners

7) Teaching must prepare the learners for real life communication situations Teachers must ensure that
learners do not become anxious or defensive in language learning.

9 Formal grammar teaching is of limited value because it contributes to learning rather than acquisition

D. Language Teaching Implications

1. Language theories provide some basis for a

particular teaching method or approach.

 Structuralism / behaviorism has produced the audio-lingual method (ALM), oral approach /
situational language teaching, bottom-up text processing, controlled-to-free
writing.

2. The cognitive learning theory results to the

cognitive approach that puts language analysis before language use and instruction by the teacher,
before the students practice forms.

 Learning as a thinking process gives birth to cognitive-based and schema-enhancing

strategies such as Directed Reading Thinking Activity, Story Grammar, Think-Aloud, etc.
3. The functional view of language introduced methods which are learner-centered, allowing learners to
work in pairs or groups in information gap tasks and problem-solving activities where such communication
strategies as information sharing, negotiation of meaning. and interaction are used.

• These communication-based methods include the Communicative Language Teaching I

Communicative Approach, Notional-Functional Approach, Natural Approach

4. Cognitive — affective has given rise to a holistic approach to language learning or whole person
learning. It also includes the humanistic approach, allowing learners vocabulary for expressing,
sharing and understanding one's feelings, values, and needs.

• The humanistic techniques cover Community Language Learning.

H. Literature

A. Goals of Teaching Literature

1. Develop and/or extend literary competence. Jonathan Culler defines literary competence as the ability to
internalize the 'grammar' of literature which would permit a reader to convert linguistic sequences
into literary structures and meaning.
2. Develop and/or enhance learners' imagination and creativity.
3. Develop students' character and emotional maturity.
 4. Develop creative thinking.
5. Develop literary appreciation and refine one's reading taste.
B. Methods in Teaching Literature

1. Lecture Methods : formal, informal, straight recitation

2. Discussion Methods : pair work, buzz group, group work
3. Public Speaking Methods : memorizing, interpretive reading (Readers Theater, Chamber
Theater), debate, panel forum
4. Audio-Visual Methods : using slides, transparencies, film, vcd, dvd,
5. Project Methods : scrapbook making, exhibit/diorama, dramatization, literary map, time line,
video/audio scriptwriting
6. Field Research Methods : field trip. author interview
7. Creative Writing Methods : journal writing, closure writing, team writing, writing workshop
C. Some Strategies and Techniques in Teaching Literature

1 Show and Tell and Blurb Writing— using the title and cover design

2. Movie Poster and Movie Trailer —transforming a literary piece into film
3. Writing Chapter Zero / Epilogue — writing a prequel or sequel
4. Mock Author Interview — assigning a student to play the role of the author
5. Biographical Montage — compiling
authentic materials about the author

6. Graphic Representations — using

sketching or other visual representations

7. Sculpting — making a tableau or montage

8. Creative Conversation, Speech Balloons, or Thought Bubbles — supplying dialogues
9. Worksheets — completing grids or writing responses
10. Transforms — translatina or turnina a niece
D. Literary Criticism — involves the reading, interpretation and commentary of a specific text or texts
which have been designated as literature. Literary criticism is the application of a literary theory to specific
texts. Literary theory identifies what makes literary language literary and the function of literary text in social
and cultural terms.

1. Classical Literary Theory —literature is an imitation of life.

a. Mimesis (Plato) — literature is an imitation of life.

b. Dulce et utile (Horace) — function of literature is to entertain or to
teach/instruct
c. Sublime (Longinus) — style may be low, middle, high, or sublime
d. Catharsis (Aristotle) — purgation of negative emotions of fear and pity
2. Historical — Biographical and Moral —Philosophical Approaches

a. A literary work is a reflection of its author's life and times or the life and times of the characters
in the work.
b. It emphasizes that literature functions to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues.
3. Romantic Theory. William Wordsworth articulated it in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads as literature
which should

a. have a subject matter that is ordinary and commonplace

b. use simple language, even aspiring to the language of prose
c. make use of the imagination
d. convey a primal, simple, uncomplicated feeling
e. present similitude in dissimilitude
(similarities in differences)
4. New Criticism — believes that literature is an organic unity. To use this theory, one proceeds by
looking into the following : the persona, the addressee, the situation (where and when), what the
persona says, the central metaphor (tenor and vehicle), the central irony, the multiple meaning of
words.

