Psychological premises for using literary texts in teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language

In the digital realm of the 21st century, the production and distribution of literature has changed drastically; writing literary texts is no longer a privilege of professional authors and publishers but has transformed into a participatory practice, with non-professional writers sharing their own literary narratives via social media platforms. This digital practice has become particularly relevant among teenagers and young adults as they increasingly use the opportunity of producing and sharing their own literary texts as a means of negotiating their identities and the social environments around them. Literature, thus, enables teenagers to participate in society by voicing their own personal and social concerns. Given their value in the context of engaging in these meaning-making processes on the one hand, and the role and importance of English as one of the lingua francas in digital realms on the other, these digital literary practices also need to be reflected in contemporary English language education (ELE). However, this hardly seems to be the case so far. Although literary texts still play a very prominent role, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms in Germany, current approaches to learning with literature still appear to perceive learners as recipients of professional literary texts, while production-oriented perspectives on teenagers as authors of their everyday lives, which go beyond post-reading creative tasks, seem to hold a most marginal position. Thus, digital texts written by learners (i.e., literary learner texts) are hardly considered as source texts. This theoretical contribution argues that contemporary practices of learning with literature need to be complemented by also focusing on literary works created by learners on multiple levels of classroom action. Drawing on interdisciplinary concepts, it explores the relevance of this focus in detail and makes first suggestions for framing literature classrooms based on literary learner texts.

The purpose of this scientific article is to highlight the importance of using the text and working with it as a central component of the educational context of a foreign language, and particularly the importance of working with the text for the formation of language competencies. Literary text is considered as a methodological and didactic tool for learning a foreign language. The importance and necessity of using literary texts in the process of learning a foreign language is explained by a few factors. Literary text is, firstly, a source of linguistic and cultural information about the people whose language is being studied (history, culture, social order, economic and political characteristics, and secondly, a source of knowledge about functioning of the language system and its manifestations during the creation of a literary work.The necessity to use a literary text in foreign language classes is also explained by the fact that working with the text contributes to the formation of worldview, own opinion, helps to develop statements about various situations in a foreign language. Working with the text forms, develops and improves all language competencies, if the text is selected methodically correctly. The main criteria for selecting a text for a foreign language lesson are compliance with the level of knowledge and compliance with the learning objective at a particular stage. Each literary text is in fact an inexhaustible source of information, and it is the teacher whose main responsibility is to teach a student how to extract, analyze and be able to use this information for discussion. Work on any literary text must be thoroughly thought through and logically planned. At the initial stage of learning a foreign language, one of the best literary genres is a fairy tale, which involves imagery, abstraction and teaching. It is particularly interesting to elaborate on a fairy tale, the content of which carries information about the national-linguistic picture of the world. Based on the selected fairy tale, just as on any other literary text, a number of practical tasks are offered, which are recommended to be performed in foreign language classes before, during and after getting acquainted with the content of the text. This type of activity allows you to reveal the creative potential of students, encouraging them to think creatively and comprehend the hidden content. Therefore, the reading aspect, through which we learn both the language and culture of another people, should be given special attention in the educational process.Keywords: foreign language classes, work with text, language competencies.

This article presents a literature reading course, which links to the life moral education. According to concept of multimedia text of Holocaust literature, the course ”Reading of Modern German Essays” of German Department (Fu Jen University) used two literary works - Hans Peter Richter's ”Damals war es Friedrich” and Katharina Katzenmaier's ”Vom KZ ins Kloster” and four movies - ”Schindler's list”, ”Versteckt”, ”Das Tagebuch von Anne Frank” and ”Die letzten Tage von Sophie Scholl”. This article shows, how such a course could use film-assisted teaching method. While teaching a foreign language, a teacher could also extend the topic to life education by analyzing texts, discussing historical backgrounds and comparing cultural differences. Using the content of texts and movies as a material of education a teacher can increase the students' life experiences and help students develop a more mature attitude towards the life. Through the multi-sensory effects of text, vision and acoustics this course leads the students to observe the language and behavior of perpetrators, victims and the bystanders (the third party, who was not the direct perpetrator). By inspiring students' empathy and humane care to victims, teachers lead the students to become aware of the differences between diverse choices and behaviors, like ”using the opportunities to get profits”, ”insisting on party loyalty”, ”not my matter”, ”sympathy for the persecuted people” or ”saving the Jews as a bounden duty” and to provide students a life education which begins with ”respect for life and care about life” and establishes ”sense of responsibility and ”moral courage”.This paper is divided into five parts: First, the curriculum goals of ”Reading of Modern German Essays” of German Department, Fu Jen Catholic University; second, ”literature of the Nazi racial persecution” and the life education, third, teaching strategies and curriculum implementation, fourth, the acceptance of the course, fifth, conclusion.

