The Dual Purpose of Teaching Literature: to Provide Stimulating Course Content and to Develop Students’ Communicative Abilities.

Abstrak

It is the individual reader’s freedom to interpret a text according to his own
outlook on the world that makes the study of literature such an exciting
and liberating experience. This paper will look at some of the issues and
ways in which literature can be exploited in the classroom and focus on the
use of short stories as alternative materials that can encourage learners in a
variety of classroom activities: from vocabulary enrichment to
communicative abilities. Categories that encourage learners to develop the
powers to interpret the texts are plot and suspense; characters and
relationships; major themes; methods writer uses to communicate his
attitudes; and reader’s response. Short stories can also lend themselves to
intercultural values comparisons. Finally, it is expected that this paper can
offer insights to other language teachers who are in similar settings.