Using Literature in English Language Education: Challenging Reading for 8-18 Year Olds

Covering Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Collins’ The Hunger Games, Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Rowling’s Wizarding World, Staake’s Bluebird and Winton’s Lockie Leonard, contributors consider how literature can be used for teaching literary literacy, creative writing, intercultural learning, critical pedagogy and deep reading in school settings where English is the teaching medium. Leading scholars from around the world explore pedagogical principles for English Language Teaching (ELT) widening children’s and teenagers’ literacy competences as well as their horizons through insightful engagement with texts. From challenging picturebooks for primary and secondary students, to graphic novels, to story apps, film and drama, as well as speculative fiction on provocative topics, recent research on literature education in ELT settings combines with cognitive criticism in the field of children’s, young adult and adult literature.

Reviews of Using Literature in English Language Education: Challenging Reading for 8-18 Year Olds

An essential and timely contribution both to ELT and children's literature studies. This edited collection brings together essays revealing the broad range of theoretical and methodological work in both fields in an accessible and engaging manner. It is a `must have' for scholars and educators in the area of language teaching. * Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak, Institute of English Studies, University of Wroclaw, Poland * A highly stimulating collection, full of insightful theoretical perspectives that are closely linked to practical teaching examples. The content is richly varied, but all the chapters have a common goal of bringing innovative ideas, depth and criticality to the EFL classroom. * Mike Fleming, Emeritus Professor of Education, Durham University, UK * Brings together international experts who show us how CYAL can best be integrated in ELT classrooms so that learners can make deep and meaningful connections between life and literature and can be prepared for future reading challenges. * Susanne Reichl, Professor of Contemporary English Literature, University of Vienna, Austria * Bland's highly stimulating and very readable collection of articles clearly demonstrates the great opportunity to pursue up-to-date curricular and pedagogical objectives through challenging reading. The contributions draw on recent findings in children's social and cognitive development as well as research on the affordance of diverse modalities and media. They explore the relevance of multimodal story apps and picture books for learners in elementary schools, and genre fiction, cross-medial adaptations and didactic text ensembles for learners in secondary schools. Specific suggestions of appealing texts and tasks that engage learners round off each part. A book that is not to be missed! * Michael Meyer, Professor of English Literature and ELT, University of Koblenz and Landau, Germany *