TEMA-15

LITERARY PERIODS, AUTHORS AND GENRES SUITABLE FOR DIDACTIC

APPLICATIONS IN ENGLISH CLASS.TYPES OF TEXTS.
1. Introduction
Before analysing the literary periods,authors or genres more
suitable for their application and use in English class its necessary to study the
student bodys needs, their preferences and expectations in facing and English
class first.
The pupil of this age always desires inmediate results. It is possible
that they will go out being able to speak something in this language ,being anxious
to show what he has learnt ,without worring about mistakes and hell be prepared to
use this language according to his needs,experimenting with sounds and words or
using ,gestures.Therefore it is easier to acquire a language by being expposed to it
than learning a series of rulers which involve a series of complicated mechanisms of
the language.
Other characteristic of this stage is restlessness
We shoould desing activities:
-Which can keep their attention - an overlong activity leads to boredoom
-and understandable to the pupil .They should be near the reality of the pupil
which will facilitate starting mechanisms of expression.
Literature would suppose a good way of approaching these interests and it
would give an inexhaustible soource of resources to satisfy the pupils needs of this
stage.
Before analysing periods,authors or genres we have thought about pupils
underlying needds in the classroom .Now wwe have to decide the linguistic and
extralinguistic characteristics of thr text which will allow us to use it to develop the
basic aims.
The emotional factor plays a main role in everything we do,read think or
say , and literature transposes us to all kind of real or imaginative situations ,and it
close us to all kinds of characteres -reallistic or fictional- and seeing ourselves
reflected in situation bring us close to literature .If the literature is in a foreing
language in a pleasant form.
The vocabulary should be contextualise and should be a kind of language
easy to imitate:by rhythm or by intonation, it has to have frequent repetitions ,and it
also has to be composed of words which can be used in a natural form in the
organitation of the class, in games ,...which suggests that it has to be presented in
simple sintactic structures.
Lastly , if pupils can anticipate what comes next,they will have more
confidence, because their problems of comprehension will be reduced ,which helps
them to learn with less effort.

.PERIODS,AUTHORS AND GENRES.TYPES OF TEXTS.

According to what has been stated above the traditional tales ,fairy
tales,picture stories,nursery rhymes,jokes,modern or traditional songs and limericks
are considered as Literary Genres more ssuitable to the pupilss of this stage.
Normally ,we can take texts (oral or written )from popular tradition so
the text is as important or more than the authors,especially in the case of the
traditional tales,which are -in most cases-compilattions of tales and oral traditions
which have been translated to the different european languages
(Perrault,Andersen,Grimm,..).
The tales
The use of the tale offers an ideal system of introduction to foreing language
and culture and it creates a possitive atmosphere so that the pupil wants to carry on
learning.
In the psychological field ,the tales exercise the imagination and they offer an
inexhaustible source of experiences and emotions and if the tales are related by the
teacher ,they offer a collective experience of feelings,laughter,sadness...,which
makes the pupil feel integrated in the group ,develop self-confidence and mature
emotionally and socially.
One of the characteristics of tales is the natural repetition of certain elements
of vocabulary, if they are narrated in class .the intonation ,the sense of the rhythm
and the possibility that pupils want tohear the whole story again,this allows the
teacher to use these resources to get a larger number of repetitions of certain
elements of interest without the problem of saturation of the student body.
Respecting the narration of the tales we have the dilemma of the teacher as
narrator or the use of the cassette .The latter has some advantages such as
music,however,the teacher can give to his narration the human factor ,and the
pronuntiation and the intonation can be improved through recordings.Teacher as
narrator facilitates the intervention of pupils with questions when they have not
understood something ,the repetition of fragments which they have not understood
or the slowing down of the narration when it is necessary.
Respecting the suitability of adapting tales in class ,for children from eight
years old, we should thinK of the techniques which are used when tales are
narrated for the first time and howthe narration developes slowly.One of the
characteristic of tales is that they can be narrated in a thousand different
ways,which facilitates the adaptation of the same tale to different levels .The tale is
a flexible tool in our hands.
If we think of tales as reading instead of as narration ,there is a wide range of
tales for English -speaking children of these ages,in addition to a series of simplified
versions directed at children who are learninig Engllish as a Second Language.
Normally ,we consider that the former are better than the latter ,especially
because of the ilustrations done by drawers ,which gives a greater degree of
satisfaccion in the reading .A careful selection of the texts for the E-class in relation
to vocabulary ,structures and themes of interest could permit that the tales which are
read in class are the same that Englissh children read at this age .
As for the most suitable works ,there is a great varieety ,from the traditional

