A survey of students motivations in studying literature at feel ussh vnu hcmc

0.2.2 Significance of the study Th e a bove-me ntio ne d the sis o f Pham Le Sung Chinh atte mpte d to d e sign a re ad ing co urse for USSH Engli sh maj ors in- service branch b using

A SU RVE Y OF STUDENTS ' MOTIVATIO NS I N

su pe r v is o r M s Ng uye n Thi Ki eu Thu , w ho wh o l e -h eartedl y s uppo rte d me durin g

t he w riting up of thi s th e sis a ltho ug h s he ha s be en so bu sy w ith h er d oct ora l

d i s sertati on a nd h er f amil y Her p ain staking g u ida nce and va lua b le ad vi ce did help m e thr ou gh th i s chall en gin g t a sk M oreov er, her d e vot i on, und erstand in g,

a nd fri end lin e ss h a ve m ade a s tro ng impr e ssion o n m e

I a m a lso d e eply g ra te ful to all m y t ea ch ers f or th eir e nthus ias m a nd

h e lpful in stru cti on durin g my s tud y program

M y de ep gratitud e is ex p resse d t o Dr Vu Thi Phuon g Anh , Dr L e Thi Thanh, M s C ao Th i Q uynh L oan, Mr L e Huy L oc , Mr N gu yen H oan g Linh, M s

Ng uye n T hi Tu yet Oanh , Mr Tru on g H on Hu y , and Mr Ph am Le Sun g C hinh, f or

th eir valuab l e ad vic e a nd a ssi stan ce.

[ am a lso thankful t o Mr Pham Tru on g Khanh , m y d ear friend, f or hi s

te chni cal s u ppo rt.

I a ls o w ould l ik e t o thank th e s ecre ta ria l s ta ff o f FELL , wh o n e ver

co mpla i ne d a bo ut m y b othering them d uring the proc e ss o f the d ata c oll e cti on

O n t h e co ntra ry , they w ere kind and helpfu l enou gh t o pro vide me wi th th e inf ormati on n eed ed f or my re search

I t w o uld be a mi stake if thankful ackn ow ledg ement w ere n ot made t o th e

E RC s taff wh o ge ne ro us l y l e nt me a l ot o f r eference material s.

I n additi on , m y g re a t t ha nk s go t o all th e s tude nts wh o were v e r y

re spon si ve t o t h e qu e st i onnaire and th e i nt e r v i e w With out th eir c ooperati on I

w o uld ha ve n ever be en able t o co m p l e te th e s t u dy.

II

c a r e : th e t ri o fo rms th e m aj or p art o f m y li fe

III

B ritish/Amer ica n l iterature t hei r c ho ice of th is s ubjec t a nd th e ir pe rcept io ns of

mo tiva tio na l f a ct ors i n s tu dyi ng B riti sh /American lit era ture a t FE L L - USS H,

VNU - H eMe T he s tudy in t h is th e si s a ims a t see k ing ways t o e nh a nce

st u de nt s' m ot iva tion s in s tudyi ng Br itis h/A mer ica n lit erature a t th e f ac u lty

T he researc h was ba se d o n th e qu e sti onnai re s d el ivered t o a sam p le

pop u la tio n of 249 se niors a t FE L L and th e i nfor ma l fo llo w- up in te rv ie w s w ith :n sub j e cts of th e s urveye d pop u la tio n.

Th e d at a a na lys is r e ve al ed se vera l i m po rta nt p o in ts: ( I) a ltho ug h a g rea t num ber o f th e s tude nts had a p o sit ive a tt itud e t o w ard lit e rature r e adin g a nd

s tudy ing in ge ne ra l o n ly a f e w of th em viewe d th e s tudy o f FL lit era tu re as a n

easy ta s k: (2) th e m aj orit y o f th e s tu de nts we re h ighl y awa re of th e b ene fit s of

B ritis h /A me rica n l ite rature s tudy bu t thi s co u ld o n ly res u lt f rom a l ong p eri o d o f

st udy ing thi s s ubject a t th e fac u lty Th e s tude nts und e r i nves tigat io n we re a lso

fa ir ly mo tiva te d d ur ing th eir lit erature co u rses; n e verth el e ss th eir great

a ware ness a nd hi gh m oti vati on wo u ld n ot a lways l e ad t o th eir d e ci si on s to

vo lunta ri ly st udy thi s s ubject; (3) th e s ubjec ts s t ud ie d B ritis h/A me rica n l itera ture wit h b oth i ntrins ic a nd in trin si c m ot ivati on s a nd wi th b o th int e zra ti ve a c- nd

in strum ent al orie nta tio ns, a nd (4) t he m aj ority of th e s t ude nts viewed

t e a ch er ' s qu al itie s a nd t ea ch er' s pr e sentin g m anner/t ea ch in g m ethod s as th e two

m o st imp ort ant in centi ve s for m oti vatin g t he m t o s tu dy l ite ra ture at FE LL Othe r

in flu ential facto rs ( in o rde r o f imp orta nce ) we re s up po rt m at eri a l/fa cili ti e s

I V

lea rner a uto no my: ( 2) a proper combin ation o f different a pproaches to the

te a chin g a nd le arnin g of lit erature in o rde r to c rea te m ore in spirin g literature

c lasses : (3) o ngo ing asse ssm ent and e valuati on o f stude nt w ork to redu ce stude nts' a nx ie ty and competiti ven ess a nd to partly e n ha nce th eir learn ing

e njoy me nt and cr itica l thinkin g a bility: (4) a m odificati on of th e c urr icu lu m.

a im ing at ca p ita liz ing o n th e inte rface o f lan gua ge and literature to e q uip stude nts with lin gui sti c and literary co mpe te nce before they e m ba rk o n th e aca de m ic stud y o f literature durin g the la st tw o years a t th e fac u lty : (5) the

se le c tio n o f te xt s for study th at c a te rs for stude nts ' p rofi ci ency le vel s a s well a s their age int ere sts, e tc.: (6) th e supp ly ing o f s up po rt materi al for literature stu dy ill order to fa c ilit at e the te a ching and s tudy ing of li terature at FE L L, and (7 ) more

e x tra -c urricula r acti viti e s to c rea te a more e njoya b le learnin g e nv iro nme nt for literature s tudy at FELL.

It is hop ed that th e re sults of the the si s c a n provid e so me use ful informati on for the e n ha nce me nt o f stude nts' m oti vati on s 111 s tudy ing

Br itis h/A me ric a n literature a t FELL.

v

T hanks and a ck nowle dg e me nts ii

0 2 STATEM ENT OF PURPOSE SI G NI FI C A NC E OF TH E S TU DY ,

A SSU M PT I O NS LI MITATI O NS AND DE LI M ITAT IONS , DEF IN IT IONS OF

T ERMS AND O RGAN IZAT ION OF THE R E M AI N D ER S

1 1 2 The p la ce o f l ite ratu re in th e c urr ic u lu m fo r s tu de nts a t FELL

1.2 DISC USS ION OF A P PROAC HE S TO LIT ERAT UR E STU D Y ING AN D

1 2.1 Ge ne ra l a p pro ac he s/ me tho do log ies a d opted for l te rat ur e st u dy ing

1 2 2 Approac hes/me tho do log ies ad opted for l te ra tur e st u d y i ng a nd

1 3 DESCR IPT I O N OF T H E LI T ERAT U RE SYLLAB US FO R TH IRD- A N D

FO URT H- YEA R ENG LIS H M AJORS AT F ELL - US S H, V N U - H C M C 2

I A STU DE NT S' PR OBL EMS I N ST UDYI NG LIT ER AT UR E AT T H E

2 1 T H E NA TU RE AN D KI NDS O F MO T IV AT ION AND M OTIV AT IO NAL

2 2 M OTI V ATIO N A ND MOT IVATIO NAL FACTORS I N LIT ER AT UR E

2 2.1 M o tiva tio n in l ite ra tur e r eadin g and s t u dy ing 45

2 2 2 M oti vati on al fa ctors in l ite ra tur e readin g and s tud y ing 4 7

2.2 2.2 T each er' s mann er o f pr esentati on/t e a ching m ethod s 4 8

2 2.2 3 T ea c her' s a ss e ssment/eva luat i o n 50

3 2.3 Dat a c o ll e cti on and c oding procedur e s 70

\'iii

4 1 1 1 A tt itudes , aw a re ness , a nd ch oi ce: Qu e sti on s 3 - 6 n

4 1 1 2 M oti ve s and go a ls : Qu e sti on s 7 1 - 7 8 8

4.1.1.3 P ercepti on s o f m otiv ati ona l fa ct ors: Qu e sti on s 8 1 - 8.7 96

4 1 1 5 S tu d e nts' o the r id e a s o n th e qu e sti onnaire s I ()3

4 1.2 S tud e nt s ' r e sp on ses t o th e int ervi ew s 10 4

APP E NDI X 3 : A Br ief L ook a t the M a x /Min S core s of Lit erature Stud y o f

