Integrating Literature into Lower Level Spanish Classes

SAMANTHA PETREE SEDONA RED ROCK HIGH SCHOOL

Why teach literature?

The purpose of teaching literature is to enable

students to comprehend and analyze the linguistic structures, literary styles, figures of speech and rhetoric, develop their cultural understanding and expressive capabilities.

-Hoda Divsar and Abdorreza Tahriri

Importance of Teaching Literature in Lower Level Spanish Classes

To develop the following skills: Reading Writing Listening Speaking To teach: Culture Grammar Vocabulary Self awareness

Factors affecting students attitudes toward literature

Preconceptions about literature discussions Length of text

First time exposure to authentic text in the L2

Reading proficiency in the L1 (Rosenblatt, 2002)

Teachers perceptions toward the use of literature

Literature is not feasible for lower level Spanish

classes
Time constraints Concern for students understanding

Curriculum constraints

What teachers can do to ensure a positive literature experience

Teachers need to: be open to students thoughts about the text have a positive attitude vary the activities explain benefits and purpose of reading the text be educated about the text (author, social/historical context, themes, literary elements, etc.)

(Rosenblatt, 2002)

Selecting an appropriate text

It is important to consider the following factors:

Length of text Vocabulary Grammar Authenticity

Ideally, the text includes one or more of the following

aspects:

Social- relevant to adolescents social perspectives Emotional- link to previous experiences in order to feel empathy/compassion Psychological- identify with characters Moral- discusses difficult ethical questions (Rosenblatt, 2002)

Techniques for teaching L2 literature

Input to Output Method Repeated Reading Approach

Integrated Approach
Incorporating reading, writing, listening, speaking,

grammar and vocabulary

Before reading
Before reading any text with students make sure to

Introduce new vocabulary Provide background information about the text Activate students prior knowledge

Input to Output Method

Textual Analysis: Allows students to simultaneously

attend to lexical and grammatical form as well as contextually, conceptually and critically negotiate its meaning. (Weber-Feve, 2009)
Can be used to assure students basic comprehension

of the literary text.

Helps students become aware of themes and literary

devices. (Weber-Feve, 2009).

Elements of the Input to Output Method

First, provide students with only input based

activities, where students do not have to produce anything in the L2.

Next, create activities that involve both input and

output. These activities guide students to the final stage, production.

Lastly, create activities where students have to

produce everything in the L2.

Examples of Input to Output activities using the text El tiempo borra by Javier de Viana
First stage: Input activities

Input Activity

Second Stage
Second stage: Activities with input and output

Third Stage
Final stage: output activities In groups of two, students have to write an ending to

the story that includes the following information: Why did Indalecio go to the Oriental Band? What is he doing in the Oriental Band? What are his emotions? How does his wife feel?

Ideas for Input Activities

Matching new vocabulary with context Identify presentation, conflict and resolution

Putting the events of the story in order

Multiple choice and/or true/false questions about

literary elements, the plot, etc.

Ideas for Input to Output Activities

Multiple choice question followed by an open ended

question
Complete the sentence with a logical answer

Ideas for Output Activities

Continue the story Write a different ending Write an additional scene Change the conflict Summarize the story in your own words Create a dramatization of the story and act it out

Input to Output Method Activity

Using Mi nombre from La casa en Mango Street

create a lesson for teaching the vignette using the input to output method.

Repeated Reading
Repeated reading approach

Builds fluency and enhances comprehension Aids in vocabulary acquisition With each rereading, students are able to comprehend more

Repeated Reading
Repeated reading process

Students read the same text several times Students are exposed to the text in different formats

ie-listening to an audio, teacher read it out loud, students read it out loud to each other

Teacher provides different comprehension questions for each reread

Using repeated reading with House on Mango Street (by Sandra Cisneros)
1.) Students read La casa en Mango Street with a glossary at home 2.) Students answer pre-reading questions at home and then bring to class along with the reading 3.) In class, the teacher gives an explanation of the historical and cultural context 4.) Students listen to Audiobook of La casa en Mango Street in class while they read along 5.) The teacher stops the audio at the end of the selected chapters. In groups, students interpret one paragraph from the selected chapters and report their paragraph to the class.

Integrated Approach
Combines 3 traditional approaches to teaching

literature Cultural model: readers explore and interpret the social, political, literary and historical context of a specific text Language model: the text is used solely for grammar and or vocabulary purposes Personal Growth model: focuses on the use of language in a text as well as placing it in a cultural context

Integrated Approach
Phase 1: Linguistic considerations Students take text home along with a vocabulary list Students study the vocabulary list Students are encouraged to read the story aloud after already having read it

Phase 2: Cultural considerations Teacher provides students with cultural information -OR Teacher assigns students to research the cultural information Phase 3: Communicative consideration Group discussions take place in the classroom about the text Students discuss selected topics

Ideas on creating reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar and vocabulary activities using a literary text
Poem: Biografa by Gabriel Celaya

Introducing the topic (speaking): Discussing with a

partner, answer the following questions:

Do you have to follow a lot of rules at home? At school? What rules do you have to follow at home? What rules did you have to follow when you were younger? Do you think it is important to have rules?

Vocabulary Identify difficult vocabulary words TPR, photos, matching, using in a sentence

Biografa continued
Introducing the text (listening) Students listen to an audio of the poem, read by the author Students answer the following questions: What is the tone of the poem? Does the poem evoke certain feelings or emotions? Discuss with a partner

Reading the text Students answer questions that help guide them through the reading. Ex: How many verses are there? How many stanzas are there? What type of language is used? Each stanza relates to a different stage of life-who is giving orders in the first stanza? The second? The third?

Biografa continued
Grammar Students have to underline all of the commands in the poem and identify the affirmative and negative commands To whom are the commands directed? Could be used as an introduction to commands, and students could work together to figure out the command form Writing Students write two stanzas of a poem that reflect the rules they had to follow/obey when they were younger

Activity
Using a vignette from A House on Mango Street,

create activities that involve reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary and grammar

Conclusions
In conclusion, its the teachers responsibility to

engage and guide students through the literary journey of comprehending and enjoying an authentic text.
Por medio de la literatura participamos en

situaciones imaginarias, vemos a los personajes experimentando crisis, nos exploramos a nosotros mismos y al mundo que nos rodea.

-Louise M. Rosenblatt

References
Carroli, P. (2002). Levels of understanding of L2 literary texts under

repeated readings: Factors to contributing to readers processing of second language literature and their learning outcomes. Proceedings of Innovations in Italian teaching workshop, Griffith University. integrated approach to teaching literature in a EFK context. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, 13(2), 105-116. Modern Language Association.

Divsar, H. & Tahriri, A. (2009). Investigating the effectiveness of an

Rosenblatt, L. (2002). La literatura como exploracin. Nueva York: The

Savvidou, C. (2004). An integrated approach to teaching literature in the

EFL classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, 10(12).

Weber-Feve, S. (2009). Integrating language and literature: Teaching

textual analysis with input and output activities and an input to output approach. Foreign Language Annals, 42(3) 453-467.

Questions