The aim of the research is to identify the heuristic possibilities of literary texts and their film adaptations as educational materials within a real-world educational setting for foreign language learners of Chinese (using Russian students majoring in Linguistics as an example). The article, relying on methods of studying literary texts and their film adaptations that exist in contemporary linguistics, traces the specifics of the indicated educational materials from the perspective of linguodidactics and linguistic cultural studies. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the investigation of the effectiveness of authentic literary texts and their film adaptations in foreign language teaching, identifying differences in their heuristic potential, their influence on linguistic and intercultural competencies, and in the analysis of the expediency of their separate and combined use, which has not previously received sufficient attention from researchers. The linguodidactic and linguistic cultural potential of the learning materials is evaluated during a linguistic experimental study involving students majoring in Linguistics at Kemerovo State University, who are studying Chinese as a foreign language. The research found that when working with these types of educational material, it is worth considering the specificities of their differing semiotic nature. The combined use of literary texts and their film adaptations as transmedia texts in foreign language acquisition significantly increases the level of understanding and assimilation of educational material, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of the foreign language being studied and the linguistic culture behind it.

Literature, Culture and Language Learning

The study aims to investigate the higher education students’ and teachers’ perception of using literary text in the foreign language course; to evaluate learners’ progress in the foreign language communicative competence throughout the experiment period; to outline the policies and strategies of using analytical reading in the English class, which lead to increasing motivation to learn foreign languages with a focus on literature. The study involves 85 Bachelor’s degree students and 35 teachers from linguistics and translation departments of three universities: Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, National Aviation University, Kütahya Dumlupinar University during the spring term in the school year 2021/2022. The students from these universities were using analytical reading in foreign language learning during this term. The quantitative research method allowed us to assess the students’ progress in the development of their foreign language analytical reading skills, that included the understanding of the culture of foreign language, literary and aesthetic skills, vocabulary and foreign language skills, critical thinking and problem solving, inferential and interpretational skills. The qualitative research method was used to interpret the data of the experiment. Three questionnaires were employed as an instrument to assess teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of using literary texts in foreign language teaching/learning; to monitor the development of student’s skills in analytical reading. The students-philologists involved in the research increased their motivation to learn English as a foreign language through literary texts and showed progress in the development of analytical reading skills up to 16%. The results obtained can be implemented into the practice of foreign language teaching as literary texts enriched the language input in the classroom and stimulated language acquisition, and analytical reading involved students-philologists emotionally challenging their imagination and creativity.

This study explores the potential influence of reading and interpreting literary texts on EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students’ perceptions of the Self and the Other. Literary texts are often proclaimed to conceal underlying structures and deeper meanings, with one of their significant effects being the alteration of the reader’s sense of worth. Focusing on Algerian University students majoring in English, this research investigates the different ways these learners approach literary texts and the extent to which such engagement contributes to their perception of identity and otherness. A total of 100 third-year students participated in the study, which employed both a questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaire encompassed an array of question types, including multiple-choice and five-point Likert scale items. Additionally, a short-term experimental intervention was conducted to examine how literary reading may enhance students’ self-image and their sense of viewing cultural otherness. The findings provide strong evidence of the positive role that literary texts’ content can play in advancing EFL students’ self-growth and self-worth. Both the qualitative and quantitative results suggest that focusing on the psychological and reflective dimensions of literary content nurtures more tolerant and empathetic attitudes toward the Self and the Other within the Algerian context. The treatment results through an independent samples t-test revealed considerable improvements in the experimental group’s post-test scores, reinforcing the positive impact of literary engagement. Furthermore, the study found that Algerian EFL students often develop personal strategies to consciously and positively approach the literary content in a way that consolidates their identity construction.

