Literature in the English lessons of German elementary schools

Why should a teacher use literary texts within classes? One of the main reasons might be that literature offers a huge and extremely varied body of written material which says something about fundamental issues, and which is enduring rather than ephemeral. Literature is authentic material which means that most works of literature are not fashioned for the specific purpose of teaching a language.2

Travel timetables, city plans, cartoons or magazine articles are only a few examples which underline the authentic appearance of material in the classroom context.

Literature is a valuable complement to those materials. In reading literary texts, pupils also have to cope with language intended for native speakers and thus they achieve familiarity with a lot of different linguistic uses, forms and conventions of the written mode: with irony, argument, narration for example.3

This broadens and enriches their own writing skills. Besides that literature might be best seen as a possibility to increase the foreign language learner’s insight into the country whose language is being learnt. It can also be helpful in the language learning process because of the personal involvement it fosters in readers.

When a novel, play or short story is explored over a period of time, the result is that the reader begins to ‘inhabit’ the text. He or she is drawn into the book. Pinpointing what individual words or phrases may mean becomes less important than pursuing the development of the story.4

The criteria of suitability of literature for use with language learners depend ultimately on each particular group of students, their interests, cultural background and language level.

If it is meaningful and enjoyable, reading is to have a lasting effect upon the learners’ linguistic and cultural knowledge. Therefore it is very important to choose novels, plays or poems which are congruent to the life experiences, emotions, or dreams of the pupils normal reading proficiency. That is why it is well worth the time spent in trying to hit a good match between a particular group of learners and the literary work they will be asked to read.