Page 169 - Getting of the fence

teachers and teacher educators (the initial model as presented in Chapter 2) as well as with secondary school students (the adapted model as presented in Chapter 3). During this design process, the primary question we asked ourselves was: in which ways can literary texts be beneficial for foreign language students? In answering this question, two categories emerged, namely a focus on the literary text and a focus on the student.
When the primary focus of the study of literature is the literary text, a distinction can be made between a Text approach and a Context approach. The Text approach is concerned with the formal elements of literature, where students learn, for example, how the use of literary terms can have an effect on the interpretation of the text (Barrette, Paesani, & Vinall, 2010; Picken, 2005). Other aspects of this approach are knowledge of genre, literary styles, and types of text. Understanding a literary text requires insight from the reader into topics such as perspective or theme (Carter & Long, 1991). The Text approach assumes that practicing interpretation skills with linguistically demanding texts is useful for understanding all discourse in the target language (Widdowson, 1975).
Within the Context approach, literature is considered to be a collection of
texts that reflect the cultural, historical, and socially rich diversity of our world
(Carter & Long, 1991; Lazar, 1993). This diversity, contextualized in a literary work,
often represents a foreign world for the student including topics such as identity,
political power, ethnicity, and religion (Barrette et al., 2010; Littlewood, 1986; Van,
2009). Studying the context of literary works could contribute to the development 7 of a sense of tolerance and understanding of this foreign world (Byram, 2014;
Kramsch, 1998; McKay, 1982). In addition, knowledge about literary movements
as well as historical and biographical elements of a literary text could further
contribute to this contextualization.
When the primary focus of the study of literature is the student, a distinction can be made between the Reader approach and the Language approach. The focus of the Reader approach is the reading experience, reading taste development, and general development of the student (Lao & Krashen, 2000; Lazar, 1993). Literature invites students to step outside their comfort zone, to experiment with a critical look at (un)known situations, and to learn that their position as a reader cannot be disengaged from the meaning of the text (Amer, 2003). The Reader approach encourages students to study literary texts from multiple perspectives, inviting them to analyse how and why, for example, people may differ in their beliefs or desires.
Summary, discussion, and conclusion
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