The Language Teacher
03 - 2003
Socially Responsible Language Teaching Using Literature
Irma-Kaarina Ghosn
Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
Introduction
Classroom experience can have a profound effect on learners' views of themselves, their place in the world and their role as global citizens. Instructional materials and methods play an important role in shaping that experience. Since language teaching is not bound by specific, fixed content, language teachers can select materials that cultivate the skills and attitudes of global citizenship, and good literature is one of the best options. The sustained human interest in a story is evident in the epics, myths, legends and folk tales that have preserved human heritage, sparked the imagination of the young and old and entertained and thrilled humankind for thousands of years. Throughout human history, stories and parables have also been used to transmit the values and mores of society (Reardon, 1997) and stories are valuable tools we can use to transmit the culture of peace in the language classroom. While literature can be used with learners of all ages, the main focus in this article is children and adolescents. The described activities, however, can be adapted to suit older learners and adult literature.
Socially Responsible Language Teaching (SRLT), as it is understood here, is based on peace education pedagogy, which respects and is sensitive to learners' culture, personalities and life situation. It involves learners in shaping the lessons by allowing them to explore what is of interest and concern to them in the stories. It is not a subversive means to impose new values or beliefs on the learners, and it is never coercive or sensationalist. Rather it aims at raising learners' awareness of issues that are of global concern while helping them develop the skills they need to examine the issues and make decisions about them. Most importantly, its main focus is always language teaching.
Literature and Language Learning
Good literature is an excellent medium for language learning, as it is full of examples of real-life language in different situations. Thus it avails vocabulary, language structures and registers second language learners might not have otherwise encountered and assists them in their own communication efforts. For example, Butterworth's (1989) delightful story, One Snowy Night provides the following useful models in meaningful, easy to understand contexts: Could you face the other way? / Can I come in, too? / Well, if you promise to behave.../ I'm sorry to burst in like this....
Meek (1995) has aptly pointed out that "Stories teach children the verb tenses of the past and the future when they are intensely preoccupied with the present" (p. 6). A good example of this is Viorst's (1995) Alexander, Who's Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move. This is how Alexander uses the future tense to express his feeling about the family's move:
I'll never have a best friend like Paul again. I'll never have a great sitter like Rachel again. I'll never have my soccer team or my car pool again.... My mom and my dad say that after a while I'll get used to living a thousand miles from everything....
Having learners act out parts of the story and inviting them to use the language in their own stories and role-plays will provide a meaningful context for practicing the forms. For example, learners can be invited to think what they would really miss if they had to move and then express their ideas using the forms in the story. The discussion will also provide the teacher with an excellent opportunity to model new language, such as "If you had to move...what would you miss?"
The positive influence of stories on development of second language learners' vocabulary and reading and writing skills is well documented. In my classroom-based research I have also found literature to generate more interactive discourse than the traditional language practice activities. The following episode around the classic Wizard of Oz in a grade four class helps illustrate this:
S1: The good witch gave to Dorothy the slippers.
T: Uhhuh. Slippers.
S1: Yes
T: What kind of slippers?
S1: Uh, red magic slippers.
T: Why did she give slippers to Dorothy?
S1: Because it can help her when she is in trouble.
T: They were very special slippers?
S2: Teacher, why they say "slippers" and not shoes? (Unpublished transcript data.)
Empathy
Literature can also help children develop aspects of emotional intelligence identified by Goleman (1995). Empathy, an aspect of emotional intelligence-- and a pre-requisite skill to tolerance--develops as a result of experience and interaction with others. Recent brain research suggests that "...repeated emotional lessons of the child's life literally shape the brain circuits for that response" (Goleman quoted in O'Neill, 1996, p. 3). It has been argued elsewhere that stories can contribute to development of empathy by providing vicarious emotional experiences, which, like direct experiences, have the potential to shape brain circuits (Ghosn, 2001). In contrast, lack of exposure to stories may actually limit the development of empathy in children, as Pinsent (1996) has argued.
The highest mode of empathic arousal is role-taking, the ability to imagine how one would feel in a situation of others (Hoffman, 1984). For example, children everywhere can empathize with Alexander's miserable day in Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (Viorst, 1972) and relate to Ahmed's joy of learning to write his name in The day of Ahmed's secret (Heide & Gilliland, 1990). Teachers can help develop learners' role-taking ability while introducing or reinforcing grammatical structures as shown in the following classroom episode:
T: If you were in Alexander's place, how would you feel?
S1: If me, if I am Alexander I will be very sad when I see all my friends eat cookies.
T: Uh-huh, so you would be sad if you had no cookies for dessert.
S2: Miss, me, me! I be angry because my mother she did not put any cookies.
T: Oh, so if you were left without dessert, you would be angry. Uhuh. (Unpublished transcript data.)
Intercultural Awareness
These stories, like many others that describe children's experiences in other cultures, also help develop intercultural awareness. Alexander's stories give readers an idea about the life of a little American boy, while Ahmed's day provides some insight into the life of a child in Egypt. At the same time, these stories illustrate some of the shared, universal aspects of the human condition.
