ARTICLE 1

The article “Survey of Methods of Teaching English and Literature among

Secondary School Teachers in Benue State” by Bola Adelabu and Nder Matthias
discusses about teachers’ level of awareness and utilization of teaching methods
towards the teaching of English and Literature in English. What I expect from this article
is the emphases on some methods/techniques to promote the teaching and learning of
English literature. Such an innovative methods will give me some insights on how to
enhance students’ involvement and love for English literature.

The author came out with several teaching methods. The first one would be
Lecture Method. Lecture Method is basically an oral delivery and teacher centred
method, where all the classroom instruction, information, knowledge, ideas and skills
are orally presented to the learner. For the method to be effective, the teacher ought to
be fluent and simplistic in presentation. However, it will be more suitable to be
implement for the advanced level learner. One disadvantage of the method is that it
encourages inactivity and the passivity of learners.

The second one would be Demonstration Method, where basically teachers will
use visual aids such as the use of objects, pictures, diagrams and other visual images.
This method is most likely suitable for visual learners, where the use of visual aids
enhances concentration and recall. This method can be more effective when
complemented with oral discussion which will stimulate their response and thinking
skills. However, it can be costly especially in in the aspect of material preparation.

The third one would be Problem Solving Method, where the main gist of this
method is to encourage critical thinking and creativity. Students will be given a task and
they have to come out with some solutions. The teacher will play the role as a facilitator,
where they will guide students on how to deal with the task or problem.

The fourth one would be Project Method, where it is quite similar to Problem
Solving Method, as it promotes the independent activity and effort of the students under
the supervision of the teacher. However, unlike the problem-solving method, students
select the materials, do the planning and executes the project by themselves. This
method has the advantage of generating interest, curiosity and enforcing cooperation
and solidarity between the students and the teacher. It also will promote cooperative
learning, as students might discovered their potential and unleash it to the fullest.

The fifth method is Vee – Mapping, where it helps students to understand how
new knowledge is attained in an experimental situation. Vee-Mapping consists of
conceptual and methodological framework, where students will develop research
questions, design, conduct experiment and interpret data, as well as integrating new
knowledge to prior knowledge.

Next is Discussion Method, involving the verbal exchange of views, opinions or

ideas. The teacher’s role is to carefully select a topic for discussion that relatable and
within the interest and experience of the student. The process including the argument of
views, conflict resolution and drawing conclusion.

The next method is The Play Method. The Play method incorporates acting or
dramatization of the subject matter. This method can stimulates interest, retention,
understanding, recall and comprehension in students, other than developing team spirit
and leadership skills since it utilizes mental and social skills. However, it could be time
consuming in terms of preparation.

Next is Individualized Instruction Method, where teachers will play the role as a
consultant. A student is made to learn, on his own, a topic or lesson according to his
interest, taste, ability and pace.

Other than that is Discovery Method, where in this method, facts or knowledge
are acquired by the students through the understanding of concepts. The method can
be appropriately used for the teaching of items, concepts and issues in both English
language and Literature in English. From the understanding of the concepts, the
progression of the learning process will lead to students come out with specific
examples from the topic.

The next one is Guided Discovery, where learners construct their own knowledge
from materials and hypothetical situations presented to them. The method has been
found useful for the effective teaching and stimulation of discussions in literature in
English and the English language. Topics such as literary analysis and interpretation,
comprehension and summary writing can be effectively learnt through the guided
discovery method.

Next is Concept Mapping, where learning takes place through the cumulative
experience of learning by pilling up new ideas and information on previous knowledge.

The last one is Team Teaching, where the concept of team teaching is teaching is
based on the understanding that each teacher has an area of specialization,
preferences, and content mastery. Thus, they could cooperate to plan, teach and
evaluate a teaching unit or activity.

The findings of the article implied that the teachers were ignorant of the different
methods of teaching. Most of the teachers depend heavily on textbook. Teacher’s
ignorance also might be resulted from time constraints and insufficient funds. As a
result, students will lose interest in learning and lead to the declining of their academic
performance.