S tud e nt s at F EL L (Ac a de m ic Co urse 2 000 - 2 0( 4 ) 1 0

I X

AP PEND IX 1 0: C ritica l R e adin g S tra teg ies 1 98 APPEND I X II : Usef ul In struction al Strat egie s f or

x

,-T ab l e 3 1 : B i o-da ta o f t h e samp le p op ulati o n (f o r t h e qu e st i onn a ire ) 6 3

T a bl e 3 2 : Bi o- da ta o f t he s a mp le p opul ati on ( fo r t he int er vie w ) 64

C hapte r 4

Ta ble 4 3 : Co m pa r iso n o f i nt ere sts in r e ad in g lit era tur e b y ma les and f emal e s 77

Ta b le 4 4 : Co m pa riso n o f int ere sts in s tudy ing l it e ra tur e b ma l e s a nd f emal e s 77

T ab l e 4 5: Stud ents" s pec ific a ttitude to the s t udy o f FL l t e ra tur e 78

Ta ble 4 7: Studen t s" per cep ti on o f c ultura l enri chmen t 8()

T ab l e 4 8: S tud e nt s' per cep ti o n o f p erso n a l grow th/d e ve l opment 8 () Tab l e 4 9 : S tu de nt s ' c h oice o f Br iti s h/Ameri ca n lit er at ur e f or s t u dy 8 2

Ta ble 4 1(): S um ma ry o f lea rne r m oti v e s a nd go a ls 93

Tab le 4 13 : S um mar y o f s tud e nts ' pe rcep ti on s o f m o tivati ona l f actors 97

X I

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

C ha pte r 2

C ha pte r 4

Fig ure 4 1 : Centra l tend en cie s in ge ne ra l i nte re st in literature 76 Fig ure 4 2: Compa riso n of stude nts ' percepti on s o f the three m odel s of lit erature

Fig ure 4 3 : Sum ma ry o f attitude s, awarene ss, and ch oi ce S3 Fig ure 4 4 : S tudy ing for th e mere sa ke of te sts/e xam s X 5

Figure 4 6: Study ing for c ultura l and socia l in te grati on 8 7

Figure 4 8: Stud yin g o ut o f t h e percepti on of o ne value o f literature s tudy 89

Figure 4 W: Stud yin g for a feelin g of co m pe te nce 9 1

Fig ure 4 1 3: Co m pa riso n o f ce ntra l tenden ci e s in extrins ic mo ti vati on a nd

Figure 4 14 : Co m pa riso n o f stude nts ' percepti on s o f moti vati onal fa ct ors 99 Fig ure 4.15 : Com pa riso n o f ce ntra l tend enci e s in stu de nts ' sugges tio ns I 03

X

Fi rst l an gu a ge

Fo reig n/seco nd l an gua ge l) M FL Mo de rn fo re ig n l an gu a ge

1 0 OUP Oxfo rd U nivers ity Pr e ss

I I T ESOL Teac hing E ng lish t o S pea ke rs of O ther L an gu a ge s

1 2 TL T arget l an gu a ge

1 3 USSH U nive rsity o f Soc ia l Sc ie nces a nd Hum an itie s

14 VNU - H C MC Vie tna m Na tio na l U nive rs ity - H o C hi M inh C ity

xiii

INTROD UCTION

T his research i nvestiga tes fu ll-time E ng lish m aj or s ' a ttitudes t o wa rd

l iterature rea di ng a nd s tudy ing, es pecia lly t owa rd FL li te rat ure s tudy , th e ir

m otive s for a nd goa ls i n s tudy ing B ritish/A merica n l ite rature , as we ll as th e ir percep tio n s of m oti vati on al fac tors wi th a v iew t o e nha nc ing s tude nts'

m ot ivatio ns in s tudy ing B ritish/Ameri can lit e rature a t F ELL - USS H, VNU

-HCMe In th is very fi rst p a rt o f th e th e sis, th e p roblems that p rompted a tte mpts

for t his s tudy are id enti fied In a ddition, th e purp ose s a nd th e sig nifica nce of th e

s tud y, ass umptions , limit at ion s a nd d el im itati on s, d e finiti on s of t e rm s, a nd t he

s tru ctu r e of th e r e ma inde r of th e th e sis a re a lso pr e sented.

Ove r th e l a st d e cad e o r so, B riti sh/Am eri can lit erature h a s b e en a n

aca de mic s ubject c ruc ia l t o th e w ho le c urriculum for E ng lish ma j or s of FE LL USS H, VNU - H CM e Mor e o ver, ei the r Br itish or A merica n li te rature is o ne of

-th e co mpulsory s ubjects in th e g ra duatio n exa m Thi s i s gro unded o n th e fa ct that

th e f acult y i s n amed ' F ac ult y of E ng lish Lin gui stics a nd Lit e rature ' ( for me rly

D ep artment o f E ng lish Lin gu istics a nd Lit e rature ) It is al so arg ue d th at th rou gh

B ritish/A me rica n lit erature , E ng lish m ajor s ca n w ide n th eir know ledge i n te rms

of c ulture , hi stor y n ati on , a nd p e opl e , e tc o f th e co untry w hose l an gu a ge th e y

a re s tudy ing In r e spe ct t o EF L l an gu a ge st udy , s tudy ing fo reign li tera ture is

s uppose d t o b e a good way t o imp ro ve l an gu a ge sk ills, e s p ec ia lly r e ad ing and

w riting H owe ve r, th e re ar ises th e qu e stion " Are E nglish majors awar e o f t he

i mpo rtance an d t he be nefi ts of t his s ubject ?"

In rea lity , th e t e a chin g a nd l e arn ing of FL l iterature , n amel y

B ritish/Ame rican lit e rature , a t FE LL - USS H, VNU - HCMC h as faced several

c ha lle nges Fro m p erson al o bserva tions, fro m ow n ex perie nces i n l e arning an d

t ea ching B ritish/A me rica n lit e rature a t FE LL, a nd from i nfo rm al t al ks wit h

c o lleagues and w ith st ude nts , th e resea rcher h as n oti ced f ive re marka ble

p roblems.

Firs tly, n ow ad a ys m ore a nd m or e p e ople a re joi ning th e R at R a ce in th e

m arket eco no my Th e y t end t o l e ad a fas t-paced, h e cti c , a nd even fr antic way of

li f e , a nd th ei r m on e y co nce rns g radua lly ero de th eir i nte rest in l ite rature T od ay ,

f ew y ung V ie tnamese p e ople s pe nd tim e e njoyi ng a l on g n o vel , r e ading or cit ing a p oem in t hei r n ati ve l an gu a ge , l et a lone in a f orei gn l an gu age Th e y eve n

co nsider it a t ime- wastin g , dr e ary, a nd eve n ridi cul ou s ac tivity , for th e y thin k it

d oes n ot h elp th em m ak e m on ey N o t o nly co mmo n readers bu t a lso ' e xpe c t e d ser ious rea de r s ' lik e l an gu age st ude nts u su all y th ink of l ite rat ure as so me thi ng

t o acade mic, int elle ctual , d ifficult , a nd imp ractical No t s urpris ing ly, so me

co mplai nts a nd qu e stion s lik e " I' m s tudying Briti sh/Am eri c an l iterature b ecause I

h av e no o ther choice It' s a co mpulsory s ubjec t ", " Why s hould I s tud y

Br itish /A m erica n li terature w hile I'm n ot ev e n in terested ill Vie tnames e

lit erature ? " , "W hy do we ha ve t o t ake so m any co urses in B ritish/Ameri can

l it e rature, b ut n ot in B usiness, T ouri s m, or In terp retation/Tra nslation ! ", " How

wi ll Br itish /Ame ri can lit eratur e be nefi t m e In m y f utur e ca reer !", e tc are

so m e times h e a rd a mo ng E ng lish m aj ors a t FE LL.

s uccessfully d efended in 2000.