5. Psychoanalytical Theory — applies Freudian psychoanalytic ideas to literature.

 a. It looks into the character's or author's motivations, drives, fears, desires.
b. It believes that creative writing is like dreaming — it disguises what cannot be confronted directly
— the critic must decode what is disguised.
6. Mythological / Archetypal Approach — is based on Carl Jung's theory of collective unconscious.

a. Repeated or dominant images or patterns of human experience are identified in the text.
b. It also uses Northrop Frye's assertion that literature consists of variations on a great mythic theme that
contains the following : (1) the garden : the creation of life in paradise, (2) alienation : displacement or
banishment from paradise, (3) journey : a time of trial and tribulation, (4) epiphany : a self-
discovery as a result of struggle, (4) rebirth / resurrection : a return to paradise.

7. Structuralist Literary Theory — comes from the linguistic theory of Ferdinand de Saussure which
recognizes language as a of

system or structure. To Vladimir Propp and Tzvetan Todorov , structuralism should identify the general
principles of literary structure and not to provide interpretations of individual texts. Three dimensions
in individual literary texts : a. the text as a particular system or structure in itself (naturalization of a
text) b. texts are unavoidably influenced by other texts (intertextuality) c. the text is related to the
culture as a whole (binary oppositions)

8. Deconstruction — interrogates our common practices in reading and exposes the gaps,
incoherences, the contradictions in a discourse and how the text undermine itself or how a text
contradicts itself. Deconstruction draws much from the works of Jacques Derrida. The process involves
a. identifying the oppositions in the text

b. determining which member is favored/privileged and looking for evidence that contradicts it

c. exposing the text's indeterminancy

9. Russian Formalism — led by Viktor Shklovsky — aims to establish a 'science of literature' and
discover the literariness of a text by highlighting the devices and technical elements used by the
author. These elements should include :

a. baring the device — e.g. distorting time in various ways — foreshortening, skipping, expanding,
transposing, reversing, flashback, flashforward, etc.

b. defamiliarization — this means making strange and using fresh ways of describing things

c. retardation of the narrative — the technique of delaying and protracting actions by using
digressions. displacements, extended descriptions, etc.

d. naturalization — refers to how we endlessly become inventive in finding ways of making sense of the
most random or chaotic utterances or discourse.

e. carnivalization — Mikhail Bakhtin used this term to describe the shaping effect of carnival on literary
texts. The festivities associated with the carnival are collective and popular; hierarchies are turned on
their heads (fools become wise; kings become beggars); opposites are mingled (fact and fantasy,
heaven and hell); the sacred is profaned; the rigid or serious is subverted, mocked or loosened. 10.

10. Marxist Literary Theory. It aims to explain literature relation to society — that literature can
only be properly understood within a larger framework of social reality. Marxist literary critics would
like to look at the structure of history and society and then investigate whether the literary work
reflects or distorts this structure. They insist that literature has a social dimension — it exists in time
and space, in history and society. Moreover, writers are constantly formed by their social contexts and
social class.

11. Feminist Literary Theory- and theoretical practice committed to the struggle against patriarchy
and sexism.

a. Feminism asks why women played a subordinate role to men in society. It studies the male-
dominated canon to understand how men have used culture to further their domination of women.

b. It studies literature by women for how it addresses or expresses the particularity of women's life
and experience. Feminist critics insist that women's experience is different from men's.

12. Postcolonial Criticism. Postcolonialism refers to the independence enjoyed by Third World countries
after the decline of colonial rule by imperialist powers. The many concerns of postcolonial criticism
includes the following :

a. attempt to resurrect their national culture and to combat the misconceptions about their culture

b. dramatize the colonial experience and their response to it

 c. escape from the implicit body of assumptions to which the language of the colonizing power,
English. was attached.

d. study diasporic texts outside the usual Western genres, especially works by aboriginal authors,
marginalized ethnicities, immigrants, and refugees.

e. analyze nationality, ethnicity, and politics with poststructuralist ideas of identity and indeterminacy,
and hybrid constructions (Homi K. Bhaba)

13. Post Modern Literary Theory. Postmodern refers to the culture of advanced capitalist societies.
which has undergone a profound shift in the 'structure of feeling.' Postmodern texts have the following
features :

a. fragmentation

g. intertextuality

b. discontinuity

h. decentering

c. indeterminacy

i. dislocation

d. plurality

j. ludism

e. metafictionality

k. parody

f. heterogeneity

I. pastiche

Eight Approaches to Language Teaching

Grammar-Translation Method

The Grammar-Translation Method focuses on developing students' appreciation of the target

language's literature as well a teaching the language. Students are presented with target-language
reading passages and answer questions that follow. Other activities include translating literary
passages from one language into the other, memorizing grammar rules, and memorizing native-
language equivalents of target language vocabulary. Class work is highly structured, with the
teacher controlling all activities.

