Theoretical Issues with Using Literature to Learn/Teach Language (The L3 Approach)

Everybody loves a story. Since the dawn of human history, since well before writingWriting as we know it today was even dreamed about, humans have told stories, and these stories have been told around campfires and painted on cave walls and passed down from generation to generation until the present day. This chapter deals with important theoretical issues with the use of literature in the language classroom, including a definition of literature, why literature should be used when teaching language, previous research into the subject, theoretical underpinnings, and issues (such as translation, simplification, metalanguage and copyright). Ultimately, stories provide their own motivation and are memorable in a way which helps to promote language in a way that nothing else can.