Sec ondly , s tude nts ' lack of inter e st in FL lite rature ma y al so re sult from

th e way Vi etnamese literature ha s been bein g tau ght in sc hoo ls , u su ally imp osin g

a nd ce ntra lize d, rath er th an moti vating and in spiring Pupil s a nd high sc hool

s tude nts are n ot u sually allow ed to interpr et a literary work in their o wn w ay s o r

fr eel y re spond t o it Th ey seem t o copy what their teacher s h av e s a id a bo ut th e

w ork f or th eir e xa m paper s In thi s w ay , their pa ssivity and d ependency are

ex ace rbate d, but th eir c re ativity and uniquene ss are und ermined , which may e nd

up in their los s of e njoyme nt for thi s s ubj e ct Thi s problem wa s als o dis cussed in

th e th e sis e ntitled " Br idging the Gap between EFL L anguage Study and Liter ature Study : D e signing a Reading C ourse for USSH Engli sh Maj ors by

Us ing Tw enti eth-century American Short Storie s " of Pham Le Sung Chinh ,

~ 1H",il<-"o/ Thirdly , it i s a ckn owledged that FL literatur e , e g British/Ameri carr' i s not

an e as y subje ct to s tudy For the first rea son, studying liter ature in general

r equires s tude nts' s kill Not all s tude nts were b orn to h a ve an aptitude f or lit erature s tudy Studying literature requir es not only stud ents' lan guage s kills but

a lso th eir ' a bility to think ' Moreover, it is common that s tude nts have t o deal with " unfa milia r background references " (Lewi s, 1999 :200) and allu sion s in FL lit erature , whi ch may sometimes mak e them 's trugg le' with the reading and

h ence take a way their pleasure in reading it Lan guage barrier i s another fact or

th at m akes FL literatu re s e e m to be in accessible to s ome s tude nts They often

c omplain that th e lan guage u sed in literar y work s i s old-fa shi on ed , eve n arch aic, whi ch i s t oo hard t o int ernalize o r 'dig e st '

F ourthl y, Briti sh/American literatur e , t o gether with lin gu istics, i s a

c ompul sor y s ubject f or the graduati on e xam f or s tude nts at FE LL: th erefor e , t e st

3

a nxie ty I S i nevita ble S o metime s, s tude nts a re so mu ch concerned a bo ut

q ues tio ns o r t opi cs whi ch ar e lik el y t o a ppear o n th e ir end -of-co urse t e sts a nd

gra duat ion exa m th at th e y m ay f ail t o a ppreciate th e l ite ra ry wo rks.

F ina lly, aca de mic s ubjects s uch as Bri tish/America n lit e rature , Bri tish/A merica n c ulture, a nd l ingu ist ics a re n ot t au ght unt il s tuden ts of FELL

f inish th ei r f irst two years o f prac ticing l an gu a ge ski lls a nd s ub-skills It fo llows

t hat so me s tude nts f ind it o ff-putting t o co nfro nt s uch a s udde n turnin g p o int in

th e c urric ulum Thi s p robl em was a lso a ddressed in th e a bove-me ntio ne d th e sis

of Pha m L e Sun g C hinh (2000) I n fac t, so me t hird-yea r s tude nts co mpla in t ha t

th e y are put un de r a l ot of p re ssu re w he n th ey are aske d t o d o so me c ha llenging

tasks s uch as m a king ora l pr e sentati on s a bo ut th e lit e ra ry works or wr iti ng

li ter ar y essays.

T he above d isc uss io n und erlie s th e n e ed for a tte mp ts t o so lve th e se pro ble ms As L e wis ( 1999 :76) r emar ke d " lac k o f m otivati on drags p e ople down

i n th eir l an gu age l earn ing a nd hi gh m oti vat ion pull s th em up " Motiva tio n in

l iter ature s tudy, th ough so mew hat diffe re nt f rom m ot ivat ion in l a ngu a ge

l e arning, s ho uld n ot b e ove rloo ke d Accor di ng ly, m oti vatin g E ng lis h m aj ors t o

s tudy Br itish!A merica n lit erature s ho uld b e th e fir st s tep to do t o so lve th e se

p robl ems Wh en E ng lish m aj ors ca n b e aware of th e ro le of B rit ish/Ame rican

l iterature in th e c urric ulum a s w e ll as in th ei r li fe , b oth p ro fe ssion al li fe a nd

socia l li fe , th e y m ay b e in spired t o s tudy it O nce th e y are mot iva te d, th e y

th em sel ve s m a y d e vote m ore tim e a nd e nergy t o th eir l iterature st udy a nd seek

pl e a sure i n it.

Never the less, e nco urag ing s tudents t o read a nd st ud y B ritish/American lit e rature ca n b e a c ha lle ng ing t a sk, es pecia lly for yo ung and in e xpe rie nce d

t e a ch e r s In o rde r t o e nha nce s tud e nt s' m ot i v at i on s In s tu dy i n g t h is s ubject,

t e ach e r s n e ed t o kn ow a bo ut th e n ature a nd k ind s of l e a rnin g m oti vation Th e y

a l so n e ed t o id entify h ow mu ch s tude nts a re int ere sted i n rea d ing a nd s tud y in g

lit e rature as we ll a w ha t r e a son s li e b ehind t he ir int ere st a nd e ff o rts In a dd itio n,

a n u nde r st anding o f s tud e nt s' p erce ptio n s o f m oti vati on al ca u se s ca n h elp

t ea c h e r s e nc ourag e s tud e n ts t o l e arn It i s f o rtuna t e f o r l an gu a g e teac hers th at a

h ge vo l ume o f re searc h o n m ot i v at ion in l an gu a ge l e arnin g h a s b e en r eporte d

H o we v er , t here i s n o s uc h a s ubs ta ntia l b od y of resea rc h o n m ot ivat ion in

l iterature s tudy in FL cl a sse s Thi s ha s s p urre d the re se arch er t o co nd uc t th e

s urvey t o ga in i nfo rma tion ab out what s tude nts f e el , think , n e ed , and s ugge s t so

t ha t teac he rs ca n r e ly o n it t o see k ways o f g i v in g st ude nts of F ELL a n i mpetu s t o

s tu dy Bri ti s h/A merica n l ite rature in a m ore in sp irin g way

OF TERMS, AND ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINDER 0.2.1 Statement of purpo se

Thi s s tud y se e ks t o in v e st igat e: ( I) E ng li s h m aj o r s' a ttitude s t o ward

lit e rature and lit e rature s tud y ; ( 2) th e ir m o ti v e s for a nd g oa l s i n s tud y in g

Briti sh/American lit e rature; (3) th eir ch oi ce of thi s s ubject , a nd (4) th eir

p ercepti on s o f m oti vational f ac to rs In s tudy ing Briti sh/Am eri can lit e rature at

F E LL - U SSH, VNU - HeM e.

T o a hie ve th i s ai m , a c r o ss - se c ti o na l s urv ey wa s c o ndu cted and w as b a sed

o n : ( I) a que stio nna ir e di s tri but ed t o f ourt h- year s t ud e nts o f FEL L t o e lic it data

ab o ut th e ir attit ude s t owar d th e r e ading a nd s tu dy i ng o f l it e r a tur e in ge ne ra l and

5

of FL literature in particular, their moti ve s for and goals in study ing Briti sh/American literature , their deci sion s to study thi s s ubje ct, a nd their percepti on s of fact or s affecting their learning motivati on , and (2) informal follow-up interviews with a numb er o f stude nts to ex plore their idea s and

re commend ation s.

0.2.2 Significance of the study

Th e a bove-me ntio ne d the sis o f Pham Le Sung Chinh atte mpte d to d e sign a

re ad ing co urse for USSH Engli sh maj ors (in- service branch ) b using

twentieth-ce ntury American short stories with an eye to familiarizing those student s with Ameri can literature so that they would not get estra nge d or de -motivated when they study thi s s ubject during the la st two ye ars at the uni versit y.

Anothe r the sis, which conc ern s ab out ho w to enh an ce le arning moti vation ,

is the one pre sented b Bui Diem Hanh (2000); ho we ver, her th e sis focu sed o n high schoo l EFL stude nts, who did not maj or in Engli sh.

