Instituto De Literatura Y Ciencias Del Lenguaje
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Instituto de Literatura y Ciencias del Lenguaje Facultad de Filosofía y Educación Feeling infinite: Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower as a subject of language learning. TRABAJO DE TITULACIÓN PARA OPTAR AL TÍTULO DE PROFESOR DE INGLÉS Y AL GRADO DE LICENCIADO EN EDUCACIÓN Estudiante: Fernanda Rayén Lazo Ibarra Profesor guía: Sr. Pablo A. Villa Moreno Primer semestre 2014 Instituto de Literatura y Ciencias del Lenguaje Facultad de Filosofía y Educación Feeling infinite: Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower as a subject of language learning. TRABAJO DE TITULACIÓN PARA OPTAR AL TÍTULO DE PROFESOR DE INGLÉS Y AL GRADO DE LICENCIADO EN EDUCACIÓN Estudiante: Fernanda Rayén Lazo Ibarra Profesor guía: Sr. Pablo A. Villa Moreno Primer semestre 2014 2 This page was intentionally left in blank 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Courage is grace under pressure” —Ernest Hemingway None of this would have been possible without the love and caring of the few people who never stopped believing in me, even when I did not. Their support was crucial in helping me become a better person and the professional I am today. In the first place, I would like to thank my dad and sister for the endless patience, love, caring, and support they have shown all these years. I could not be more grateful to have you in my life and I hope to make you proud with this project. I would also like to sincerely thank the rest of my family —my grandparents Marta and Miguel, my uncle Juan Pablo, my aunt Roxana and her children Joaquin and Matias, and my uncles Olga and Nano with their beautiful family Male and Mauro— who were an important part of this strength I came to find during these years and whose faith in me helped me to continue and never allowed me to give up either. During these years at the university, I have also had the opportunity to meet a lot of nice people. To the ones who are still in my life and the ones who left, I would like to say that I appreciate the time spent together because I learned from each one of you in different ways. 4 Particularly, I would like to thank Victoria for being here all this time and for having accompanied me in this journey of growing up. For your unconditional friendship, joy, and wisdom, but, above all, for being the only one who stayed in my life and never stopped believing in me and in what I can do. I love you, Vicky! Thanks, also, to my classmates in this Final Project course. I could have not had better partners in this journey and it has been a total pleasure to share this time with you. Thank you for your support and all the laughs we have shared, because you made this challenge easier and unforgettable. You are all good girls; very intelligent, talented. I have no doubt we will all be teachers our future students will remember. Over these six years, I have had the honor to be a student of some very good teachers, who have taught me more than just academic content. Learning about myself and the world has been fundamental. Where would I be, after all, without all of the great teachers who spent time with me? Thank you Professor Salas, Professor Oyanedel, Professor King, and Professor Pescara for your dedication, advice, and support during this time. You all never stopped encouraging me to continue studying, improving as much as I could, and believing in what I was capable of. Nevertheless, there is one Professor I could never thank enough. And that is Mr. Villa. You, sir, are the best teacher I have ever had and there are not enough words to express my admiration and infinite gratitude for you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being the one who never stopped believing in me and in what I can do as a future teacher. Thank you for your support and friendship from the very first day. I will never forget your affection and how supportive and kind you have been. 5 But, most of all, thank you for showing me the incredibly endless world of literature and helping me realize I was actually good at something that can take me as far as I want. I would not be here if you haven’t helped me this much. Thank you very much for your patience, caring, and infinite wise. Without a doubt, you are a teacher that inspires. Having arrived at this point has not been easy at all, but due to a series of events I had to experience and that have defined my life, I found the necessary inner peace and strength to be here right now. I have been able to fight off my own demons and never give up in this path, and I could not be more proud of myself for not giving up; even at the cloudiest days and the darkest nights. Love, Fernanda. 6 “That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements….……………………………………………………………….. 4 Epigraph …………....………………………………………………………………… 7 Table of contents……………………………………………………………………… 8 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Theoretical framework...……………………………………………………………... 17 1. Literature ……………………...…………………………………………....... 13 2. Children’s literature………………...