Literature in ELT Setting: Students⿿ Attitudes and Preferences Towards Literary Texts

This article examines the role literature and literariness play in Spanish textbooks for lower secondary school in Norway. The empirical material consists of four textbook-series: Tapas, Vale, Amigos and Chicos Chicas. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used in the analysis of the textbooks. The categories are not predefined but were established during the study to cover as many forms of literary presence as possible. The study maps the amount of literature in the different textbooks, in addition to text types and cultural affiliation. Moreover, the context of the texts and the tasks associated with them are examined. The findings show that the textbooks contain very few authentic literary texts. In contrast, they contain a significant number of stories, either adapted, literary stories, or so-called pedagogical-literary stories written by the textbook authors themselves. Many of the literary texts are also optional extra-texts placed at the end of the textbooks. Several of the literary texts are not accompanied by tasks at all. For those complemented by tasks, the most common are text comprehension and language (grammar) tasks. The findings are discussed in the frame of the most important approaches to literature within the field of foreign languages. The conclusion is that textbooks pay little attention to literature as such, but that literary genres and text norms play an important role in textbook texts. The text-selection, the placement of the texts and the tasks also testify to a traditional approach to literature. There is a considerable element of canon literature, and literature reading is projected to the future or reserved for the most advanced students. Literary texts lack tasks or form a starting point for language and text comprehension tasks.

A multilingual and multicultural environment characterizes the modern world. Many of us speak several foreign languages and are interested in learning new ones. Foreign language teaching combines integrated teaching methods and the possibility of learning a discipline remotely from different parts of the world. This form of language learning allows people of different nationalities, ages, religions, mentalities etc., to communicate. This research focuses on the phenomenon of Francophonie as an example of interconfessional and intercultural interaction, as well as the continuity of Russian and French culture and the specifics of teaching Russian as a foreign language to representatives of French-speaking countries in full-time, distance and online space. Intercultural communication via Internet space contributes to more active communication, i.e., rapid learning of Russian as a foreign language, and interreligious interaction of this format effectively promotes the dialogue of cultures. Thanks to the possibilities of distance learning, Francophones of different confessional affiliations can afford to learn Russian in a multicultural environment. This article presents empirical research on Internet communication at the International University (RUDN University) among Francophones from different ethnic and confessional backgrounds who share the common knowledge of French and the process of teaching Russian as a foreign language. The process of teaching Russian as a foreign language not only brings together the Francophones on the level of educational communication but also promotes a productive dialogue between cultures, bringing them together in an entirely new "linguistic community", which, due to the already existing common interaction in French, is joined by communication in Russian, while forming a new linguistic personality with a multicultural linguistic code.

For years into the teaching of foreign languages, the main focus has been the communication in real situations with the aim of comprehension and using of language abilities. But the teaching of foreign language, in our case the german language, cannot be understood on only one function: the communication in real situations. Learning foreign languages means that the learner have to know the history, the culture and the spirit of a nation. A way to achive that, is the literary text inclusion on the foreign language learning whose functions are more than mentioned. Literary texts can motivate the learners to arouse their curiousity and interest. This help them to understand the culture of the foreign country and to stimulate their abilities to make comparisons. The use of literary text, into the teaching of foreign languages in based on several steps, that are related to the phase before, during and after textanalysing. An important role play the criteria of the text selection, principles, learning objectives and working methods with literary text into the teaching of foreign languages.

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that in recent years human relation with information flows have changed. The thinking and perception of meanings, especially by the younger generation, also begin to change noticeably. In this regard, the communication of an individual with a literary text presented in digital format deserves more attention. The purpose of the study is to create a model of learning to read this type of text, taking into account the features of a literary hypertext, which will optimize the process of learning to read a literary text in a foreign language. As an example of methodical processing of an autonomous educational hypertext, an excerpt from the story "Scar" by E. Grishkovets was used. In the process of developing a model for teaching foreigners to read literary hypertext, the following methods were used: analytical (linguocultural and linguocognitive analysis), interpretation method and modeling. In the study were compared such concepts as “literary text”, “hypertext”, “electronic hypertext” and “educational fiction text”. Literary hypertext is a traditional text, but it is organized in a different way than a linear text, so when it is perceived, specific perception mechanisms operate. The definition of educational literary hypertext in the aspect of teaching Russian as a foreign language is given; the linguodidactic potential of hypertext in relation to the teaching of Russian as a foreign language is revealed, the algorithm for working with Russian-language literary hypertext in a foreign audience is substantiated. It is assumed that educational hypertext as a new way of artistic communication can exist in two forms: network hypertext and autonomous hypertext. It is concluded that a methodically processed literary text, presented as a hypertext, makes it possible to optimize the process of teaching foreign students to read literary works in Russian. The prospects for the study are seen in the creation of an electronic manual for teaching foreign students to read the works of Russian writers based on the proposed model.