This thesis is the first to deal with Engli sh majors ' motivati ons in study ing British/American literature at the faculty and suggest wa ys to enhanc e their

le arning motivati on 0.2.3 Assumptions

Th is study is ba sed on the foll owing assumption s:

I The sa mple population of English maj or s in question is repre sentative of English majors of FELL - USSH, YNU - HCMe.

2 Th e methods a nd proc edure s of data coll ection and anal ysis are reliable

a nd suita ble e nough to o bta in adequ at e informati on fo r the an swers to th e guid ing qu e st ion s/sub-que st ion s.

3 Th e res po nde nts and th e in form ant s are S incere In r e spon ding t o th e

qu e stionn ai re s and th e int erviews r e spe cti vel y

T his s tudy is d e sign ed t o a pply t o f ull-time E ng lish m aj or s at FE LL

-USS H , VNU -H CM C for th e f oll owing r e ason s:

I Ge ne ra lly s peak ing, th e l an gu a ge co mpe te nce o f f ull-time E ng lish m aj ors

i s co nsidered t o b e mu ch b etter than that o f in- se rvice o nes Th e fo rmer IS

a lso ex pecte d t o b e m o re co nfide nt a nd e nth usiastic i n res po ndi ng to

lit e rary t e xts.

2 In- se rvice s tude nts are u suall y w orking s tude nts, so tim e co nstra ints

p re vent th e m f rom r e ading and s tudy ing lit erar y t e xt s th or ou ghl y.

Thi s s tudy i s a lso ge ne ra liza ble t o E ng lish m aj or s of Seco nd U niversity

D e gre e br an ch a t FE LL - US SH, V NU - H CM e I t i s dul y n ote d th at in t his case ,

th e st udy i s s ubject t o fl e xibl e c ha nges a nd a da ptatio ns for s uita bility a nd

effec tive ness M ore over, fu rth er researc h n e eds t o b e d on e , f or th e s ubjects of

thi s typ e p osse ss so me d istinct ive c haracteristics F or e xample , th e y h av e m ore wor k a nd lif e ex pe rie nce but l e ss tim e fo r th ei r s tudy ing th an f u ll-time s tude nts

d o A nothe r co mmo nly p ercei ved p robl em, w hich h a s n ot b e en t e stified y et, is

t hat th e l an gua ge co mpe te nce o f th ose s tude nts i s so mew ha t l ower th an t ha t of

f ull-time En glish m aj ors

H ow e ver , th is s tudy l ack s ex te rna l va lidity, for th e r e sul ts ca nno t b e

ge ne ra lize d t o o the r p opulati on s o r co nditions o uts ide th e in stituti o n.

It mu st a lso be n oted th at thi s st udy h a s so me r e strictive weak nesses du e to

th e f act th at th e a ttitudina l qu e stionn a ire w a s adm inistered a t th e e nd of the

7

aca de mic yea r 2 003-2004 ( to g a in so me in formation a bo ut th e w h le p ro ce ss of

s tudying literature at the faculty ), a 's e ns itive' time wh en s tude nts had n ot y e t

r e cei ved th eir g rad ua tio n exa m re sults Thi s ma y h a ve a ffec te d th ei r res ponses

H owe ver, as ass ume d a bove, th eir r e sp on se s c a n b e t aken tru st worth y e no ug h f or

th e r e searcher t o arri ve at v alid findin gs and co ncl us io ns A no the r n ot e i s that a

l on gitudinal s urvey i s be yond th e r e search e r' s ca paci ty du e t o a l a ck o f time Thu s, a c ross -se ctio na l s ur vey , which may not rev eal th oroughly the

e nha nce me nt o f s tud e nt s ' m oti vati on durin g th e p ro ce ss of t hei r l e arning , was

c hose n T o minimi ze th e ri sk o f b ia s a nd to clari fy the i ssu e , so me rel ated

qu e stion s w e re r ai sed durin g th e in-d epth int erview.

O.l.S Definitions of terms Aptitude: Thi s t erm refer s to " the natural ability to l earn " a s ubject , " no t

in clud ing int elligence , m oti vation , int ere st , e tc " ( Richards, J., Pl att, J , a nd Pl att ,

H , 1 992: 1 98 ).

Attitude: Att itude r efers t o " dis positio n t o reac t favo ura b ly o r unfa vo urab ly t o a cla ss of o bj e cts " ( Sa rn off, 1966 :279 ) ( C ite d in D o Hu y Thinh ' s

d octoral di ssertati on , 1 99 6 ).

Autonomy : " T hi s t erm d e scribe s th e s itua tio n In w h ich the l earner i s

t ot all y r e spon sible f or all o f th e deci si on s co ncern e d with hi s l earning and the impl ementati on o f th ose d eci sion s " ( Dic kinso n, 1 9 87: II ) H o we ver, as S incl a ir

r emark ed, Hole c (19 81 ) held " the m ore u seful view th at ' le a rner aut on omy ' i s

a bo ut p otent ial l e arner b eha viour i.e the capacity o r a bilit y t o l e arn ind ependently " ( Ca rte r and M c Ra e, Ed s., 1 996: 14 0 ).

Cro ss-sectional survey : Thi s r e se arch d e si gn r e fers t o a s ur ve y in w hic h

" the s urvey in formati on i s co llecte d a t o ne p oint i n tim e " (C re swe ll, I 994 : I 1 9 )

Curriculum : Th is i s "a n e duca tio na l p rogram me w hich s ta te s: a the

e duca tiona l purp ose of th e p rogramme ( the end s); b th e con ten t, teac hing

p rocedure s a nd l e arning ex pe rie nces whi ch will b e n e ce ssa ry to ac hieve th is

pu rpose ( the means ); c so me m ean s f or assessi ng w he the r o r n ot th e e duca tiona l

e nds h a ve b e en ac hieved" ( Richa rds, J., Pl att , J., a nd Pl att , H., 1 992: 94 ) In thi s

th e sis, th e t wo t erms ' c urri c ulum' and 'sy llabus' a re n ot in terch an ge abl e.

Full-time E nglish m ajors: Th e se are s tude nts o f FE LL w ho t ook Na tiona l

U niversi ty E ntra nce Exa m and wh o atte nd d aytime classes.

G oa ls or ta sks: Th e se a re "o bjectives of a cog nitive ac tivity or e nterpr ise" (Dicki nson, 1 987 :34 ).

In- service bran ch/section: Thi s t erm r efe rs t o eve rung trainin g c ourse s desig ned fo r wo rking s tude nts, wh o m a y/m ay n ot h a ve a uni ve rsity d e gree i n

a nother fie ld, in or de r t o ge t a B A d e gre e in E nglish

Lon gitudinal sur vey : Thi s r e se ar ch d e sign refe rs t o a s urvey in w hich " the

s urvey inf orm a tion i s co llec te d ov e r a p eri od o f tim e " (C reswe ll, 1 994: I 1 9) Motivation: Thi s i s ge nera lly d e fin ed as " the fac tors th at d ete rm ine a

p er son ' s d e sire t o d o so me thing" ( Richards e t a l , 1 992 :238) In seco nd a nd fore ign l anguage l earning, m ot ivation ca n b e d efined as " th e co mbi na tion of effo rt plu s d e sire t o ac hieve th e goa l o f l e arning th e l an gu age plu s favo urab le

a ttitudes t oward l earning th e lan gu age " ( Ga rdne r , 1 985: 1 0) ( Cited i n D o Hu y

T hinhs d octoral di ssertati on , 1 996) In thi s s tudy , l e arn ing mo tiva tion IS

ope ra tiona lly d e fined as s tude nts' a ttitudes to ward, m ot ive s fo r a nd goals In

l iterature s tudy, a nd th ei r d ecision s t o s tudy it.

Moti ves: Th e se co ntex tua lly m e an reaso ns fo r l e arnin g

9

Second University Degree branch/section : Th is t e rm r efers t o eve ning

t rainin g co urses de signed f or s tude nts , w ho a lrea dy ha ve a uni versity d e gre e i n

an other f ie ld, in o rder t o ge t a B A d e gr e e in En gli sh.

Sy lla bus: Thi s t erm m eans " a d e scripti on o f th e co nte nts o f a co urse of

in struction a nd th e or de r in whi ch t hey a re t o be t au ght " ( Ric ha rds, J , Pl att, J ,

a nd Pl att , H , 1 992 :368).