………………………………………… 21 3. Young Adult Literature………...…………………………………………....... 26 4. The Bildungsroman………………....………………………………………… 31 5. Stephen Chbosky’s biography………………………………………………… 36 6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower…………………………………………….... 38 Needs Analysis………………………………………………………………………… 40 1. School’s guidelines…………………………………………………………….. 42 Rationale……………………………………………………………………………….. 46 1. The ‘what?’ component………………………………………………………… 46 8 2. The ‘why?’ component…………………………………………………………. 47 3. The ‘how?” component………………………………………………………… 49 Course Syllabus………………………………………………………………………… 52 Syllabus design………………………………………………………………………… 55 1. Course description……………………………………………………………… 55 2. General objectives……………………………………………………………… 56 3. Specific objectives……………………………………………………………… 56 4. Expected learning outcomes……………………………………………………. 57 5. Contents and themes……………………………………………………………. 58 6. Key concepts……………………………………………………………………. 58 7. Class information……………………………………………………………….. 59 Syllabus chart…………………………………………………………………………… 63 Daily lessons……………………………………………………………………………. 78 1. Sample lesson 1………………………………………………………………… 78 2. Sample lesson 2………………………………………………………………… 94 3. Sample lesson 3………………………………………………………………… 103 9 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………. 110 1. Short survey for students…………………………………………………….. 110 2. Reading strategies chart……………………………………………………….. 114 3. In-class participation rubric……………………………………………………. 115 References……………………………………………………………………………… 120 10 INTRODUCTION From ancient times, the literary element —first oral and then, with Gutenberg’s invention, written— has always been a central part of our life, since emerged as a very suitable recipient of mankind’s diverse experiences, events, feelings, and ideas to be long-lasting from generation to generation. This, of course, gained importance and visibility as time went by and society developed in all areas; but always remained as a subject of high interest. It is no surprise; therefore, to find literature incorporated in almost every aspect of nowadays’ society and, subsequently, in one of its keystones: the educational system. The teaching of a Second Language (L2) is no exception to the rule, so it is really important that teachers are not only aware of such reality, but also clear about its implications and demand to incorporate and work with it, which requires to be properly fulfilled. If teaching an L2 is already challenging in many ways; engaging students with the idea of reading in it and to think about it not only as a mechanic and —sometimes considered— flat or boring task but as a valuable component of their learning process arises as almost a heroic thing to do. On the one hand, teaching literature appears to be unattractive and irritating to students because of their deep-rooted conception that it basically consists on reading for taking ‘comprehensive’ tests afterwards, and we cannot entirely blame them: they are used to it. This is partly because of the old models that rule our educational system, but also because teachers are apparently ‘too used to it’, comfortable with such mechanic routines and simply do not seem to be interested in breaking the molds and take a step forward; resulting all of this in students having lost their interest in the subject. On the other hand, literature as a subject has been proven to have an undeniable amount of 11 benefits for language learners and the enhancing of their cognitive abilities; so as to work with more abstract or higher levels of reason and interpretation. Jonathan P.A. Sell, for example, states and lists them as follow: A welter of reasons for or benefits of teaching literature in the FL classroom have been proffered by a variety of authors (…) 1. Cultural enrichment. Reading literature promotes cultural understanding and awareness. 2. Linguistic model. Literature provides examples of “good” writing, linguistic diversity, expressive ranges, and so on. 3. Mental training. Better than any other discipline, literature trains the mind and sensibility. 4. Extension of linguistic competence. Literature stretches the competences of learners who have mastered the linguistic rudiments. 5. Authenticity. Literature is genuine linguistic material, not a linguistically contrived textbook. 6. Memorability. Because literature, especially poetry and songs, is memorable, it can be a memorized archive of linguistic usage. 7. Rhythmic resource. Poems assist the learner in assimilating the rhythms of a language. 8. Motivating material. Literature is more likely to engage with and motivate a learner than artificial teaching inputs because it is generated by some genuine impulse on the 12 part of the writer and deals with subjects and themes which may be of interest to the learner. 9. Open to interpretation. Because literature is open to interpretation, it can serve as a basis for “genuine interaction” between learners. (Why teach literature in the foreign language classroom?, 87) Therefore, if literature is well and effectively employed, it can overcome prejudices and become a highly motivating challenge.