One of the basic skills in the development of intercultural awareness (and conflict resolution) is the ability to engage in objective, non-prejudiced observation. Many children's storybooks have excellent detailed illustrations and the following are some ways that a teacher can use well-illustrated storybooks to teach the skill of observation.
- Invite students to examine illustrations and ask them to observe what they see. Explain that observing means noting only facts and that we use words such as "probably", "maybe" and "possibly" to talk about something we are not sure of.
- Give an example of a fact and an assumption from the illustrations. "These people are standing at a bus stop. We can see that in the picture. We can say that it is a fact. Can we say that these people are going to get on the bus? We assume that, but we cannot be sure. What other possibilities might there be? Maybe they are waiting for someone. Perhaps they are waiting to cross the street."
- A volunteer records all observations on the board and students then examine each suggested observation to determine whether it is an observable fact or an assumption. Depending on the age of the learners, degrees of certainty can be discussed and relevant vocabulary introduced (possible, probable, etc.).
During the reading of the story, some of the facts and speculations can be verified:
"Some of you assumed that these people might be waiting to cross the road. Others suggested that they are waiting for a bus. What did we find out?"
"Their cousins were coming on the bus."
"Right, so just because people are standing at the bus stop does not necessarily mean that they are going to get on the bus." - Making comparisons between different story contexts and between stories and their own life experience helps children gain insight into cultural concepts while learning vocabulary of comparing and contrasting. The familiar Venn Diagram is a useful graphic organizer for comparisons. (Determining the criteria for comparison avoids random listing of ideas.) The completed diagram provides a useful organizer for follow-up writing, as demonstrated in Appendix A.
Caution needs to be exercised, however, when selecting multicultural stories. Stories that portray the exotic or the quaint minimize the shared universal human experience (Derman-Sparks, 1993/94) and stories that fail to show diversity within groups build stereotyped images of other cultures.
Prejudice and Discrimination
Stories can also teach about poverty, prejudice and discrimination. For example, The Hundred Dresses (Estes, 1944), although nearly sixty years old, is still very relevant today. The story, which tells about prejudice, discrimination and bullying, lends itself well to discussion and follow-up activities that promote language learning and get children to reflect on the issue of prejudice and individual responsibility. The following suggestions can be adapted to many different stories.
- Inviting children to share any experiences they may have had with teasing, exclusion, or witnessing others being victims gives the teacher an opportunity to model question formation: "How did they feel?" "Did anyone interfere?" "What did they do?" "Why didn't anyone stop it?"
- Discussion on what students perceive an individual's role and responsibility to be when witnessing bullying or discrimination provides a meaningful and natural context for teaching modals. "What should the other children have done?" "What could they have done?" "What could Wanda have done?" The questions can be written on the board. Students then generate possible solutions which are listed on the board next to the questions. Modals are reinforced while students consider possible consequences of their suggestions. Work on problem solving will further reinforce the use of modals while developing critical thinking. Appendix B shows the steps in the problem solving process and how they can be linked to a story.
- 3An in-depth exploration of important topics is possible by developing a thematic unit around 3-4 stories. For example, The Hundred Dresses, Crow Boy (Yashima, 1965), The Sneetches (Seuss, 1989) and Andersen's classic, The Ugly Duckling (available in numerous re-told versions), all deal with prejudice and exclusion, while The Hundred Dresses, I Hate English! (Levine, 1992), and Angel Child, Dragon Child (Surat, 1989) can be used to explore the immigrant experience.
Perspective-taking, whether historical, cultural, or gendered, is an important academic and real world skill that is fostered by talking about literature (Raphael, Gavelek, & Daniels, 1998). When students have opportunities to talk about and reflect on characters' situations and actions, they begin to understand different perspectives. Written tasks that require students to take on different roles further reinforce the skill. As Bearne (1996) notes, literature helps sharpen critical thinking skills and enables children to "read their own and others' representation of the world sharply and analytically" (p. 318). For example, the familiar literary journals and letters to story characters, when used with stories of substance, make valuable contributions to the SRLT classroom, as do invented dialogues between characters. The following are just a few possibilities.
- Using the first person pronoun, students take on a role of a character (or an object) in a story and describe an event from that person's viewpoint. For example, one grade 5 student wrote from the perspective of Maddie in The Hundred Dresses:
Today Peggy made mean fun of Wanda again. It made me feel bad inside, but I did not say anything because I was afraid that Peggy will make fun of me. I think that everybody is a little afraid like me. - Writing letters from one character to another requires students to put themselves in the position of others, thus reinforcing the role-taking skill. Writing letters to the characters in the story personalizes the story and can be used to teach caring communication and expressions of encouragement and support. Here is what one 4th grader wrote to the Ugly Duckling:
Dear Ugly Duckling, don't be sad I think you can be a very nice bird and I like you. Your friend Sami. - Adding dialogue to the story requires students not only to read creatively but also to take on different roles. For example, when writing a dialogue between Wanda and her father, students need to think about the possible relationship between the two, their home life, etc. Writing dialogues about story events can be used to activate the use of reported speech:
Wanda: The teacher told us that there is going to be an art competition soon.