tales (Little Red Riding Hood; Puss in Boots or other tales from Perrault) to the most
modern tales,in which their protagonistscan be animals -which are good for snowing
the daily llife of children (The tale of Peter Rabbit,by Beatrix Potter , and whose
contexts are as British as the language itself )-or the heroes can be personages of
daily life (Postman Pat) or familliar elements of our modern civilization (Thomas ,
the Tank Engine).Excepting the series by Beatrix Potter ,which needs be adapted
,either Thomas ,the tank Engine, or Postman Pat in original version,with a suitable
guide woould be easily accesible to children from eight years old.
We should not forget famous authors ,whose novels and short stories
althought not intended for children ,can be adapted .
-Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift
-Huckleberry Finnby Mark Twain
- A Christmas Carrol by Dickens
-Alices adventures in Wonderland and Alice through the looking -glass by
Lewis Carrol.
And even authors who are not British ,such as
-Julies Verne :Journey to they centre of the Earth
-Fairy tales in which the conventions of the same are parodied .Ex.
The Rose and the Ring by Thomas Thackeray .
-School stories ,such a Tom Browns Schooldays by Thomas Hughes.
-Family sagas ,such as Little Women by Alcott.
-Of animals : Black Beauty by Sewell.
-Of adventures ,such as Treasure Island and King Salomons Minesby
Haggard or the Jungle Books by Kipling .
The concept of childrens Literature as fun wasnt a cultivated genre until the
end of the XIX century Childrens Literature before was Literature with didactic
end.Books for adults, ex. Ae sops fables,were a resource to try to amuse children
through Literature .In the XVIII century with Locke and Rousseau Books for the
entertainment of children appear ,which begin to abandone the didactic intention .
It is in 1883 when the first adventure book without dictatic intention
appears :Treasure Island.
In the first book of a series of ilustrated tales appears :Little Black Sambo by
Helen Banner,who next to Beatrix Potter was a milestone in reference to the
importance of ilustrations in tales for children.
In the beginning of our century there appear various authors and tittles which
today are considered classics of modern childrens Literature and have been
adapted for television, such as:
The Wind in the Willows by Grahame ,The Secret Garden by Burnett,Martin
Pippin in the Apple Orchard by Farjeon ,Winnie-The Pooh by Milne and finally in
1937 the fantastic genre emerges with the aparition of The Hobbit by Tolkien.
From the decade of the 50 s, the importance given to Childrens Literature
foments the appaerance of a great industry and the clear definition of concepts such
as Literature for Children and the distintion between Literature for boys and for girls.
Childrens pleasures of today have changed ,however ,the tales of fantastic
or ecologic themes like especially.
Among the authors of oour days ,who have had special aceptation among
the childs public because of the themes which they treat is ROALD DAHL,,an
authentic master of the short story :
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-The Magic finger

-Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

-Matilda
-The wonderful story of Henry Sugar and Sisx more.
All these are stories of modernthemes .The narration is quick and
attractive .The cultural variety that they show is atractive .
In our hands is to do the adecquated adaptations for that their application is
succesful.
.

.NURSERY RHYMES
N.R.have some characteristics of the tales :
-Use of exclamations and linguistic elements of dayly use ,which is a very rich
resource in the class .
-They have musicality , too.
-Strong rhythm.
-They introduce -the same as the tales-cultural elements ,such as
foods,timetables ,animals ,..
-Repetitive use of words and structures .But N.R.have adifferent
charactheristic:brevity ,which increases the proportion of repetition.
Classic Examples:Twinkle, Twinkle,Little Star.

The use of this genre in a language class gives the opportunity to learners to
move in class ,because it can include activities such as jumping or dancing .When
therere problems of space,those ones which involve playing with hands can be
used:Two little monkeys fighting in bed (use two fingers),one fell out and hurt his
head (the hand on the head),the other called the doctor (telephoning),and said the
doctor (open and close the hand),thats what you get for fightingin bed(move a
finger).
Rhymes that accompany games can also be selected aand they can be used
in the school:
Teddy Bear,touch the ground,
tum around,
walk upstairs,
turn out the light,
say goodnight.
The reduced vocabulary that they use,the repetition,the rhythm and the
intonation permit learners to learn them quickly.
It is a popular genre ,although it has been cultivated by prestigious writters:in
the early XVIII century Divine songs for children by Watts,was published.In this
time ,the first collections of N.R were also published, and in18O4 appeared original
Poems for Infant Minds by Ann and Jane Taylor ,which includes Twinkle ,Twinkle
,little star.
In 1942 The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browing was published .
In1846 A book of Nonsense by Edward Lear appears and in 1885 Stevenson
publishes A Childs Garden of Verses.
In our century A.A Milne,Robert Graves...stand out
RIDDLES

