A CONCEPTUAL PAPER BY JOSCYLN LEMOK ANAK EMPUNGAN (P71724)

  This paper will look into several studies that discussed about the effects of teachers and students’ attitudes when they are teaching or learning literature in Malaysia.  These issues which include:  the selection of literary texts,  the choice for approaches used in the literature lessons  the perceptions towards the value of literature as part of language learning are discussed extensively ABSTRACT

  An attitude is simply the evaluative aspect or tendency to react positively or negatively towards the object of the attitude, which in this case, teaching and or learning literature (Siti Norliana Ghazali, 2008)  Cognitive  Affective  conative  Teachers and students’ attitudes affect the process of teaching and learning of literature INTRODUCTION

  Teachers’ attitudes correlate with students attitudes especially in the teaching and learning process of the literature component in the English language syllabus in the Malaysian context  Find and explore several questions:  What affects a teacher or students’ attitudes towards literature component in English?  What do they feel about the literary texts selected for the Literature component?  Why do teachers employ and students prefer specific teaching approaches for literature lessons?

  Literature in English Language  Attitudes towards Literature  Students’ attitudes towards Literature  Teachers’ attitudes towards literature BACKGROUND OF STUDY

  to increase students’ proficiency in English as well as to contribute towards personal development, character building and to generate the aesthetic part of the language that is to get personal response from students  that there are various approaches that can be employed in the teaching of literature:  the information-based approach  language-based approach  personal response approach  paraphrastic approach  moral-philosophical approach and  the stylistic approach Literature in English Language

  it can be argued that over the years, the support in favour of literature in language teaching is progressing positively  Literature which was once studied or valued only by those who appreciate and can understand the language is now well accepted as a resource for the teaching of language  TEACHERS:  teachers were worried because they had no training in administering the teaching of the literature component.  they have limited knowledge of the teaching methodologies that can be used to teach literature.  STUDENTS:  It seems that a majority of the students feel that learning literature is enjoyable Attitudes towards Literature

  the choice of literary texts  their views about teaching approaches  how the students value literature as part of language learning Students’ & Teachers’ Attitudes towards Literature

  STUDENTS:  learners express that most of the texts are difficult to understand and that the texts do not interest them.  many learners who not proficient in the target language may be more confuse rather than enjoying the texts  It can be said that students tend to like the teaching approaches that best fit learning abilities.  It can be argued that the students’ background affect their personal liking to a particular teaching approaches

  TEACHERS:  the teaching approaches employed by the teachers are very important to ensure that students have positive attitudes towards the learning of literature  Teachers differed in their choice of teaching approaches because they felt that it depended on who their students are.  According to Radzuwan Ab Rashid et al., the teachers preferred to employ the information-based approach.  However, based on the study conducted by Hwang and Mohamed Amin Embi (2007), the teachers opted for the paraphrastic approach.

  TEACHERS/STUDENTS:  positive views claimed that they believe on the potential of literature develop their language.  quite skeptic in admitting that literature have values towards improving students’ proficiency in the target language.

  three main concepts that closely relates to describing teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards literature in Malaysia.  This paper deals with three different themes:  the attitudes towards the chosen literature texts (affective component),  their perceptions towards the value and role of literature as part of the language learning (cognitive component)  an analysis of attitudes in relation to the teaching approaches of literature (behavioural component). FINDINGS/DISCUSSION

  STUDENTS:  Positive attitudes:  They claimed that the stories are easy to understand and that they are not lengthy.  Students also enjoyed it because the plots are manageable and interesting  Negative attitudes:  the poems are demanding and the novels were confusing.  the poems are dull and that they cannot relate to the themes as it was challenging. Literary Texts

  STUDENTS:  it is revealed that students from the rural school have better attitudes towards teaching strategies utilized by their teachers compared to their urban counterparts.  Half of the students express negative attitudes towards current teaching practices employed by their teachers which are described as dull and considered inadequate in preparing them for their examination.  Some claimed that there was the same pattern in the reactions of the students regardless of different approaches used by the teachers.  It is shown in the results that these less proficient students are passive listeners who did what their teachers wanted them to do or complete. Choice of Approaches

  TEACHERS:  it was not surprising that almost 63% of the teachers chose to explain the main content of the text to the class in students’ mother tongue.  The study also found that another 37% of the teachers code- switched during the lessons.  The teachers claimed that this was done so as to ensure that the students developed deeper understanding because the students are weak.  Among those who tried to use English as medium of instruction used pictures and body gestures to help students comprehend what they were explaining

  TEACHERS:  believed that Literature helps students improve their English.  However, it is important for teachers to really play their roles in giving proper guidance to the students.  They also believed that if the lessons are planned properly, Literature can be used to learn English language. Value of Literature as part of language learning

  attitudes in general do affect the learning of literature.  students’ positive attitudes correlate with the success of their comprehension of literature lessons – empirical data  little attention is given to how teachers’ attitudes will affect the teaching of literature – less proficient students  the acknowledgement of the teachers’ attitudes is also important because it affects the teaching process and consequently the learning process. CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONS

  This raises a few valid questions –  What are the current attitudes of teachers in the literature classroom today?  What are the teachers’ personal experiences when they have to teach literature to less proficient students?  what are the teachers’ perspectives when they have to teach the less proficient students around the country who probably do not see the importance of these?  Why do the teachers employed such approaches/strategies/methods?

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