PECULIARITIES OF A FOREIGN LITERATURE TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of teaching foreign literature. The role of literature in a classroom has been re-assessed recently and many now view literary texts as providing rich linguistic input, effective stimuli for students to express themselves in other languages and a potential source of learner motivation. The literature used in classrooms today is no longer restricted to canonical texts from certain countries e.g. UK, USA, but includes the work of writers from a diverse range of countries and cultures using different forms of English. Literary texts can be studied in their original forms or in simplified or abridged versions. An increasing number of stories in English are written specifically for learners of other languages. Literary texts provide opportunities for multi-sensorial classroom experiences and can appeal to learners with different learning styles. Literary texts offer a rich source of linguistic input and can help learners to practise the four skills – speaking, listening, reading and writing – in addition to exemplifying grammatical structures and presenting new vocabulary. Teachers should be ready to provide a background for the reading to take place. In an ideal situation, the preparation would help motivate the student to want to read, and a bit of creative imagination would also be required here.