Ridles are an universal genre too .Their characteristic are -as in N.R.the following:
-Brevity and intonation and rhythm very marked .
Ex:Im a very big animal
you see at the zoo.
Ive a very nice trunk
Ican squirt water through
LIMERICKS
Limercks are funny five -line stanzas whose popular origin had place
in the festive meetings , in which every fellow dinner had to recite or sing a poem
,which are called nonsense verse following line :Will you come up
to Limerick?.
The first Limericks collected in a volume appear in the History of Sixteen
Wonderful Women in 1820.
In the book Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear appear examples too.
In the compositions by Lear and Rossety, the first and last line usually use to
finish with the same word ,hoewer ,in more modern examples a third word which
rhymes is added :
There once was a man who said : god
Must think it exceedingly odd
If he finds that this tree
continues to be
when there is no-one about in the Quad.
Most Limericks are anonyms, given their popular origen .
This genre is very useful for the pronunciation of several sounds which
present difficulties such asthe different tiation between/i:/and /i/.
There once was a man from Darjeeling who travelled from London t Ealing .
When it said on the the door:
Please dont spit on the fllor
The carefully spat on the ceiling.
VOCABULARY
antes de - before analysing
alumnado- student body
expectativas-expectations
analizar - previous to analyse
enfrentarse a una clase de ingls por primera vez -In facing an english class
first
ansioso -anxious
preocuparse- worry
gestos-gestures
por esto -there fore
inquietud-restlessness
actitud demasiado larga -an overlong act,
conducir (llevar)-lead
aburrimiento -boredoom
comprensible -understanble
puesta en marcha -starting

acercar-approach
inagotable-inexaustible
subyacente-underlying
emotividad-emotional
papel-role
transportar -transpose
imaginarias-imaginative fictional
realistas-reallstic
acercar-bring close
acceder-acces
agradable-pleasant
contextualizar-contextualise
por ltimo -lastly
a continuacin -finally,next
confianza -confidence
de acuerdo conlo expuesto anteriormente-accordingto what has been stated
above
compilaciones-compilations
continuar -carry on
ejercitar -exercise
caudal -source
relatar-relat
colectiva-collective
risa-laughter
tristeza-sadness
confianza en si mismo -self confidence
madurar -mature
narrar -narrate
saturacin -saturation
repecto a -respecting
dilema -dilema
el 1_...el 2_ -the former,the latter
fidelidad -fidelity
mejorar-improve
grabacin-recording
fragmentos -fragments
ralentizacin-slowing down
conveniencia-suitability
pensar en -think of
de mil maneras -in a thoousand different ways
dirigir a -direct at
satisfaccin-satisfactin
en cuanto a -as for
obras (novelas)-works
obras(teatro)-plays
cotidiana -daily
hroe-hero/es
civilizacin-civilization
excepto-excepting
accesible-accessible
intencionar-intend

incluso-even
sagas familiares-family sagas
literatura Infantil-Childrens Literature
divertimento -fun
divertir-amuse
abandonar -abandone
junto con-next to
hito-milstone
fbulas de Esopo-Aesops fables
al principio-in the beginning
surgir-aparecer-appear
dcada-decade
fomentar-foment
aparicin -appearance
gustos -pleasures
pblico infantil -Childs Public
maestro - master(no de escuela ,maestro en su gnero)
narracin corta -short story
musicalidad -musicality
brevedad-brevity
prestigiosos-prestigious
coleccin-collection
destacar-stand out
quintillas -five line stanzas
origen -origin
reuniones festivas-festive meetings
comensal -fellow diner
recitar -to recite
estribillo- refrain
surgir -come up
recoger-collect
annimo-anonym
paulatina-slowly
parodiar-parody
emerger-emerge
ndice-proportion
a principios de siglo-in the early century ?
Cercano a -near
acercarnos -bring us close ,close us
tanto..como...-neither...or
ni..........ni-neither ...or