The Significance of Literature in Language Development

Rationale

Learning a language together with literature is an experience that brings about great mutual support to a person’s life. Many authors refer to the crucial link between literature and language, particularly because literature is held in place by language, and it is a reflection of the use of language, which is more recurrent (Shazu, 2014). Over the previous decades, there has been a growing interest concerning the applicability of literary texts to enhance language learning. According to Inggris & dan Budaya (2011), literature has a linguistic input that is rich, and it is an effective stimulant for students to be able to use other languages to express themselves.

Apart from skills in language, students benefit from literature through skills in speaking, reading, listening, and writing, in the form of exemplary grammatical structures and presentation of new vocabulary (Rahayu, 2011). Shazu (2014) contends that the literature language has good organization and a remarkable diction choice. The general feeling is that literature is the epicentre of learner motivation. In addition to learner motivation, Shazu (2014) comments that literature is the primary driver for teaching activities. Now that literature consists every type of spoken and written business, it is found as the most preferred medium for expressing specific subjects, namely, literature for chemistry, literature for earthquakes, literature for learning language, etc.

For more than 20 years, literary texts are an integral part of language instruction through the examination of language structure and interpreting meanings. When literary texts are engaged in a guided manner, a learner can enhance their language repertoire by solving problems that are related to language. Teachers of foreign languages have come to acknowledge the enthralling effect that literature has. Furthermore, literature is argued to contribute knowledge concerning lexical phrases, fixed expressions, and vocabulary knowledge.

How to Approach the Topic

This research study will be done using a qualitative design. This is because qualitative research design targets to bring about answers to problems that exist and how certain phenomena are the way they are. Text analysis will be done where text sources relating to literature and language are collected, sorted, and evaluated then the results will be analysed to determine how literature is essential in language development. Theories and principles that relate to the topic will be used to aid in discussion to bring about better understanding of the content. The text sources will be acquired from the school library database and other reliable web-based databases, such as Google Scholar. After analysing the sources, a section for discussion, conclusion, and recommendations will be presented.

Examples of Sources

Some of the sources that I shall use mostly include peer-reviewed journal articles and books retrieved from specified databases. For example, one source will be a peer-reviewed journal article written by Cagri Mart, titled “Literature in the Language Classroom: A Recipe to Maximize Learning,” published in 2018. Another source is a journal article written by Rafiul Shazu titled “Use of Literature in Language Teaching and Learning: A Critical Assessment,” which is part of the Open Access International Journal.

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References

Bobkina, J., 2014. The Use of Literature and Literary Texts in the EFL Classroom; Between Consensus and Controversy. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 3(2).

Mart, C. T., 2018. Literature in language teaching: A recipe to maximize learning.

Rahayu, M., 2011. Literature in Language Teaching.

Shazu, R. I., 2014. Use of Literature in Language Teaching and Learning: A Critical Assessment. International Journal of African and Asian Studies- An Open Access International Journal , Volume 5.

Violetta-Irene, K., 2015. The Use of Literature in the Language Classroom: Methods and Aims. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 5(1).