1. Literary Competency
Simon, Lüder, Heiden 1
Martin Simon, Benjamin Lüder, Eric Heiden
Mail: eheiden@uni-potsdam.de
Department of English and American Studies
Seminar: Der kompetenzorientierte Englischunterricht
Winter Term 2013
12/16/13
Teaching Literary Competency
What is literature?
- from Latin "litterae" - "things made from letters".
- in the broad sense: all written communications - the entire corpus of written works
- in the narrow sense: poetic and imaginative texts (distinct aesthetics and complexity)
>> The reader decides if a text is “literary” or “non-literary”.
- also see: Nünning pp. 15-20
What is literary competency?
- referring to Thaler (259): literary competency consists of three parts that are interconnected:
knowledge (about the history of literature and literary theory)
-
attitude (the joy of reading, having a sense of quality and intercultural consciousness)
-
skills (reading, understanding, analyzing, creating)
Why teaching literary competency
competency?
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:
C1 level - "I can understand long and complex factual and literary texts, appreciating distinctions
of style."
C2 level - "I can read with ease virtually all forms of the written language including abstract,
structurally or linguistically complex texts such as manuals, specialized articles and literary
works."
The Brandenburg framework curriculum for the elementary level:
- Grade 1/2: to be able to read out short poetic texts
- Grade 3/4: to be able to understand the content of visually supported stories

2. Literary Competency
Simon, Lüder, Heiden 2
The framework for the grades 5-10
- Grade 5-6: to be able to make hypothesis about the content of a text and to use previous
knowledge to raise a reading-expectation, extract the intention of a text, illustrate/re-stage a
text
- Grade 7/8: to be able to understand easy fictional texts and it its structure
- Grade 9/10: to be able to understand different authentic fictional texts that are situated in
known contexts, understand the type and intention of a text
The framework for the grades 10-12:
- to be able to communicate about literary-aesthetic aspects, understand the most parts of literary text, understand the historic dimension, among others, of a literary text, be able to interpret the content of literary texts and know of its special characteristics
Benefits of teaching literary competency:
- support the language learning process
- increase in motivation for reading in English
- can improve the intercultural knowledge
- can generate personal benefits
- enables a variety of perspectives on a text
- having knowledge about literature still carries social prestige
How to chose the right text for the class (cf. Thaler p. 261)
criteria of selection:
- type of school
- level (primary, secondary)
- learner interests
- age, level of proficiency, background of
the learner
- personal competences
- textual:
- linguistic diffifulty
- thematic complexity
- aesthetic complexity
- literary genre
- curricular conformity
- length
- topicality
- availability of text-related media

3. Literary Competency
Simon, Lüder, Heiden 3
Approaches to working with literature in class (Thaler pp. 264-269)
CREATIVE WRITING
WEB 2.0 APPROACHES
POETRY

4. Literary Competency
Simon, Lüder, Heiden 4
APPROACHES TO NOVELS AND DRAMA
Approach
Description
Pros
Cons
Straight through approach
Work is read at home
before discussion in class
Easier understanding,
delve deep into topic, in
class time for discussion
All students must have
read novel, very time
consuming for them
Chunks approach
Beginning is
read/discussed together,
dates set for next passage (reading at home),
then discussion, students
keep a reading log
Time-saving in class,
focus on important passages, whole text is read
Difficult to split text in
manageable chunks
Segment Approach
Each lesson: discussion
of segment of work in
class, prepare at
home/school
Reading complete work,
suspense, possible to
form groups
Can be time consuming in
class, enforces constant
reading-pace
Sandwich Approach
Some parts read, some
Time-saving, skipping
parts skipped/summarized less important parts, may
interest readers in reading
the skipped passages
Difficult to understand
novel; students may think
that excerpts enable them
to judge the whole work
Topic Approach
Several books (or chapters) from same genre or
period or same author are
read in excerpts
Very deep understanding
of a certain topic possible
No appreciation of whole
works
Patchwork Approach
Several books on same
topic by various authors,
different genres and different periods in excerpts
Deep understanding of a
topic possible, discussion
of literary history
No appreciation of whole
work
Appetizer Approach
Only excerpt of book is
read and discussed
Saves most time, focus
No deep understanding,
on important passage,
ignores context
good for detailed analysis,
very good for deciding on
what book to read (democratic decision)
Bibliography
Council of Europe. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Strasbourg: Language Policy Unit, 2001. Accessed 12/15/13. Web.
(www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/framework_en.pdf)
Dawidowski, Christian. Gegenwartsliteratur und Postmoderne im Literaturunterricht. Hohengehren: Schneider
Verlag, 2013. Print
Dawidowski, Christian & Dieter Wrobel (ed.). Kritik und Kompetenz - Die Praxis des Literaturunterrichts im gesellschaftlichen Kontext. Hohengehren: Schneider Verlag, 2013. Print.
Ministerium für Bildung, Jugend und Sport des Landes Brandenburg. Rahmenlehrplan für moderne Fremdsprachen Jahrgangsstufen 1-10.2008. Accessed 12/15/13. Web.
Ministerium für Bildung, Jugend und Sport des Landes Brandenburg.Vorläufiger Rahmenlehrplan für den Unterricht in der gymnasialen Oberstufe im Land Brandenburg. 2008.Accessed 12/15/13. Web.
Neuner, Jörg. Medienreflexives Erzählen - Zu einer erweiterten Literatur- und Kulturdidaktik. Hohengehren:
Schneider Verlag, 2013. Print.
Thaler, Engelbert. Englisch unterrichten: Grundlagen - Kompetenzen - Methoden. Berlin: Cornelsen Verlag,
2012. Print.
RECOMMENDATION: NÜNNING, VERA & ANSGAR. An Introduction to the Study of English and American Literature. Stuttgart: Klett, 2009. Print.