The research conducted by the author is very useful as it try to convey the
awareness of using various methods in teaching among teachers. Teachers should be
exposed to different methods of teaching so as to be able select the appropriate
methods for different topics and combine different methods when necessary. Such
creative techniques can enhance students’ involvement and love for English literature.
Effective teaching is a constructive process in which the teacher assumes the role of a
strategic planner, making decisions about the content and the appropriate instructional
strategies.

As a conclusion, if the teachers of English literature did not aware of useful

methods of teaching literature and employ them in their teaching, the classroom
teaching can become the elongated monologues. Hence, it is essential to teach
literature with the help of these methods. With these methods it is possible to involve all
the students in the learning activities.
ARTICLE 2

The article “Introducing Literature to an EFL Classroom: Teacher’s Instructional

Methods and Students’ Attitudes toward the Study of Literature” by Cevdet Yilmaz
discusses about undergraduates’ attitudes toward the study of literature in English, as
well as factors affecting their opinions. What I am expecting from this article is the
relation between students ‘attitudes towards literature and the different methods
employed by teachers. It seeks to reveal the students ‘attitudes towards literature
teaching methods and approaches since students ‘attitude is one of the main factors
that determine their success or failure.

In this article, the author stated that both literature and language can serve as the
complement to each other, which is conducive to the development of language skills.
For example, the incorporation of literary texts such as novel, short story, poetry and
play in a syllabus or course plan in the process of language teaching. These different
types of literary texts, in turn, can serve as rich resources which provide stimulating
language activities. However, there’s a question on to what extent do EFL students
appreciate and comprehend a literary text?

Besides, teachers should aware about classroom’s diversity, where each

students have different taste or preference in literature. The diversity of the literature
classroom can in turn inhibit the pace of teaching and learning on the part of both
students and teachers. On top of that, it is vital for teachers to introduced wide range of
literary texts suited to student’s individual needs and interest. The selected literary texts
also have to consider student’s linguistic proficiency, cultural background, and literary
background.

In this article, the author also stated that apart from studying the students’
reactions to the literary genres, elaborating the aspects of literature which give the
students trouble is relatively important. For example, some students might enjoyed
prose fiction, but developed fears towards poetry.
 This study was conducted among 105 Turkish University students majoring in
English Language studies. For the teaching materials, 19 literary works had been
selected, considering that it will arouse their curiosity and foster their love for reading.
Following the presentation of all the 19 literary texts, the last literature class was
devoted to administering the literature questionnaire thereby asking students to express
their attitudes to the literary works introduced in the experiment.

The findings of this study suggested that majority of the participants in literature
and language courses held very positive attitudes towards FL literature, since almost
80% of the students said that the study of literature was personally rewarding and that
students should be encouraged to take literature courses. Besides, the results also
implied that most of the students view novel as the most appealing literary genre, since
novel can draw the students into the book and engage them in a variety of literary
activities.

This article is useful for educators to determine students attitude towards

literature and helping in determining the suitable teaching methods that could be
employed, but the results of this study couldn’t be generalized to all context. It is
because the sample selected is from students who are majoring in English. In other
words, English is their first choice when they decided to continue their studies. As an
English major students, they have that kind of readiness or awareness towards
literature, as it can be considered as their interest. Thus the results can be considered
positive in their context.

As a conclusion, a considerable number of students have shown a positive

attitude towards studying literature. Such students seem to be well aware of the limitless
benefit of literature in gaining proficiency in English. They also consider literature as an
efficient avenue to get insight into the various aspects of the target culture. Moreover,
they reckon the motivational role of literature towards better learning of the English
language. This enthusiasm, one might assert, has to be further encouraged by
teachers.
REFERENCES

Adelabu, B., & Nder, M. (2013). Survey of methods of teaching English and literature
among secondary school teachers in Benue state. International Journal of Social
Science and Education (IJSSE), 3(3), 847-858.

Yilmaz, C. (2012). Introducing Literature to an EFL Classroom: Teacher's Instructional

Methods and Students' Attitudes toward the Study of Literature. English Language
Teaching, 5(1), 86.