Abstract
A vast body of research encourages the teaching of literature in language education to improve learners' language competencies because literature is found rich in language features, contexts, and cultural instances. Even though previous research studies investigated second language writing (SLW) from different perspectives, they are inadequate in investigating ways of integrating writing into literature courses. For this purpose, this qualitative research involved five Afghan English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers with experience in integrating writing into literature courses in colleges. In addition, the study aimed to explore Afghan EFL teachers' reflections on integrating writing activities into literature courses. The results show that these teachers mainly suffered from workload, tight schedules, and shortage of relevant materials. While the challenges faced by the teachers reflected the local contexts, the advantages of reconciling writing with literature are perceived, and global pedagogical recommendations are made based on the findings of this study.
TopIntroduction
English is considered an international language not only because of its linguistic features but also because of the power of its people (Crystal, 2003). In many non-English speaking countries, English is included in the curriculum as a required course for international communication. Globalization has been evoking the demand for learning English and English language teacher education. A vast body of research has demonstrated the importance of teaching literature in language education. These two facets bring more benefits when they are integrated in the curriculum for language education, especially for language teacher education. In particular, literature is rich in language-related features, especially lexical resources, contexts of the texts, and culture, all of which guide students to language use and learning (Glosn, 2002; Goodwyn, 2009; Bloemert et al., 2017).
Like many developing and underdeveloped countries, Afghanistan has encouraged local and foreign direct investments in English language education. However, Afghan English language teachers and students are underrepresented in the field (Miri, 2019). Teachers usually provide students with limited opportunities to write because of the heavy workload and large heterogeneous classes (Miri, 2018). In addition, these college students have no access to writing support services (e.g., writing center). Each student at the undergraduate level is required to write a monograph as a degree requirement. When students reach this stage, their teachers realize that the majority of students struggle with their writing skill. This gap in students’ writing skill is often the cause that writing teachers are unfairly blamed, assuming that they did not do their jobs properly. Besides, because of the large number of students and excessive responsibilities, teachers do not have sufficient time to give students constructive feedback on their writing. Although these issues are related to the local context, this study leads to innovative writing practices that can be incorporated into a variety of similar teaching contexts worldwide.
Research Aims and Questions
This qualitative exploratory study aimed to explore the perceived reported experiences of English language teachers concerning the integration of literature in teaching a second language writing (SLW) at a public university in Afghanistan. It specifically investigated the extent to which these teachers used writing activities, the challenges they encountered, and their recommendations concerning this issue. It attempted to answer the following questions:
- 1.
What writing activities do Afghan EFL teachers utilize in integration with teaching literature?
- 2.
Which aspects of integrating SLW into literature courses are perceived as advantages for Afghan EFL teachers?
- 3.
What challenges do Afghan EFL teachers encounter from the integration of SLW and literature?
- 4.
Which teaching strategies do Afghan EFL teachers recommend to develop the integration of SLW and literature?
Lantolf and Thorne (2006) define the classroom activity as a cognitive, communicative, and social process in which learners are engaged in a knowledge-sharing context. It indicates that writing can be a negotiated action that can change according to the interaction. The teaching and learning of SLW used in this study refer to classroom practice in both EFL (English as a foreign language) and ESL (English as a second language) contexts (Chaisiri, 2010; Chen & Su, 2012; Shi et al., 2019).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Genre-Based L2 Writing: An approach to teaching writing that emphasizes the importance of considering purpose and context when assigning writing tasks.
Activity: A cognitive, communicative, and social process in which learners are engaged in a knowledge-sharing context.
Skill Integration: A concept and practice in second language teaching and learning that different language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) should be integrated to maximize the learning outcome.
Outcome-Based Approach: An educational theory which places parts of an education system around the expected outcomes.
Reader Response: An explanation and defense of personal reaction to an assigned text.
Post-Method Pedagogy: A model that encourages context-specific education.
Literature and Writing Integrated Learning: The intertwinement of writing activities in literature courses.