Direct Method

The Direct Method allows students to perceive meaning directly through the language because
no translation is allowed. Visual aids and pantomime are used to clarify the meaning of
vocabulary items and concepts. Students speak a great deal in the target language and
communicate as if in real situations. Reading and writing are taught from the beginning, though
speaking and listening skills are emphasized. Grammar is learned inductively.

Audio-Lingual Method

The Audio-Lingual Method is based on the behaviorist belief that language learning is the
acquisition of a set of correct language habits. The learner repeats patterns until able to produce
them spontaneously. Once a given pattern – for example, subject-verb-prepositional phrase – is
learned, the speaker can substitute words to make novel sentences. The teacher directs and
controls students' behavior, provides a model, and reinforces correct responses.

The Silent Way

The theoretical basis of Gattegno's Silent Way is the idea that teaching must be subordinated to
learning and thus students must develop their own inner criteria for correctness. All four skills –
reading, writing, speaking, and listening – are taught from the beginning. Students' errors are
expected as a normal part of learning: the teacher's silence helps foster self-reliance and student
initiative. The teacher is active in setting up situations, while the students do most of the talking
and interacting.

Suggestopedia

Lozanov's method seeks to help learners eliminate psychological barriers to learning. The
learning environment is relaxed and subdued, with low lighting and soft music in the
background. Students choose a name and character in the target language and culture, and
imagine that person. Dialogs are presented to the accompaniment of music. Students just relax
and listen to them being read and later playfully practice the language during an “activation”
phase.

Community Language Learning

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Provided by : Nasrin Eftekhari , Apr.2012
In Curren's method, teachers consider students as “whole persons,” with intellect, feelings,
instincts, physical responses, and desire to learn. Teachers also recognize that learning can be
threatening. By understanding and accepting students' fears, teachers help students feel secure
and overcome their fears, and thus help them harness positive energy for learning. The syllabus
used is learner-generated, in that students choose what they want to learn in the target language.

Total Physical Response Method

Asher's approach begins by placing primary importance on listening comprehension, emulating

the early stages of mother tongue acquisition, and then moving to speaking, reading, and writing.
Students demonstrate their comprehension by acting out commands issued by the teacher;
teachers provide novel and often humorous variations of the commands. Activities are designed
to be fun and to allow students to assume active learning roles. Activities eventually include
games and skits.

The Communicative Approach

The Communicative Approach stresses the need to teach communicative competence as opposed
to linguistic competence; thus, functions are emphasized over forms. Students usually
work with authentic materials in small groups on communicative activities, during which
they receive practiEight Approaches to Language Teaching

The Grammar-Translation Method

Goals
To be able to read literature in target language; learn grammar rules and vocabulary; develop
mental acuity.

Roles
Teacher has authority; students follow instructions to learn what teacher knows.
Teaching/Learning Process
Students learn by translating from one language to the other, often translating reading passages
in the target language to the native language. Grammar is usually learned deductively on the
basis of grammar rules and examples. Students memorize the rules, then apply them to other
examples. They learn paradigms such as verb conjugations, and they learn the native language
equivalents of vocabulary words.

Interaction: Student-Teacher & STudent-Student

Most interaction is teacher-to-student; student-initiated interaction and student-student
interaction is minimal.

Dealing with Feelings

n/a
Aspects of Language the Approach Emphasizes
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Provided by : Nasrin Eftekhari , Apr.2012
Vocabulary; grammar emphasize; reading, writing are primary skills; pronunciation and other
speaking/listening skills not emphasized.

Role of Students' Native Language

Native language provides key to meanings in the target language; native language is used freely
in class.

Means for Evaluation

Tests require translation from native to target and target to native language; applying grammar
rules, answering questions about foreign culture.

Response to Students' Errors

Heavy emphasis placed on correct answers; teacher supplies correct answers when students
cannot.

The Direct Method

Goals
To communicate in target language; to think in target language.

Roles
Teacher directs class activities, but students and teacher are partners in the teaching/learning
process.

Teaching/Learning Process
Students are taught to associate meaning and the target language directly. New target language
words or phrases are introduced through the use of realia, pictures or pantomime, never the
native language. Students speak in the target language a great deal and communicate as if in real
situations. Grammar rules are learned inductively – by generalizing from examples. Students
practice new vocabulary using words in sentences.

