This useful sourcebook contains 12 chapters written by experienced classroom practitioners in Hong Kong. One theme appears constantly in these chapters: that in the English language classroom, whether at primary, secondary, or tertiary levels, high interest and positive motivation occur through active learning when literary texts, literary techniques and literariness are featured. In this book, full coverage is given to the use of poetry, prose and drama in language learning and teaching at all three levels of the education system. The tasks and activities described here have been shown to work with all bands of students. This book is ideally suited both for practising teachers and participants in teacher education programmes in Hong Kong and the rest of S.E. Asia. It will be particularly useful for primary and secondary teachers of English wishing to incorporate appropriate and relevant teaching activities so as to meet the goals of the new Target Oriented English Language Curriculum.

This resource book contains a wealth of ideas for primary school teachers of English who wish to use literary texts and techniques in the language classroom. The book offers practical assistance in the form of lesson plans, teaching procedures, sample worksheets and follow-up activities. These have been tried out and reacted to by Hong Kong primary teachers, so that what is presented here is realistic and feasible in local classrooms. The materials will be useful for all practising primary teachers of English as well as for those on teacher education programmes. The aim of the Experiential Dimension of the new Target Oriented Curriculum is to help Hong Kong (primary school) children ‘. . . Develop an ever-improving capability to use English to respond and give expression to real and imaginative experience.’ Activities related to storytelling, rhyme, songs and playlets are used here to help develop reading, listening and speaking skills and to generate written work appropriate for this level. Instead of language routines, drills and practice exercises there is an opportunity for the children to develop confidence in using English through greater personal engagement. The tasks call for the active involvement of all pupils. When children see the words come alive and get up off the page, their crucial first experiences of learning English are likely to be enriching and enjoyable ones.

This is the third in an important series of books for teachers of English. The focus in this book, aimed at secondary schools, is on preparing teachers for the new TOC-oriented English syllabus. All three language dimensions - KNOWLEDGE, INTERPERSONAL, EXPERIENCE - are addressed. In particular, the use of appropriate techniques and materials is demonstrated for those teachers unfamiliar with the EXPERIENCE dimension. The book demonstrates how texts, techniques and tasks used in secondary classrooms can be MOTIVATING, MEANINGFUL AND MEMORABLE. All the ideas in the book have been tried out by local teachers and shown to work. This book is not just for teachers of literature. It is for those who teach the 100,000 school-leavers taking English language examinations every year.

Much of teachers’ attention these days is focused on having students read closely to ferret out the author’s intended meaning and the devices used to convey that meaning. But we cannot forget to guide students to have moving engagements with literature, because they need to make strong personal connections to books of merit if they are to become the next generation of readers: literate people with awareness of and concern for the diversity of human beings around them and in different times and places. Fortunately, guiding both students’ personal engagement with literature and their close reading to appreciate the author’s message and craft are not incompatible goals. This book enthusiastically and intelligently addresses both imperatives, first surveying what is gained when students are immersed in literature; then celebrating and explicating the main features of literature students need to understand to broaden their tastes and deepen their engagement, at the same time they meet external standards; then presenting a host of active methods for exploring all major genres of children’s books; and finally presenting suggestions for interdisciplinary teaching units grounded in literature. Created by noted leaders in the fields of children’s literature and literacy, the book is enlivened by recurring features such as suggested reading lists, issues for discussion, links to technology, and annotations of exemplary books.

For language teachers, the daunting task of teaching languages, both native and foreign, in ways that will engage and motivate their students is a daily struggle. This volume offers an innovative approach to achieving these goals through guided readings of selected literary texts. In addition to presenting empirical research into the use of poetry, prose and theatre for language learning, it provides useful, practical tools such as sample lesson plans. This promising approach can be adapted to a variety of language-learning contexts, and can help students develop and enhance linguistic, cultural, and motivational competences. The book will be of compelling interest to teachers of all languages, as well as researchers in the fields of education and language studies.

This book investigates the integration of literary writing into work based or business writing. It proposes ways of how to help people with considerable work experience use literature to engage with the problems they face in their work. Many people like to read for pleasure, but their skills in reading could always be improved. This book makes an original contribution to the fields of education, work based learning and business by encouraging students to explore history, memoir, fiction, and non-fiction to model their own writing and widen their knowledge beyond the work place and their customary reading. Inside are onsite experiments with fiction and non-fiction prose that show how people in the workplace respond and grow from contact with significant literature and culture that relates broadly to their work. As a Coaching Master’s student observes: “I have not been a prolific reader. It has been a weakness and a gap. I have probably read more in the last year [during the project course] than I have read in the past twenty years. So that says something. My ability to attend to what in a book has weight or relevance has markedly improved. In the past I banked largely on my opinions because not being a prolific reader, I had to. It can be incredibly empowering to see that there are so many assets outside of my own mind. When something comes up now, I tend to weigh it. I am more specific about how I use words.”

