making student voices heard in a literature course

MAKING STUDENT VOICES HEARD IN

A LITERATURE COURSE

Dr. Phuong thi Anh Le

Nha Trang Education College

Benefits+ It is valuable for its authenticity, motivation, language knowledge

and skills, cultural awareness, sociolinguistic knowledge, emotional intelligence and critical thinking (Khatib, Rezaei & Derakhshan, 2011)

+ It can enrich the students' lives (Cope, 1998) and teach students emotional intelligence skills (Weber, 2006, cited by Magro, 2010).

Challenges Literature is a daunting subject due

to its challenges in terms of language use, cultural and literary implications (Baurain, 2001).

HOW? + Teaching + Assessment + Students’ perceptions

Teaching

RELEVANT MATERIALS (interests, experiences, language levels)

PRE READING (independent reading)TEACHER’S GUIDANCE (pictures,

guided questions) TEAMWORK (at home, in class)

Assessment (STUDENTS’ WORK) Participation Journals Extensive reading Storytelling/Drammatization Creative writing Written test

STUDENT’S JOURNAL

Personal experienceLiterary + Language understanding (intensive reading/ open

questions)

WEEKLY EXTENSIVE READING

=> Autonomy=> Individual interests=> Personal experience=> Literary + language understanding

(like/dislike + summary)

STORY TELLING/ DRAMATISATION

=> Individual choice Literary appreciation Language skills Story telling skills Creativity Computer skills

CREATIVE WRITING Literary appreciation Language skills Creativity

Students' Perceptions

Questionnaire

Recommendations+ Relevant readings+ Students’ autonomy and

creativity+ Teachers’ guidance,

encouragement and monitoring

+ Diversity in assessment