Taking Literature and Language Learning Online

Description

The use of literary texts in language classrooms is firmly established, but new questions arise with the transfer to remote teaching and learning. How do we teach literature online? How do learners react to being taught literature online? Will new genres emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic? Is the literary canon changing?
This volume celebrates the vitality of literary and pedagogic responses to the pandemic and presents research into the phenomena observed in this evolving field. One strand of the book discusses literary outputs stimulated by the pandemic as well as past pandemics. Another strand looks at the pedagogy of engaging learners with literature online, examining learners of different ages and of different proficiency levels and different educational backgrounds, including teacher education. Finally, a third strand looks at the affordances of various technologies for teaching online and the way they interact with literature and with language learning. The contributions in this volume take literature teaching online away from static lecturing strategies, present numerous options for online teaching, and provide research-based grounding for the implementation of these pedagogies.

Sandra Stadler-Heer is Senior Lecturer of TESOL at the Department of Linguistics and Literature, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany.
Amos Paran is Professor of TESOL at the Institute of Education, University College London, UK.

Introduction, Amos Paran (Institute of Education, University College London, UK) and Sandra Stadler-Heer (Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany), with Petra Kirchhoff (University of Erfurt, Germany)Part I: Literary Responses in Times of Crisis1. Literary Narratives as Factual Recordings of the Present: The New York Times Decameron Project, Ingrid Gessner (University College of Teacher Education Vorarlberg, Austria)2. Pandemic Literature: What It Is, Why It Should Be Taught and How, Engelbert Thaler (University of Augsburg, Germany)II. Researching and Teaching Literature for/to Young Learners 3. Asynchronous Picturebook Read-Alouds: The Affordances of ‘Read-Aloud Talk’, Gail Ellis (independent researcher, France) and Sandie Mourão (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal)4. Digital Picturebooks in Times of Crisis: Developing Critical Environmental Literacies, Theresa Summer (University of Würzburg, Germany)III. Researching and Teaching Literature in Online Teacher Education 5. Exploiting the Educational Potential of Literature in English Language Teaching: Continuity and Change in Digital Literature Teaching, Christine Gardemann (University of Bielefeld, Germany)6. Conducting Story-based Activities in Times of Social Distancing: Zooming in on Incy-Wincy Spider, Annett Kaminski (University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany)IV. Tools and Concepts for Teaching Literature Online7. Implementing a Collaborative Reading Project Online: Solutions for a Pedagogically Meaningful Virtual Workshop, Jennifer Schumm (University of Graz, Austria)
8. Digital Storytelling as a Pedagogical Approach for Meaningful Learning: Alternative Implementations of Technology in the Libyan EFL Context, Fatma Abu-Baker (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Hana A. El-Badri (University of Benghazi, Lybia)9. Assessing Short-form Literature for Beginning-level Adult Immigrants: Fictional Narratives in Language Learning Environments, Martha Young-Scholten (University of Newcastle, UK)10. Annotating Literary Texts on Conceptboard: Philological Practice in the Digital Classroom, Verena Laschinger (University of Erfurt, Germany)11. Collaborating in Online Creative Writing Projects: Innovative Responses to the Pandemic, Christian Ludwig and Elizabeth Shipley (University of Karlsruhe, Germany)Afterword, Geoff Hall (University of Nottingham-Ningbo, China) References

“This novel, timely and interesting volume explores the nexus of literature and foreign language learning, and more importantly their interconnectedness throughout the move to online publishing and teaching arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. Online interaction is at the heart of the volume, and the role literature and art more broadly have played in reminding learners and teachers alike ‘why life is worth living’ (Ben Okri, p.1) during the dark days of the pandemic. Yet although the volume is very deeply rooted in 2020 and subsequent years, the messages coming out of it have relevance beyond that period, for both language practitioners and researchers. Rather than just presenting the challenges posed for engagement with literature by online teaching, learning and publishing, the volume invites the reader to consider the many affordances of the digital world. In so doing it will be of interest to all those concerned with language education in the broadest sense, from the early years of schooling through to teacher education and publishing.” —Suzanne Graham, Professor of Language and Education, Institute of Education, University of Reading, UK“The volume provides very interesting insights into a timely topic from a variety of perspectives. Student and practicing teachers will find a wealth of ideas for classroom activities as well as theoretical considerations.” —Annika Kolb, Professor, University of Education Freiburg, Germany