Vizualizing Literary Texts in University Language Courses
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| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | The presentation introduces benefits that using literature in university language classes brings to both students and teachers. Among those benefits, possibilities to enhance the language learning process with a visual dimension is emphasized, as this dimension is usually slightly neglected when teaching university courses. The observations described in the presentation arise from including literature based activities into academic English classes. Both theoretical and practical ways to make literature approachable for students who need to be able to read complex texts, but whose reading skills are not corresponding to those challenges yet will be demonstrated. The aim of the presentation is to show that use of literature is rewarding not only for developping students´ reading skills. It will be argued that working with literary texts can contribute to a more personalized and engaging approach to language teaching. Furthermore, the imaginative character of literary texts will be described as a key to students’ creative involvement in language learning. The presentation will argue that activities visualizing literature have enormous potential for language classes as they enable students to build on their imagination, to express themselves openly and to share their ideas with others. Besides, visualizing activities can also help to balance groups with different levels and backgrounds. Referring to the above mentioned observations, the presentation will introduce some concrete activities and lesson plan sections based on literary excerpts. The selected materials will illustrate the main benefits of including literature in language courses. The purpose of this presentation is to share beliefs about using literary texts and visualizing activities in university language courses and to show concrete ways that allow students to get engaged with literature in English and to develop both their language and critical thinking skills through literary texts. |