Interaction: Student-Teacher & Student-Student

Both teacher and students initiate interaction, though student-initiated interaction with teacher or
among each other, is usually teacher-directed.

Dealing with Feelings

n/a

View of Language, Culture

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Provided by : Nasrin Eftekhari , Apr.2012
Language is primary spoken, not written. Students study common, everyday speech in the target
language. Aspects of foreign culture are studied such as history, geography, daily life.

Aspects of Language the Approach Emphasizes

Vocabulary emphasized over grammar; oral communication considered basic, with reading,
writing based on oral practice; pronunciation emphasized from outset.

Role of Students' Native Language

Not used in the classroom.

Means for Evaluation

Students tested through actual use, such as in oral interviews and assigned written paragraphs.

Response to Students' Errors

Self-correction encouraged whenever possible.

The Audio-Lingual Method

Goals
Use the target language communicatively, overlearn it, so as to be able to use it automatically by
forming new habits in the target language and overcoming native language habits.

Roles
Teacher directs, controls students' language behavior, provides good model for imitation;
students repeat, respond as quickly and accurately as possible.

Teaching/Learning Process
New vocabulary, structures presented through dialogs, which are learned through imitation,
repetition. Drills are based on patterns in dialog. Students' correct responses are positively
reinforced; grammar is induced from models. Cultural information is contextualized in the
dialogs or presented by the teacher. Reading, writing tasks are based on oral work.

Interaction: Student-Teacher & Student-Student

Students interact during chain drills or when taking roles in dialogs, all at teacher's direction.
Most interaction is between teacher and student, initiated by teacher.

Dealing with Feelings

n/a

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Provided by : Nasrin Eftekhari , Apr.2012

View of Language, Culture

Descriptive linguistics influence: every language seen as having its own unique system of
phonological, morphological, and syntactic patterns. Method emphasizes everyday speech and
uses a graded syllabus from simple to difficult linguistic structures. Culture comprises everyday
language and behavior.

Aspects of Language the Approach Emphasizes

Language structures emphasized; vocabulary contextualized in dialogs but is limited because
syntactic patterns are foremost; natural priority of skills – listening, speaking, reading, writing,
with emphasis on first two; pronunciation taught from beginning, often with language lab work
and minimal pair drills.

Role of Students' Native Language

Students' native language habits are considered as interfering, thus native language is not used in
classroom. Contrastive analysis is considered helpful for determining points of interference.

Means for Evaluation

Discrete-point tests in which students distinguish between words or provide an appropriate verb
for a sentence, etc.

Response to Students' Errors

Teachers strive to prevent student errors by predicting trouble spots and tightly controlling what
they teach students to say.

The Silent Way

Goals
To use language for self-expression: to develop independence from the teacher, to develop inner
criteria for correctness.

Roles
Teaching should be subordinated to learning. Teachers should give students only what they
absolutely need to promote their learning. Learners are responsible for their own learning.

Teaching/Learning Process
Students begin with sounds, introduced through association of sounds in native language to a
sound-color chart. Teacher then sets up situations, often using Cuisenaire rods, to focus students'
attention on structures. Students interact as the situation requires. Teachers see students' errors as
clues to where the target language is unclear, and they adjust instruction accordingly. Students
are urged to take responsibility for their learning. Additional learning is thought to take place
 Educational
Intelligence Type
Activities
lectures, worksheets,
Linguistic word games, journals,
debates
puzzles, estimations,
TEACHING METHODS AND TEACHER & Logical
problem solving
LEARNER ROLES
charts, diagrams,
Teacher Learner
Method Spatial graphic organizers,
Roles Roles
drawing, films
Situational
Context Setter Imitator hands-on, mime, craft,
Language Bodily
Error Corrector Memorizer demonstrations
Teaching
singing, poetry, Jazz
Pattern Musical
Language Chants, mood music
Practicer
Audio-lingualism Modeler group work, peer
Accuracy Interpersonal
Drill Leader tutoring, class projects
Enthusiast
Communicative reflection, interest
Needs Analyst Improvisor Intrapersonal centers, personal
Language
Task Designer Negotiator values tasks
Teaching
Total Physical Commander Order Taker field trips, show and
Response Action Monitor Performer Naturalist tell, plant and animal
projects
Community Collaborator
Counselor lectures, worksheets,
Language Whole
Paraphraser Linguistic word games, journals,
Learning Person
debates
The Natural Actor Guesser
Approach Props User Immerser
Auto-hypnotist Relaxer
Suggestopedia Authority True-
Figure Believer

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