The present study investigates the effectiveness of using literary texts in teaching English as a foreign language in Nepal. The objective of this study is to explore the multiple advantages of literary text in language teaching. Adopting a qualitative design, the study collected data from eight teachers from four private schools of Mahalaxmi Municipality of Lalitpur district of Kathmandu Valley. The data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and interaction with the teachers. After the interview and the Interaction, it was known that the literary texts were effective resources for teaching and learning English They have been used for various purposes such as comprehension questions, vocabulary, various aspects, skills, and levels of language. Moreover, the study also identified some challenges, such as students' lack of sufficient exposure to literary texts and their prior knowledge, limited time and resources, the need for teachers to develop appropriate pedagogical strategies, exam-oriented mentality of parents, students, and administrators should be changed. The study concludes that incorporating literary texts in EFL teaching in Nepal can be a valuable resource for enhancing students' language learning outcomes, developing communicative and linguistic competence, and fostering their creative and critical faculties as well as intercultural understanding. It is expected that the paper will be very useful for the concerned teachers, students, administrators, and parents.

Autobiographism as a literary genre began to enter the cultural discourse from the middle of the 20th century. Its canons (form, content, etc.) have not yet been defined, and the flexibility of the term provides ample opportunities for applying individual approaches through the prism of the author’s own experience. In the context of the study of this phenomenon, attention is drawn to the novel by Maryna Grymych “Do you hear, Margo?..” (2000), which traces the projection of her everyday experience and the scientific knowledge received by her into the literary text, which is timely (readers’ interest in biographies of famous and prominent people) and relevant for the research of such representation. So, the purpose of the investigation is to analyze the facts from the biography of Maryna Grymych, to study one of her first novels in the projection of scientific knowledge and scientific experience into a literary text, and the subject of the research is the artistic representation of the writer’s scientific biography in the text of the novel. As a result of the study, a conclusion was made about the flexibility of the term autobiographism (its application, individual approaches, one’s own vision, life, and scientific experience). The analysis of the novel leads to the conclusion that autobiographism in it is not manifested in the reproduction of the events that took place in the writer’s life, but in the sequence of scientific knowledge gained, which is often superimposed on one’s own life experience and thus reflected in the literary text. Therefore, although the novel “Do you hear, Margo?..” is not postulated as autobiographical, we admit the presence of relevant elements in the embodiment of certain details which could testify about Grymych the researcher in the literary texts of Grymych the writer. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that autobiographism of the literary text is considered through the prism of the study of history, anthropology, ethnology, ethnography, folklore, and ethnology by Maryna Grymych, her wanderings in Ukraine and in the world, her field research skills, etc. The artistic representation of the writer’s scientific biography makes it possible to fully explore this writer’s biography, which without proper reading and research will have no integrity in its study. Therefore, the practical significance of the investigation is to use the knowledge gained about the writer for entering the data into her biography and for the popularization of scientific knowledge through literary text.

This article aims to propose the introduction of the literary text to the programs of Spanish as a foreign language (S/FL). The literary text in this frame is meant to be a communication act and a means for teaching / learning Spanish as a foreign language within an institutionalized and artificial context made suitable for an intermediate / advanced student profile. The research gives considerable importance to the literary text as an input that catalyzes a variety of both oral and written activities and as a didactical means integrating communication skills. Moreover, it establishes some selection criteria in order to target the characteristics of the texts to be used, in accordance with linguistic goals, contents and students' needs and interests, suggesting some useful didactical and methodological parameters for enhancing suitable activities for all text types. Finally, two practical proposals for transforming a literary text into a communication activity are presented.
 Received: 26-02-2008/ Accepted: 10-08-2008
 How to reference this article:
 Jouini, K. (2008). El texto literario en la clase de español como lengua extranjera: propuestas y modelos de uso. Íkala. 13(2), pp.121-159.