0.2 6 Organization of the remainder of the s t udy

Th e intr oducti on o f th e th e sis id entifie s t he p robl ems, s tates th e purp ose

a nd th e sig nifica nce of th e th esis, pr e sents ass umptio ns, se ts limit ati on s a nd

d el imitation s, d efine s so me ter mino log y, and int roduce s th e o the r sec tions o f th e

t h esis Th e co nclus ion at th e e nd s umma rizes th e s tudy a nd r e vie ws th e

i mplications a nd r e commend ati on s Th e res t of th e t hesis i s div ided i nto f ive

c ha pters:

C ha pte r I p ro vide s b ackground inf ormat ion t o th e s tudy w ith a l ook a t th e

ro le of l iterature in th e c urriculum f or F L l earners, a di scu ssion of appr oache s t o lit erature s tudy ing a nd lit erature t e aching in E FL/ES L class roo ms, a d e scripti on

o f th e lit erature sy lla bus f or E ng lish m ajor s a t FE LL, a nd an a ccount of t e a ching

ex pe riences o f th e p arti cip ant - resea rche r a t th e f acul ty.

C ha pte r 2 r e vie ws th e r el e vant lit e rature t o p ro vid e th e th e or etical

b ackground t o th e s tudy In thi s c ha pte r, th e n ature , k ind s a nd m oti vati on al

f actors of l e arning m otivati on in ge ne ra l a s we ll as m ot ivati on a nd m ot ivati on al

f actors in lit erature s tudy i n pa rticula r ar e c ritica lly reviewed

C ha pte r 3 r eport s th e utili zati on o f th e resea rc h m ethod ol ogy i n t he st u dy

and i s s ubdivide d i nto t wo sec tions : r e se arch qu e stion s a nd r e se a rch de s ign I n

th e r e se arch d e sign , the r e search method s ar e di scu ssed a nd t he s ubjects ,

in struments a s we ll a s d ata co llection and co ding p rocedure s a re d e scribed Chapt er 4 anal yzes th e data and pr e sents th e findin gs thr ou gh th e r eport of

s tude nts' re spon se s t o the qu estionnaire s and the int ervie ws

C ha pte r 5 di scu sse s th e impli cation s of the f indings a nd offe rs s ugges tio ns

a nd r e commend ati on s t o e nha nce s tude nts' m oti vati on s In s tudyi ng Briti sh/Ameri can lit erature a t FELL - U SSH , VN U - H CM e.

I I

Chapter 1: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Thi s chapte r presents the ba ck ground informati on fa cilitat ing th e understanding of the issue s discu ssed in thi s the sis Th e cha pte r co mprises four main se ctions The first se ction look s at th e role o f literature in the c urriculum for

FL le arn er s, with a spec ific re fe re nce to the curriculum at FELL - USSH ,

VNU-H eMe Th e se co nd se ction di scu sse s different app roache s/m ethod ol ogie s commo nly ado pte d for th e teaching a nd studying of lit erature in EFLIESL classroom s, es pecia lly with re gard to th e cont e xt of FELL Th e third se ction

de scribes the literature syllabus for third- and fourth-ye ar En gli sh maj ors a t FELL T he la st section is an acc ount of personal remarks by th e re se arch er as a language a nd literature teacher at the fac ulty

1.1 THE ROLE OF LITERATURE IN THE CURRICULUM FOR EFL/ ESL STUDENTS

Before th e role of literature in the curriculum for E FLIESL stude nts is

di scu ssed , it may be better to re view the d efinition of ' lite rature ' Although there have been severa l definition s of the word, the one by Mea gh er ( 1997 : 129 ) can be

co nside re d a 'traditional' concept of lite rature: " written ex pressio n dealing with human e xperience in fin ely c rafted work s with a rtisti c qualit y " (with

e mphas is add ed ).

1.1.1 Rationale for literature in EFL/ESL classes

In the la st few de cades, with th e dominance of technolo gy and bu sine ss, which entails a boom of aud iovi sual m a ss media (e g tel e visi on , th e radio, new spapers, th e Internet, e tc.) and with the shift from E ng lish a s an ac a de m ic

s ubject t o En gli sh as ESP (E ng lish fo r S pecific Purp ose s) or me re ly as a m e an s

fo r soc ia l co mmunica tion, th e pla ce of lit erature i n th e c urric ulum fo r EFL/ES L

s tude nt s h a s b e en s haky Th e n e gle ct of lit erature in t he l an gu a ge classroo m h a s

p artly r e sult ed f rom t he f ac t that th e w ritte n lan gu a ge h a s te nde d t o g ive way t o

th e s po ke n o ne ( Ca rte r a nd L on g, 1 991 ) Th e qu e stion " W h y t ea ch l iterature ? "

h as b een ra ise d a nd di scussed b m an y author s As Ca rte r a nd L on g ( 199 1 :2)

s ta ted , " th e reasons fo r t e aching lit erature n e ce ssaril y tr an scend th e p a rticular

c ir c umsta nce s, p lac e s a nd c onte xts i n w hic h lit erature i s t au ght "

T o b e gin w ith , Sa ndra Mc Kay ( Bru mfit an d C at er, Ed s , 1 986 ) p ointed o ut

se ve ra l va lua ble b en efits o f l ite rature s tudy f or E SL cl a sse s In th e fi rst pl ac e ,

l ite ratu re s tud y ca n h elp d e vel op l earners' kn owl edge a bo ut th e lan gua ge an d

t h e ir a bility t o u se th e lan gu age S e condly , s tude nts' read ing e njoy me nt ca n evoke th e ir int eraction w ith a tex t a nd th en in crea se th eir r e ading pr ofic ien cy

n eed ed f or th eir a dva nced ed uca tio n a nd/o r f uture occ upa tio n La stl y, a p ssibl e

b ett er und erstanding o f a fo re ign c ulture th rou gh lit erature exa mina tio ns

co nc e rn ing c ultura l diff erence s ma y s pur th eir own i mag ina tive wr itin g.

L ike wise, Co llie and Slat er ( 1987) li sted f our main reaso ns f or th e u se of lit er ature in th e l an gu age l e arning cla ss: va lua ble a uthe ntic ma teri al, cultur al

e nrichme nt , l an gu a ge e nr ichme nt, a nd p e rson al in vol vement S im ila r t o Co llie

a nd S late r' s ( 1987) a rgume nt s fo r lit erature s tud y, Ca rter a nd L on g ' s ( 199 1 )

r a ti o na le , ba sed o n th e l e arning o bjectives f or th e s tude nt of lit e rature , co n s iste d

o f thr e m odel s: t h e c ul t ural m odel , th e lan gu age m odel , a nd t h e pe r sona l g ro wt h mode l Th e se t wo p ai rs o f a utho rs gave in sightful re ma rk s o n th e ro l e of li te ra tur e

in th e EF LIESL class roo m A ccording t o th em , th e t e a ch ing a nd st u dy i n of lit erature in th e l an gu age cl a ssroom se rve se ve ra l p urpose s, w hi c h co mple me nt

1

eac h o the r: e nha ncing s tude nts' cross -cultura l kn owledge ; i mp ro ving th eir

l an gu age s kills th rou gh th e sc rutiny of au thentic m at erial ('a uthe nt ic' in th e se nse

th at th e l an gu age w a s w ritte n for n at ive s pea kers); offe ring s tude nts c hances t o 'e ngage' or ' invo lve' in th e lit erary t e xt t o see k pl e a sur e i n re a ding i or t o b re ak

f ree fro m th e m ere sa ke o f tests a nd exa ms, a nd t o r efl e ct up on th emsel ve s a s

we ll as co nnec t t he mse lves with th e soc ie ty a nd t he w orld th e y a re li ving in a nd

t hus th ey 'gro w' Th e l a st view i s a lso s ha re d b y o the r a uthors wh o care fo r

t e achin g lit erature t o nati ve s tude nts Fo r exa mple, in hi s a rticle, Maur e en C.

O'Con nor (f rom L e e Hi gh S chool ) (2003) sta te d t he r ole of lit erature w ith th e

m otto " Lite rat ure as m irro r, lit eratu re as h e al er ", i e b etter und erstanding of

o nese lf a nd d e epe r ap prec ia tio n and t olerance f or ot he rs A no the r a utho r,

T erren ce M oore ( Principa l o f Rid ge vie w C lassica l Sc hoo ls in For t Co llins,

Co lorado) (2004), co nf irme d hi s v iew in th e s ta te me nt "Grea t l ite ratu re e na bles

s tude nts t o und e rstand th emsel ve s a nd o the rs" In o the r wor ds, it i s wid el y

ac know ledged th at lit erature co nveys hum anitarian va lues.

