same effect as in first language.

Integrating
Literature As a literature into second language can create a
Media/Source in learning environment that will provide
comprehensible input and a low affective
Language Learning filter. Literary texts may be used in both
extensive and intensive reading. Use of
by VISA RANICO
different literary genres is discussed with a
special focus on the benefits of using
stories.
I. Introduction
Nothing is better than a great book. And, if
it is a foreign book? Even better! II. Body
You can learn a lot from reading books in THE THEORY
your target language. You can benefit from
In 1988, Lott’s survey,entitled Language
a book’s message and equally from its
and literature, was concerned mainly with
language. In other words, as a media, book
examining literary language and the way
can improve your way of life and your
linguistic thought was influencing (or not)
language learning at the same time.
literary criticism within the New Critics
So, what’s the best way to read a book in and structuralism. There was a short
your target language? section on teaching materials, divided
between materials for mother-tongue
A language is not only grammar and readers and materials for second language
vocabulary. A language is a completely learners. Lott makes the point that in the
different lens on the world. This means latter type of material, the approach is
that when you’re reading a book in another normally through the topic, ‘teaching
language, the text is not only content but becomes group guidance’, and goes on to
also shape. The words and expressions that claim that ‘the text itself … is generally
were chosen by the author can be a great treated in a rather perfunctory way, and its
source of instruction both in language distinctive nature as literature, and as a
learning, and in giving you a new view of display of language put to special uses,
the world. seems often to be lost sight of’ (Lott 1988:
Are you convinced that it’s a good idea to 9).
read literature in other languages? Literature is also used as a way of
Remember that literature doesn’t introducing and encouraging critical
automatically equal complex. Children’s thinking (Gajdusek & vanDommelen
literature can be both simple and profound 1993; Diaz-Santos 2000), and critical
– and is ideal for beginner learners. literacy(Thompson 2000; Zubair 2003).
Kern & Schultz (2005) provide an example
Literature has long been used as a source of a curriculum where literature (both
for reading materials in English as a first whole works and excerpts), films, art, and
Language. In recent years, there has been a newspaper articles are used together in the
growing interest in utilizing literature in development of critical reading skills.
second language classrooms. The present
article assumes that using literature in
second language reading can have the
HOW TO SELECT IT modeling strategies, graphic
organizers, and critical thinking.
Choose readings that are appropriate to
students’ abilities. For example, a
 Check Your Understanding :
beginner, then give light and relaxed
contains the answers to the student
reading which also tends to be shorter.
comprehension check.
Children’s literature or juvenile literature
includes stories, books, magazines, and
 Understanding the Story : provides
poems that are made for children. Modern
suggestions for teaching the
children’s literature is classified in two
grammar highlighted in the
different ways: genre or the intended age
exercises.
of the reader.
For Intermediate level is more difficult.  Studying the Story and Thinking
With high-interest stories (the example About Literature : expands these
like genres such as folktale, science sections in the student books.
fiction, and autobiography. Selections in
the Beginning- and Intermediate-level  Assessment : checks vocabulary,
books are divided into a number of short, grammar, and comprehension.
illustrated sections.
For advanced level is very hard. The .
example genre : Detective Fiction, Culture ADVANTAGES & LIMITATIONS
of Science, Critical Studies in Literary
Topics. Its more complicated and many
more new vocabulary for learning 1. Benefits of Using Literature
language. With reference to the benefits of using
literature in language learning, Collie and
Slater (1990, p. 3) state that there are four
THE TEACHING STEPS reasons for using literature in the
classroom: valuable authentic material,
As teachers, of course we have to start cultural enrichment, language enrichment
teaching students with the right steps. So and personal involvement.
that what is our goal can be precise and
effective. The following are the steps for  Language Enrichment
teachers to teach Literature as a language
learning medium: Literary texts are not created for the
specific purpose of teaching. Instead, they
talk about “things which mattered to the
 Warming Up : develops author when he wrote them” (Maley, 1989,
vocabulary, activates prior p. 12). Thus, compared to the language
knowledge, and introduces the samples in the textbooks, the language is
selection using graphic organizers, far richer and more varied. Many genuine
critical thinking, and language features of the written language such as
across the curriculm. “the formation and function of sentences,
the variety of possible structures, and the
different ways of connecting ideas” are
 Reading the Selection : guides
presented at many levels of difficulty
students through the material in
(Collie and Slater, 1994, p. 5).
small, easy-to-digest sections with
By asking students to explore the literary
language, actually teachers encourage their Moreover, literature includes all possible
students to think about the norms of the varieties of subject matter and language
language use (Widdowson, 1975, cited in which might be intrinsically interesting.
Lazar, 1993, p. 18). Learners are The texts are nontrivial because they cover
encouraged to familiarize themselves with many significant themes and contexts
different language uses, forms or which are missing in most EFL textbooks
conventions. Such exposure is essential for (Duff and Maley, 1990, p. 6).
the learners especially for their language
development. Thus, they can appreciate Literature exposes students to fresh themes
the richness and variety of the language and unexpected language. In this sense, ‘a
and become more sensitive to the features literary text is authentic text, real language
of it. incontext, to which we can respond
directly” (Brumfit and Carter, 1986, p.15).
 Cultural Enrichment This quality appears to make literature
suitable and valuable to language teaching
Literature is also a doorway into another in many contexts and cultures.
culture. Teaching literature enables
students “to understand and appreciate
cultures and ideologies different from their  Personal Involvement
own in time and space, and to come to
perceive traditions of thought, feeling and Literature offers universal themes which
artistic form within the heritage the are relevant to students’ own experience.
literature of such cultures endows” (Carter It, unlike many teaching inputs, is also a
and Long, 1991, p. 2). Students learn to mirror that reflects and heightens each
see a world through another’s eyes, learner’s perception of the social world.
observing human values and a different Thus, literary texts are open to multiple
kind of living, and discovering that others interpretation and genuine interaction
living in very different societies. They will (Duff and Maley, 1990, p. 6). Students
understand and become broadly aware of may relate the ideas, events and things
the social, political, historical, cultural found in literary texts to their own lives. It
events happening in a certain society. will help “to stimulate the imagination of
Through literature, learners can deepen our students, to develop their critical
their cultural understanding. abilities, and to increase their emotional
awareness” (Lazar, 1993, p. 19). It also
 Authentic Material develops learners’ pleasure in reading.

