Enjoying Literature: An Introduction to Young Adult Literature and English Classics in High School

Abstract

The use of literature in language teaching has been a controversial issue for several decades. Some of the reasons for said disregard of literature are the belief that literature is too complicated for learners and that young learners are not usually interested in reading. Nevertheless, in the last 30 years, research has focused on literature as a powerful resource for the English as a Foreign Language classroom, mainly for its linguistic, cultural, and personal values. Although most English curriculums favour simplified adaptations of famous classics, some advocate for the teaching of current popular books, which tend to have a better response amongst teenagers. These books are often found under the same genre: Young Adult Literature (YAL). By resorting to YAL and literature in education as main theoretical framework, the aim of this dissertation is to design a didactic unit based on a popular Young Adult novel, A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (2017), in order to (1) promote reading amongst young adult learners of English, (2) promote the use of YAL as an adequate reading choice, and (3) prove the possibility of using YAL as introduction to literary classics.

L’ús de la literatura per l’ensenyament d’un idioma ha estat un tema controvertit les darreres dècades, alguns motius essent la creença que la literatura és massa complicada pels estudiants i que aquests no acostumen a interessar-se per la lectura. No obstant, en els darrers 30 anys, la recerca s’ha centrat en la literatura com a recurs important per l’ensenyament de l’anglès com a llengua estrangera, principalment degut a la versatilitat de coneixement que ofereix, tant lingüístic com cultural o personal. Tot i que la gran majoria de currículums d’anglès afavoreixen l’ús de clàssics adaptats, n’hi ha alguns que opten per l’ensenyament de llibres actuals i populars, els quals acostumen a tenir una millor resposta entre els adolescents. Aquests llibres normalment pertanyen a la categoria de Literatura Juvenil (LJ). Utilitzant la LJ i la literatura en l’educació com a marcs teòrics principals, l’objectiu d’aquesta dissertació és dissenyar una unitat didàctica basada en una novel·la juvenil popular, A Study in Charlotte de Brittany Cavallaro (2017), per tal de (1) promoure la lectura entre els adolescents que aprenen anglès, (2) promoure l’ús de la LJ com a lectura escolar adequada, i (3) demostrar que és possible utilitzar la LJ per introduir els clàssics de la literatura.