Taking Advantages of Literature

The main purpose of the essay is to present the benefits to use literature in education, and how literature has helped me to grow up as a person and future teacher. First, I will start commenting my learning experience in the course. Second, I will describe literature. Then, I will talk about literature and its benefits in education. Then, I will describe some of those benefits and why they should take into consideration at the moment of learning. Finally, I will conclude my essay giving my personal opinion about the importance to bring literature into education and students’ lives.

Since my brother showed me how interesting, magical and useful books could be for; literature has been an important part of my life. For this reason, I remember clearly the beginning of our literature class. I felt curiosity to know how the course was going to be developed. I was highly enthusiastic to learn more about old English literature but poetry specifically. I really appreciate poetry and I consider it the most attractive genre of literature, because it involves not only feelings but a particular and deep way of seeing the world. One of the first topics we saw in classes was the oldest epic poem called Beowulf from 19th century. It was, however, rather difficult to read but interesting to see how literature has been crucial for human beings to illustrate the way they perceive and feel the world. And, this was the fist thing I learned from this course.

Later on, we studied other texts, letters, poems and tales where we could discuss important topics that are still contemporaries such as love, truth, discrimination, racism, religious, and the role of women in society, etc. We were able to discus, differentiate, tolerate other opinions, share knowledge, experiences and, of course, give our point of view. All of we learned was thanks to literature that covered attractive topics to the class. The idea of including literature in my career, as a future teacher, had a clear purpose. It was to make up my mind about how important the benefits to apply literature with our future students are. However, what do we understand by Literature? Probably, there are many definitions, but I am going to refer to a definition given by some English pedagogy’s students from 4^th year, “Literature is the expression of culture using language to express it, such as writing, speaking and listening.”

From this definition, literature is certainly an interpretation and a way to understand the world where the writer’s intention is to reflect, show and invite the reader toward his inside. The invitation is showing his feelings, thoughts and even a perspective of the culture and world. According to an educational context, while a child reads, this one is involves into another world dimension with a different perspective of life. Therefore, this fact is mainly important, because there is an interaction between the reader (child) and the writer that I call it dialogue. Related to this, Tzvetan Todorov states, “Literature opens to the infinite this possibility of interaction and thus enriches us infinitely. It brings us irreplaceable sensations through the real world become more furnished with meaning and more beautiful”( 17). In this sense, the child could feel identified with the text or writer, linking certain facts from his own experience of life, creating a magical and meaningful interaction with the text.

What I have mentioned before gives us a clear idea to confirm strongly that literature is clearly a tool of Education which can be use for many purposes by its benefits and teachers should bear in mind those at the moment of teaching. We can mention literature helps to develop Language, as a first benefits. The language learners have heard and read from wide texts forms the language they will use to speak and write. In other words, Bernice E. Cullinan, an important American educator, in her book called “Invitation to Read : More Childrean `s Literature in the Reading Program” mentions, “language shapes thought just as thought shapes language”(13). In this sense, children enrich their vocabulary and knowledge of grammatical aspects through exposed them by reading books aloud and in silence. In addition, pupils acquire different vocabulary (formal and informal). As a way to illustrate, Cullinan explains, “this is so because the language of literature differs from the language of daily conversation: literature contains a richer vocabulary and more complex sentence s5rtucture” (13). Consequently, students are more capable to handle suitable vocabulary to manage and express their thoughts through a clear and accurate way.

Secondly, literature allows learner’s emotional development. What I said before, about writer’s intention is to reflect, show and invite the reader toward his inside; it is closely related to the fact of developing reader’s emotional side. Referring to this issue, the same author states, “The emotional impact of literature is a major reason it serves us so well in handing down the magic of reading. Because literature deals with the range oh human emotions, it portrays feelings we all experience” (15) Many times reading Sense and Sensibility and Chaucer’s poems, I had felt almost the same writer’s emotions as if they could feel the same as me. Moreover, many people have felt compassion, angriness sadness etc when they read about characters. Bernice E. Cullinan comments. “Sometimes we clarify our own emotions when we read about another’s experiences in a book”. This is really helpful for children. Using stories, tales, and poems in the classroom can help them to realize that problems or difficult situations are part of the life and should know they are not alone. In this way, students are able to get courage to face and deal with reality.

On the other hand, the third advantage is that literature helps students to develop their critical thinking. In fact, the more we read, the more we learn how to think. Hence, the importance to foment reading with our future students it is crucial to perceive and appreciate diverse ways of seeing the world that enable us to reflect on what we read. In this sense, we develop the ability of being critical people. In Bernice E. Cullinan book, she denotes, “Graves (1983) and Hansen (1987) among other believe that reading and discussing trade books helps children to become more critical readers and increases their awareness of choices they make as writers.” (14) Lastly, we cannot forget to mention teachers need and have to encourage learner to love or at least appreciate literature as a manner to expand their minds and their lives in a meaningful way.

Throughout this essay I have tried to present a general overview about some of many benefits to use literature in education and I also have related this with my learning experience in the course. Furthermore, I have given a brief definition of literature and how the idea of including literature into the classroom could be seen as an excellent vehicle to teach and increase students’ knowledge, among other things, such as improve child writing, reading, vocabulary, to explore children’s emotional side, to develop their creativity, to teach children values, etc. Undoubtedly, there are many other benefits to use reading in effective language program but I just developed three of them that from my point of view are the most important and indispensably to bear in mind.

Works Cited

Cullinan, Bernice E. Invitation to Read : More Children `s Literature in the Reading Program. Delaware: International Reading Association, 1992.

Todorov, Tzvetan New literary History. Volume 38, Number 1, winter 2007, p17.