Literary texts so often touch on common When EFL learners enjoy reading
themes and values which range from literature and have motivation to interact
individual concerns to social issues such as with a text, they will develop their reading
death, love, pollution, ethnic conflicts. proficiency. When they try to comprehend
Even the genres, conventions and devices the meaning of the text, learners must
portrayed are universal. Poetry has rhythm, make inferences, drawing both on content
rhyme and figurative usage; short stories of the reading and their own experience.
and novels have plots with crises, conflicts “The reader is placed in an active
and resolutions. These topics and interactional role in working with and
conventions are “readily recognisable to making sense of this (literary) language”
foreign language learners from their (Brumfit and Carter, 1986, p. 15).
mother-tongue experience” (Maley and Students are required to engage in
Duff, 1989, p. 8). “content-based purposeful learner talk
in English”; and teachers act as facilitators
to help their learners in discovering the  Length of Text
meanings of the texts.
The length of the text is also often seen as
Literature, thus, has a wider function one of the major difficulties. For some,
because it fosters personal development in longer texts may appear more difficult,
the readers. It helps learners to grow as whereas for others, shorter texts present
individuals as well as in their relationships more difficulties simply because “they do
with the people and institutions around not offer extended contextual support and
them (Carter and Long, 1991, p. 3). This is repetition which longer texts do”
a crucial part of an education which might (Duff and Maley, 1990, p. 7).
not be offered by the textbooks.
 Cultural Competency
From these various discussions, we can
conclude that the use of literature yields Another problem of using literary texts in
many benefits. The most important EFL classrooms is concerned with culture.
justification is that literature can educate According to Duff and Maley (1990, p. 7),
the whole person (Lazar, 1993, p. 19). cultural factors can present difficulties in a
Literature sharpens linguistic and cognitive way that “it is clearly impossible for
skills and provides for some deepening of outsider to share fully the range of
the students’ understanding of the human references of an insider”. Literary texts can
condition. also bring problems if they are viewed as
“carrying an undesirable freight of cultural
2. Limitation connotations” (Collie and Slater, 1987, p.
2).
Although literature offers many useful
benefits, pedagogically there are still some
In short, we can see that there are some
major “difficulties” or “problems”
problems involved in using literature in
expressed by teachers. It is worth
EFL classrooms. Understanding these
investigating what difficulties encountered.
problems, as noted earlier, will enable us
Then we need to remedy these “hazardous
to identify the areas where teachers need to
diseases” immediately so that they will not
improve most in order to make the best use
damage the benefits that literature
of literature in English teaching.
embodies.

 Language Competency III. CONCLUSION

The most common problem encountered in

using literary texts is language. Many EFL Benefits of using literature in Language
teachers and students see literature as a
reading have been reviewed. These
hindrance because the literary language is
benefits include promoting not only
viewed as incomprehensible. Often
teachers and students find the language reading ability and motivation but also
“does not stick to more common usages, enhancing other language skills. Literature
but exploits and even distorts the accepted can also be used to teach grammar. In
conventions in fresh and unexpected addition, integrating literary genres into
ways” (Lazar, 1994, p. 115). Besides second Language  reading can create a
literary vocabulary and grammatical learning environment that will provide
structures are often considered to be too comprehensible input and a low affective
complicated. filter. The Story Grammar Approach and
The Reader Response Approach are
effective instructional approaches to
teaching stories/narrative texts.
It is clear that literature does have
something very special to offer to language
learning. As Hanauer (1997) has argued, it
combines attention to meaning with
attention to form.
The practices that I have mentioned above
are example of the use of literature to
improve the quality of English language
exposure. Short stories, novels and poems
provide rich samples of authentic language
usage. They also train and teach learners
about the value of life itself. Literature
serves to develop both social awareness
and language competence.

SUGGESTIONS

In this paper the literary text is used for

explaining and understanding, as well as
stimulating readers for practicing the
language skills. The short story Button,
Button by Richard Matheson here is one of
the examples. Readers interested in using
literary works can find out other examples
and apply it in ELT. The analysis on the
linguistic inputs such as grammar structure
and vocabularies and the use of the literary
work for practicing 4 (four) language skills
do not necessary to put away the students‟
understanding on the human problems
presented in the literary works. The
language inputs and the students‟
perceiving on the human problems as well
as the enjoyment the aesthetics can be
explored at the same time at the classroom
to enrich students‟ appreciation on literary
works and all at once improving their
language competence. This needs the
teacher‟s creativity in using exploring the
literary works as a text to be used in
language teaching.

REFERENCES
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Brumfit, C. &. (1993). Modern English Publications and the British Council. Teaching Literature : a
world perspective.

Burnett, J. &.-S. (2002). Crossing the boundaries between literature and pedagogy: Perspective on a
foreign language reading course. 75-106.

Carter, R. (2007). Literature and language teaching 1986-2006 : A review. International Journal of
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Floris, F. D. (2004). The Power of Literature in EFL Classrooms. Journal letters, 2-5.

Lazar, G. (1994). Usinng literature at lower levels . ELT Journal, 48,2, 115-124.