Teaching English Literature in the Digital Era

Abstract

Not many students (and teachers) like to study (and
teach) literature. Reading, analysing and interpreting a literary
work may be a time-consuming and exhausting task especially
for those who are not bookworms. How can teachers motivate
students to read literary works and make them develop critical
thinking? In the age of digital natives where everything starts
and ends with a “click” on the swift keyboard, this seems to be a
far-fetching undertaking. However, the use of audio-visual
devices and various online educational tools in teaching both –
foreign language and literature – might trigger motivation and
encourage the learning process. The aim of this paper is to
identify, explore and analyse innovative approaches to foreign
language acquisition, more precisely, the English language
teaching and learning, by using literature (prose and poetry) as
an unconventional teaching tool. Apart from the works of
classical literature, the creative works of pop culture such as
films, TV series, video games and songs will be used as a
powerful means of breaking boundaries, learning and
integrating, studying and having fun.