In th eir ess ay, Pa chl er and A llfo rd (F ie ld, E d , 2000) a lso a dva nced a nd

ex plore d th e thr e e m ain r e a son s f or lit erature in th e lan gu age class roo m by

Ca rte r a nd L on g ( 199 1) in t erms of l an gu a ge , soc ie ty a nd c ulture, a nd p erson al

in vol vement Th e y a lso a le rte d th e r e ad er t o th e b enefits of lit erature s tudy in th e

M FL c lass roo m In th e f irst pl ace , l ite rat ur e s tudy h elp s build u p s tude nts'

l an guage re pe rto ire si nce " lite ra ry t e xts, du e t o t he ir s pecific c ha ra cteristics,

r equire ce rta in r e ading s tra teg ies, whi ch n e ed t o b e t au ght " ( p 2 44) In th e seco nd pl ace , lit erature ca n b e a so urce of e njoy me nt, f or lit e rature ca n sa tia te

s tude nts ' ima gin at ion and crea tivity a nd t e mp ora ril y take th e m away from t heir

d ail y wo rries a nd care F inally, lit erature , as a fo rm of e ntertainmen t , can a lso

se rve a s a n e d uca tio na l t ool, co nvey ing m oral a nd soc ia l va lues " in an interest ing way " (p 24 5)

L ike wise , L e wis (1999: 1 97 ) m ade a n a pt r ema rk t ha t " It [ the st udy of

l ite rature] i ntro duces th em [FL s tude nts] t o n e w way s of thin kin g a nd v iewi ng th e

wo rld as we ll as p ro viding th em w ith ex te nsive p a ssage s o f l an gu a ge in a ra nge

o f co ntex ts '' H e we nt o n t o s tress th e imp ort an ce o f lit erature in l an gu age

co urses w ith thr e e p aram et ers : learn er' s language impro vement, a so urce of

i nformatio n, and ente rtainment

Whi l e o the r auth or s p ointed o ut th e b enefit s of s tud ying l iteratur e in a FL

cl a ssroom , Lad o ( 1964) di scu ssed the ' practica l' purp ose o f t e aching literatur e of

a f orei gn l an gu a ge Acco rd ing t o him , th e t e aching of FL lit erature i s n ot t o t ra in

s tude nts t o b e com e p rofe ssion al w rite rs in that l an gu a ge but t o e na ble th em t o

a pprecia te a fo re ign lit e rature , i e " to ex perie nce it f ully" ( p 1 55 ) H e a lso

p rese nted a nothe r p erspe ctive o f t e a ch ing L 2/ FL lit e rature , w hich i s si mi la r t o

th e c ultura l m od el a bove : " t o ex pe rie nce a rtistica lly some thi ng of th e t a rget

c ulture" ( p 155 ).

T wo o the r a utho rs, J A Ae be rso ld a nd M L Fi eld (1 C R ich a rds, E d.,

1 997: 1 56) , o ffe re d a l ist th at e mbraces a lmost a ll of th e a bove r e a son s fo r th e u se

of lit erar y t exts in th e L 2/FL r e ading cl a ssro om :

• T o p romote c ultura l under standing

• T o i mprove l a n u a ge pr ofi ciency

• T o g ive s tude nts ex pe rie nce w ith v a rio us t e xt t yp e s

• T o p ro vid e li vel y, e njoya ble, hi gh-inte re st rea d ing s

15

• To persona lize t he classroom by focusing o n h uman e xperiences and

n e ed s

• T o p ro vide a n o ppo rtunity fo r r efle ct ion a nd p e r s on a l grow th

A ll t he a bove ra tio na le for lit erature t e aching a nd s tudy ing i n th e EF LIES L

cl a s sroom co nfirms th e l on g-e st abli sh ed pl ace of lit erature i n th e c ur riculu m fo r

l an gu age s tude nt s a ltho ug h it h a s ex pe rie nced up s a nd d own s fr om tim e t o tim e 1.1.2 The place of literature in the curriculum for student s at FELL - USS H, VNU - HC MC

Q uite d iffe rent fro m th e un stable si tua tio n o f li tera tur e i n s o m e o the r

i nstitutio ns, th e ni ch e of l ite rature in th e c ur riculum f or s tude nts at F ELL USS H , V NU - H CM e h a s b e en es ta blishe d fo r m ore th an a doze n of yea r s Th e

-a ims a nd o bjectives of th e wh ole c urric ulum e mphas ize th e u tilitarian r at ion al e for EF L, i e " a s a t ool f or socia l c ommuni cati on " a nd o pe n a win do w t o f uture

e mpl oy m e nt a nd m ore ad van ced e duca tio n (see App endi x I ) In or der t o f ulfill

t he aim s a nd o bj ectives, a tr a inin g pr ogram was d e sign ed , w ith a t ot al o f 2 10

s tudy c re dits (e quivalent t o 3 , 15 0 cl a ss p eriod s) , di stributed in thr e e d istin ctive

sections: foundation subject s (a ll in Vi etname se ex ce pt th e seco nd fo reig n

l an gu age ); s u bj e cts to develop lan guage s k ills ( fo r th e f irst t wo yea rs a t

un iversity) , a nd core subjects t ogethe r with teaching practic e and seminars (fo r th e la st tw o yea rs), with 69 , 5 6 a nd 8 5 s tudy cre di ts r e sp e ctivel y O ut of th e

75 s tudy cre dit s f or co re s ubjects, Briti sh/ Am e rican l iterature t a ke s u p 26 ( 3 7 %)

( 13 s tud y c re d its f or Briti sh lit e ratu re a nd a no the r 13 for A me rica n li te ra ture ) (see A ppe ndix I ).

Th e d e scription o f th e tim e di stributi on fo r Briti sh/Am eri ca n lit e rature

pr ove s th e ' pr e s ti ge ' o f thi s s ubject in th e w ho le c urriculum of FE LL As fo r th e

l ite rature co urse o bjectives, it i s cl aimed that th rou gh th e s tudy o f A me rica n

f iction a nd p oetry f rom th e Pur itan Age t o th e zo" ce ntury , s tude nts wi ll b e a ble

t o " und e r s ta nd a nd a pprecia te th e E ng lish lan guage u sed in lit erary wo rks a s we ll

as th e w riter ' s att itudes a nd e motions" a nd that th rou gh th e s tudy of B riti sh lit erary w orks, s tude nts will be able t o "a pprec iate lit era ry va lues of l ite rary

wo rks r efl e cted in indi vidu al li fe a nd soc ia l lif e " (see App endi x I ).

1.2 DISCUSSION OF APPROACHES TO LITERAT URE STUDYING AND

T EACHI NG

As th ere ar e c ha nges in the w ay l ite ra ture has b e en a ckn o wled ged in th e

c urriculum f or FL s tude nts, th e re a re diff erent wa ys in which lit erature i s tr e at ed.