Father: Oh. You draw so well that you might even win. Did she say anything about prizes?
Wanda: Yes, she said that the winner would get a medal.
Stories offer many examples of how prejudice and intolerance can lead not only to discrimination but also to violence, as in The Island of the Skog (Kellogg, 1973) and Two Monsters (McKee, 1985). The story about the two monsters vividly demonstrates how conflict and violence can result from the refusal to attempt to understand others' viewpoints. Although the story is controversial in that it actually teaches new expressions for insulting others (e.g. "numskull" and "peabrain"), it provides a valuable lesson about the power of words. When students try to transform the insults into positive comments, they will realize that something interesting happens to the conflict – it dissipates! Appendix C shows how the story was transformed by a group of 5th graders. First, students tried to change only the insulting comments, but realized quickly that each negative comment, when replaced by a positive one, changed the consequent reaction. So, they re-wrote the story.
Conclusion
The above are just some examples of how stories foster the culture of peace in a language classroom. When linked to relevant non-fiction readings in books and newspapers, stories can often be linked to both the local context and the global community. Student-generated texts provide further material for reading and the traditional language teaching activities (jumbled sentences, re-writes with additions and changes, etc.) and for revising and editing practice. For more titles and suggestions for use, see Ghosn (2002).
References
Bearne, E. (1996). Mind the gap. In M. Styles, E. Bearne, & V. Watson (Eds.), Voices off (pp. 310-329). London: Cassell.
Butterworth, N. (1989). One snowy night. London: William Collins Sons & Co.
Derman-Sparks, L. (1993/94). Empowering children to create a caring culture in a world of differences. Childhood Education, 70(2), 66-71.
Estes, E. (1944). The hundred dresses. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Ghosn, I. (2001). Nurturing emotional intelligence through literature. English Teaching FORUM, 39(1). Retrieved from exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol39/index.htm.
Ghosn, I. (2002). Four good reasons to use literature in primary school ELT. ELT Journal, 56(2), 172-179.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.
Heide, F. P., & Gilliland, J. H. (1990). The day of Ahmed's secret. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
Hoffman, M. (1984). Interaction of affect and cognition in empathy. In C. Izard, J. Kagan, & R. Zajonc (Eds.), Emotions, cognition, and behavior (pp. 103-131). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kellogg, S. (1973). The island of the Skog. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
Levin, E. (1992). I hate English! New York: Scholastic.
McKee, D. (1985). Two monsters. London: Random House.
Meek, M. (1995). The critical challenge of the world in books for children. Children's Literature in Education, 26(1), 5-23.
O'Neill, J. (1996). On emotional intelligence: A conversation with David Goleman. Educational Leadership, 54(1), 6-11.
Pinsent, P. (1996). Children's literature and the politics of equality. London: David Fulton.
Raphael, T., Gavelek, J., & Daniels, V. (1998). Developing students' talk about text. National Reading Conference Yearbook, 47, 116-128.
Reardon, B. (1997). Tolerance--The threshold of peace. Paris: UNESCO.
Seuss, Dr. (1989). The Sneetches and other stories. New York: Random House.
Surat, M. (1989). Child, dragon child. New York: Scholastic.
Viorst, J. (1972). Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. New York: Aladdin.
Viorst, J. (1995). Alexander, who's not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) going to move. New York: Aladdin.
Yashima, T. (1965). The crow boy. New York: Viking Press.
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Transforming Conflict through Caring Communication
The Friendly Monsters
Adapted from the story by David McKee
Miss Manal's Grade 5
Once upon a time there were two monsters who lived on a mountain. One lived on the west side and the other one lived on the east side. Sometimes they talked together through a small hole in the mountain. One evening the first monster called through the hole, "Hi neighbor! You should see the sunset. It is very beautiful!"
"What do you mean sunset?" called the second monster through the hole. "You mean the moonrise, my good neighbor."
The two monsters did not sleep very well. They were thinking about what the other monster had said. The next morning, the first monster shouted through the hole, "Wake up, my clever neighbor, the moon is leaving."
"What do you mean, my intelligent friend? Do you mean that the sun is rising?"
"No, no, my friend. I mean the moon is leaving. Look through the hole, please."
So, the second monster became curious. It tried to see through the hole but it was too small.
"My dear neighbor, I can only see your shirt. It is very nice and colorful. But I do not see anything else. But I see the sun coming."
"Oh dear!" said the first monster. "We must make the hole bigger. I want to see what you mean."
So the two monsters started to dig with their big claws. They dug and dug all day and till the evening. They threw the rocks behind them. They hurled them far back. Soon the hole was as big as a door.
"Hello, my hardworking neighbor!" said the first monster. "Come to my side and see the sunset."
"Thank you my nice friend," said the second monster. "You can come to my side and see the moon coming up."
So the two monsters went through the hole to the other monster's side.
"Incredible," said the first monster. "Amazing!" shouted the second monster.
They lived happily ever after and visited each other almost every day.
The End
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