′It is scarcely possible to imagine a truly educated person who cannot read well. Yet it is not clear how or even if courses in literature actually work. How can teachers of English help students in their developmental journey toward becoming skillful readers and educated persons? This is the complex question that Chambers and Gregory address in Teaching and Learning English Literature. The authors consider practical matters such as course design and student assessment but do not shirk larger historical and theoretical issues. In a lucid and non-polemical fashion - and occasionally with welcome humor - Chambers and Gregory describe the what, why, and how of "doing" literature, often demonstrating the techniques they advocate. Veteran teachers will find the book rejuvenating, a stimulus to examining purposes and methods; beginning teachers may well find it indispensable′ - Professor William Monroe, University of Houston ′The transatlantic cooperation of Ellie Chambers and Marshall Gregory has produced an outstanding book that ought to be on the shelves of anyone involved in the teaching of English Literature, as well as anyone engaged in the scholarship of teaching and learning in general or in any discipline. As they say, "the teaching of English Literature plays a central role in human beings′ search for meaning" although others in other disciplines may make this claim for theirs too. If so, they will still learn a great deal from this book; anyone looking for no more than a means of satisfying the demands of governments that look for simplistic quality measures and economic relevance, let them look elsewhere. This is a book for now and for all times′ - Professor Lewis Elton, Visiting Professor, University of Manchester, Honorary Professor, University College London This is the third in the series Teaching and Learning the Humanities in Higher Education. The book is for beginning and experienced teachers of literature in higher education. The authors present a comprehensive overview of teaching English literature, from setting teaching goals and syllabus-planning through to a range of student assessment strategies and methods of course or teacher evaluation and improvement. Particular attention is paid to different teaching methods, from the traditional classroom to newer collaborative work, distance education and uses of electronic technologies. All this is set in the context of present-day circumstances and agendas to help academics and those in training become more informed and better teachers of their subject. The book includes: - how literature as a discipline is currently understood and constituted - what it means to study and learn the subject - what ′good teaching′ is, with fewer resources for teaching, larger student numbers, an emphasis on ′user-pay′ principles and vocationalism. This is an essential text for teachers of English Literature in universities and colleges worldwide. The Teaching & Learning in the Humanities series, edited by Ellie Chambers and Jan Parker, is for beginning and experienced lecturers. It deals with all aspects of teaching individual arts and humanities subjects in higher education. Experienced teachers offer authoritative suggestions on how to become critically reflective about discipline-specific practices.

Scientific Approaches to Literature in Learning Environments is not just about what takes place in literary classrooms. Settings do have a strong influence on student learning both directly and indirectly. These spaces may include the home, the workplace, science centers, libraries, that is, contexts that entail diverse social, physical, psychological, and pedagogical variables that facilitate learning, for example, by grouping desks in specific ways, utilizing audio, visual, and digital technologies. Scientific Approaches to Literature in Learning Environments puts together a series of empirical research studies on the different locations of teaching and learning. These studies represent literary learning environment throughout the world, including Brazil, the USA, China, Canada, Japan and several European countries such as the Netherlands, Ukraine, the UK and Malta. The studies reported describe quantitative and/or qualitative research and cover pre-primary, primary, high school, college, university, and lifelong learning environments. They refresh the enigmatic ambience that often surrounds the teaching and learning that goes on in literary studies and offer transparent, useful and replicable research and practice. Students and teachers alike are encouraged to take them and own them.

Short stories as literary work are infinitely beneficial learning materials for learners. Nine short stories presented in this book cover Thematic learning themes for fifth-grade elementary learners. The pieces are specially established based on the integration of the Thematic subject learning themes and Balinese culture accompanied by compatible learning activities in the form of a simple In-Class Activity. Each session covers background information, In-Class Activity, short story, and worksheet. The inclusion of the culture, topic, elements of the story, and learning activities is done carefully to provide learners familiar input yet challenging experiences. Furthermore, it is to help learners develop their language skills, thematic knowledge, cultural introduction, and thinking skills.