In o ther w ord s, a pproa ches t o lit e rature th e in EFLI ESL cla ssroom are d riven b y

di ffe rent co nce pts of lit erature

1.2.1 General approaches/methodologies adopted for literature studying and te aching in EFL/ESL cla ssrooms

Ca rte r a nd L on g ( 199 1) m ad e a di stin cti on b et we en lit erature for s tudy a nd lit erature a s r e source Th e fir st c on cept v iews lit erature a s a n aca de mic s ubject in whi ch lit erary t e xts a re s tudie d and a na lyzed in the li ght o f l itera ry cr iticism a nd

st ud e nts a re r equired t o d emon strate th e ir a bility t o r e ad , t al k, a nd w rite a bo ut lit eratu re Th e seco nd co nce pt v ie ws lit erature as a m e a ns to ex te nd s tuden ts '

"p rodu cti ve l an gu a ge r ep ertoir e " ( Pac hle r a nd A llfor d ) (F ie ld, E d , 2000:238) thr ough "va lua ble exercises o f l an gu age l e arn ing " a nd t o p rom ot e pe rso na l

d e vel opment b y e nco urag ing "gre a ter se nsi tiv ity and se l f-a wa re n e ss an d greate r

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und e rstanding of t he w orld aro und u s " (Car ter a nd L on g, 1 991 : 3 ) Th e two

a uthor s, Car te r a nd L on g ( 199 1), pl aced e mp has is o n th e ' e nj oyme n t ' a nd ' fulfillme nt' th at lit erary t e xt s ca n b rin g t o re aders H o we ve r , t hey warne d th at

t he t wo p aradi gm s, th ou gh n ot n e ce ssarily , co uld b e mutu all y excl usive

Th e se t wo p att ern s of l iterature e nsue th e d ispa rity b etwe en kn o wled ge

abo ut lit era tur e a nd kn owledge of l iterature Th e f orme r was d e fin ed as " the acc umula tion of f acts" ab out lit e rary wor ks as mu ch as p ossibl e w hi le th e l att er

e mphasized " pl e a s ur e an d e njoy me nt" ( Ca rte r a nd L on g, 1 9 91 :4) Th e se t wo

a uthors a dvoca te d k no wle dge q fl ite ra ture b y p ointing o ut o ne p ossibl e wea kness

o f k now le dge abo ut lit erature in t e rm s of s tude nts' l ack of r e sp on sivene ss a nd

s tude nts ' l m i e d i nte rpre ta tio n o f a t e xt , for th ere is n ot mu ch ac tive or

im agin ati ve i nte rac tio n durin g th e rea d ing th ou gh i t ca n h elp st ude nts p a ss exa ms A nothe r di sad vantage of th e a ppro ac h ' kno wle dge a bout lit erature ' is th e dis rega rd of th e p otenti al int erface of lan gu age a nd lit e rature i n l an gu a ge a nd lit e rature s tudy

Th e a ppro ac h of ' know ledge ab out lit erature ' ge ne ra te s th e produ ct- and

t e acher-centered m ethod s o f t e aching l iterature H ow e ve r, th e ove r-use of thi s

a pproac h to lit erature a nd th e f oll ow-up m ethod s ca n res ult in a bi a sed , o ne -way tran smi ssion o f in formati on b th e t e acher, s tude nts ' l oss of se lf-inte res t in

r e adin g lit erature, a nd th e ir la ck of a bility t o in vol ve in th e m e a nin g-cre ati on

p rocess Co nse que ntly, s tude nts t end t o c ra m for exa ms a nd r el y o n " a uth o riti e s

o utside th emsel ve s " (e.g th e t e a cher, hi stor ie s o f lit erature , o r b ook s of lit erary

cr iticism) (Ca rter and M cRa e , 1 996: xxi ) a nd th e y ca nno t d e vel op th ei r li ngu istic

s kills

S imilar t o Ca rter a nd L on g ' s (199 1) d istinction be tween literature for s tudy

a nd lit e rature a s resource, M cra e ' s (199 1 ) se t of paradigm s i s rather s trik i ng with

t h e t wo d isting uishing co nce pt s of l ite rature : L ite rat ure wi th a big ' L ' a nd

li te ratu re wit h a s m a ll ' I ' Th e for mer is co nsidered a ' theoretica l' term , referring

to 'refere ntial' texts (t ha t in form ) w hi le th e l atte r a ' prac t ica l ' o ne , referr ing t o ' re p r e se nt a t io n a l' t e xts ( that in volve ) as we ll as ' i de a t i o a l ' texts ( tha t evoke or

in spire) (t hese iss ues wi ll b e r e turn e d i n C ha pter 5).

L ike Car ter a nd L on g (199 1), w ho advoca te d th e l an gu a ge m odel a nd lang uage-approac hes to l ite rature , Mc rae ( 1 99 1 ) insis te d o n t he sh ift from Lit erat ure wit h a b ig 'L' t o lit erature w ith a sma ll ' I' a ltho ug h h e did no t de ny t he

p l ace for t he ' high l iteratu re ' , a te rm u s ed b y B rumfi t a nd Carter (1986) and Pach ler a nd A llford (Fie ld , E d , 2000 :238), or " li te ra t ure as t he s ubject of specia li s t st udy" (Mcrae, 1 991 : 17 ) W ha t h e wanted i s to make it ' more pr a ctical '

by i ncorporati ng th e u se of "a ny t e xts w hose i maginative co nte nt wi ll stim ulate reac tion a nd respo nse in th e r e cei ve r " in to th e "re feren tia l u s e s of l a ngu a ge " ( Mc R ae , 1 991 : vi i ), i e "w ith its e mphasis o n d e s cripti on a nd d e ixis " (Mc Rae ,

1 991 : 3 ) H owe ve r, hi s a pproach see ms to be more re leva nt t o r e a ding c ourse s in

a l an gu age p rogr am fo r l o we r-le vel s tude nts tha n t o aca demic l ite rature s tudy

co urses for a dva nce d s tude nts As r ema rke d by Br umfit and Car ter ( 1986:25 ),

" the re m ay b e a m ajor co nfl ict i n l an gu a ge pedagogy cause d b y th e des ire t o u se

l itera ry t e xts , a nd lit e ra ry t e xts of te n carry po te ntia l dange r if t he reason s for

t heir use a r e n ot c lea rly th ou ght th rou gh G ood l ite ra ry texts a re not t hereb y 'good s t y l e ' f or n on -lit e rary pur pose s , and th e y may i ndeed be mi s leading a s

l ingui stic m at e rial for l e arne rs wi th n on -li te ra ry l e a rnin g i nten tion s

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T h e n e x t i ssue u nd e r di sc u ssion h a s so m e t h i n ~ g t o d o w it h t h e d e sig n o f a lit er atur e s y ll a bus: in-b re adth s ylla b us ( w hich in vol ve s a wid e r an ge o f t e xts ) o r

i n-d e pth sy ll a bus (w hi c h ex pl o re s a li mit ed numb er o f t e xt s) A d vocate s o f a n in

-br e adth a ppr oa c h e mpha s i ze th e n e ed f o r flu en c y in r e ad in g a nd f o r refer e nc e across va rious kind s o f t e xt s whil e s uppo rt e rs o f a n in-d epth a pproach a rg ue that acc ur acy mu s t co me bef o re flu enc y b y s c rutiniz i n " th e t h e ma tic an d l in gui sti c

p arti cularitie s of a t e xt " ( Ca rte r and L on g, 1 991 : 5 ) H owe ver, it i s r ea sonable

w he n th e y o ffe re d a t entati v e s u gges tio n t o co mbine th e tw o a ppr oac h e s t o

r e ad ing l iter atur e

A n the r s e t o f a ppro ac h e s t o lit erature is c ha r ac t e rize d b y s tylis tics ' a nd lan gu a ge -b a sed a pproache s.

tw o

A cc o rd in g t o th e s e a utho rs, s ty listics t ends t o f ocu s o n p rodu ct-ba sed,

t e ac h e r- ce nte r e d cl a ss roo m pr a cti ce s a nd a ct i v iti e s " eve n th ou gh a n ult ima t e a im

i s t o pr ovide s tude nts with s o me analytic al t ool s with which th e y ca n find a ' w a

y-in ' t o t e xt s f or th em s el v e s " ( p 7 ).

B a s ed o n o the r writing s a bo ut s t y listi cs, in hi s p ap er, C arter ( Cart e r and

M c Rae , E d s") 1 99 6 ) mad e a li st o f thr e e a dva ntage s o f s ty li s tic s: s t y listi cs h elp s

f os t e r s tude nt s ' int erpreti v e s kill s and r e adin g b et we en th e lin e s of w ha t i s s a id and h en ce build up th eir co nfide nce in und erstanding th e wo rk ; s t y l is ti cs

r e a ffirm s t he ro le o f l an gu age as th e a e s the ti c m edium o f l ite rature , a nd s ty listi cs

I This t er m is d e fined as "an approac h to t h e studv of texts w hi ch involves analvsis of lanuuaue

~ '-' usc in literary texts A main aim i s to employ analysis of the forms of language to try to acco unt

f o r pa rticular ef fects i n a t ext A n th er ai m i s t o u se t h e ana l ys i s t o p romote u nderstanding of th e

li t erary p urp oses and func tio ns t o w h ic h part i cu l ar uses of l an uage are put One outcome of stylistic analy sis is to be able to exp lore thc relatio ship between what is said and how i is said ".

(Ca rte r and Long 1 991:1 1 )

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c an w ork bett er with n on-native s tude nts, f or th e y a re sa id t o b e m or e se ns itive

a nd c o nsc ious o f th e tar get l an gu age Nev erthel e ss, accordin g t o C arter, durin g the 19 80s, the o ve r-e mphas is o n

s ty listics ca use d so me pr oblems in the teachin g of lit erature in EFL/ ESL F or exa mple, the a ssumption that the text ha s o ne ce ntra l m e aning, which i s s uppose d

t o b e o bjective throu gh s tylistic anal ysis , i s s ubject to d an gers.

B e sid e s , thi s approach t o te xts i s be st s uite d t o a dv a nce d stud ent s and that

l an gua ge-b ased appr oache s s ho uld pre cede styli stic analysi s Another

di sadvantage t o t his approach i s that se rio us conc ern s ab out lingui stic f orms m ay

e nta il an ov e rloo k of other c ontributing fact or s in th e meanin g-rendering proc e ss ( e g hi stori cal , s oc ia l, c ultura l back ground , point- of vi ew , auth or-reader

r elati on s) In thi s way, the int erpretati on of the t e xt c an be bi a sed In addition ,

st ylistics see ms t o pl ace m ore empha sis o n a limit ed numb er o f g enre s , m ost

pr eferably p oetry a nd s hort s tories b y so me author s wh o ar e w ell-known for thei r

di stinctive s ty les such a s William Faulkner and Ernest H emingway

Th e lan guage-ba sed approa ch, on th e co ntrary, v ie ws pr oce sse s o f reading

m ore imp ort ant than linguistic form s in the te xt It f ollows that lit erature s tudy i s int e grated int o the language program and that the te acher role mu st be s hifte d from ' te ache r that dominate s' to ' tea che r that facilitate s

Cart er and L ong (1991 ) ad vocated the langu ag e-ba sed a pproach t o lit erature , but th e y pr e sented s ome c a veats c onc ernin g th e u se o f thi s a pproach

A ltho ug h lan gua ge-ba sed a pproaches t ak e th e c onc ept of lit erature w ith a s ma ll 'I' a s a principl e , " r e g ul a rl y see k a ' wa y-in ' t o t e xts thr ou gh l an gua ge a nd

r e spon se s t o lan gu age " (C arte r a nd L on g, 1 991 : 9 ), a nd d o n ot f ocu s o n e xpl orin g

In te xts F urther mo re , it sho uld not be mi stak en th at in lan gu age-b a sed approac hes literary te xts are used me rel y as lan gu a ge te a ching mat erial a nd tha t these appro ac hes ha ve n pla ce for lite ra ry go a ls It is import ant tha t the se le cte d

te xts for study c rea te stude nts' "emo tio na l and expe rie ntia l invol ve ment " (Ca rter and Lon g , 1 991:4 ) a nd fos te r their rea ding e njoy me nt The two a utho rs a lso noted tha t lan gu a ge -b a sed approaches a re suita ble at initi al stages for lan gu age and lite rature stude nts.

Th e thre e mod el s for lite rature in the lan gu a ge cl a ssroom (the cultura l model, the langua ge mo de l, and the personal growth model) are in fa ct in par all el with the two different co nce pts of literature (li teratu re fo r study and literature as resource ) a nd with th e two e ns uing paradi gm s (kno wle dge abo ut lite rature a nd

k ow ledge 4 lite ra ture)

As a matt e r of fac t, different m od el s, different co nce pts, and different par adi gm s of lite rature entail d ifferent mod e s of peda gogy Thi s ca n be summa rize d in th e fo llow ing tabl e :

Th e c ultural m odel T he la/lgua ge Th e pe r s o na l g ro wth

Con cepts - Lit erature fo r s tudy - Lit erature a s - Lit eratu re as

paradi gms s ma ll ' I' - L iterature w ith a - Lit erature with a

- Kn owled ge ab ou t s ma ll 'I' s ma ll 'I'

lit e rature - Kn owledge of - Kn owled ge of

- Lit erary t e xts as a n lit erature lit erature

o bject of l ite rar y - Langu age-based - Literar y t e xt s fo r

tex ts a s a l an gu age e njoy me nt

t e ach ing r e source )

P edagogi c - T ea cher- centered - Stud ent -c entered - Stud ent-centered

mod es - Tr an sm issive - R e sp on sive - R e spon sive

- Pr odu ct-b ased - P roce ss - ori ented - P roce ss - oriented

Ta ble 1.1: Summar y of a pp roaches/metho do logies ad opted fo r lit erature

1.2.2 Approaches /methodologies adopted for literature st udy ing and teaching in the context of FELL

A s th e n am e o f th e f acult y, th e o bjectives se t f or th e l itera tur e co urse s a nd

th e tim e a llotme nt fo r th e se co ur se s d en ot e , lit eratu re i s expec te d t o h a ve a seri o us tr e atm ent a t FE LL Th ere se e ms to b e m ore e mp has is o n r e ading

l iterature fo r aca de mic purp ose s th an o n r e ad ing li te rature for e njoy me n

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Th e re for e , a lit erature -b ase d pr ogr am for A me rica n l ite ra tur e st udy , cove n ng

re prese nta tive works of di fferent p eriod s, d iffe rent wr ite rs, a nd d ifferen t genres, was es ta blishe d (see A ppe ndix I ) M ore ove r, th e m ain a pproach t o l ite ra ture i s

s upposed t o b e s ty listics so th at s tude nts w ill b e a b le t o " understa nd a nd

a ppreciate th e E ng lish l an gu age u sed in lit e ra ry w ork s as we ll as th e w riter's

a ttitudes a nd e mo tions" (as qu oted i n 1.1.2 ) In r e ality, th ere is so me fl e xibility

a nd a da pta bi lity in t he way lit erature h as b e en t au ght a t FE LL T e a ch ers u su all y

d n ot s trictly fo llow wh a t t he c urriculum r equire s B e sid e s t he co re t e xt(s) for each lit erature co urse, t e ache rs a re a llo we d t o u se so me o ptio na l t e xts o utside

th e sy llabus S ince s tude nts a re ex pecte d t o b e a b le t o a na lyze a lit e rar y t e xt by

th em sel ve s, cla ssroom p ra ctice s a nd a ctivities are u suall y a co mbi na tio n o f

l e ctures, wh ole-cl ass or g ro up di scu ssion s, gro up o r i ndivid ua l o ra l

p rese ntat ions/res po nses, gro up or ind ividu al ess ays/wri ting p roj e cts Ex tra

-c urricular ac tiv ities a re m ainl y pl a y p erforman ce s a nd m o vie s ho ws Th ere are

a lso so me pr e-re ading ac tivities t o pr epare a nd e nco urage s tude nts t o r e ad bu t

th e re a re alm ost n lan guage exe rc ises durin g lit eratu re c lasses S tude nts'

assess me nt i s d on e th rou gh out th e co urse Y et, th ere i s s till a t end en cy fo r

tr e at ing l iterature with a b ig ' L' a nd s tudy ing lit e rature f or ex a ms Su ch

a pproaches ca n b e s uitable f or ac ade mic purp ose s (e.g a dva ncing o ne's

e duca tion), but f or th e m ost p art, th e y d n ot se rve th e purp ose " to u se En gli sh

e ffec tive ly as a t ool fo r soc ia l co mmunica tio n " (see 1.1.2 ).

1.3 DESCRIPTION OF THE LITERATURE SYLLABUS FOR THIRD- A ND

As mention ed above , the total aca de mic cred its for both B ritish literatu re

s tudy a nd Ame rica n literature study are 2 , which are orga nize d int o e ight course s (fo ur fo r Briti sh literature and ano ther four for America n lite rature ) Stude nts only sta rt to study the se two subjects from se mes te r 5 Some ge ne ra l directives co nce rn ing tim e di stributi on for Briti sh/Am erican literature course s are summa rize d bel ow:

* 45 class period s + 15 periods for homework writing projects

Tabl e 1.2: Tim e di stribution/or Briti sh/American lit eratu re co urses

As far as the texts for study are concerned , althou gh se ve ra l texts for study are pre scribed in the curriculum the se lec tion of te xts for study in reality is subjec t to fle xibility in so me cases Yet one o r more co re te xt fo r e ac h of th e

e ight literature co urses is usually identi fied so that the re ca n be th e sa me to pi c for those who ha ve to re -sit in exa ms Th ere for e , i is better to look a t what

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