Well, well, this is an excellent book! The type of book I wish I had access to as a young teacher learning to teach A level. Written by Katherine Raithby and Alison Taylor and published by Routledge (the date of publication is given as 2020, curiously), this book of 250 pages provides an in depth guide to teaching literary works, a compulsory element of A level MFL since 2016. It will be a standard reference work for quite a few years to come and certainly falls into the category "must read".
The book consists of 11 chapters and six appendices. Chapter titles include: why teach literature? choosing the text; introducing the text; teaching the novel and short story; teaching the play; understanding characters; understanding themes, style and structure; writing the examination essay; sparking creative language use - before and beyond the set text. The appendices cover sources of information, lists of literary language phrases and examples of reading logs. The languages and texts referred to are from the French, German and Spanish specifications of all the examination boards.
I like a number of things about this book.
The authors draw on a rich seam of knowledge, experience and literature. The text feels like it was written by teachers with excellent research knowledge but who also fully understand the needs of practising teachers. In fact, both Katherine, a teacher trainer, taught A level French and German and Alison has been a teacher, consultant and teacher educator. The depth and detail of coverage is impressive, while the content never wanders beyond what is really useful for teachers to know. Most of the research in this field, as the authors note, comes from the world of English language Teaching, but the references chosen all relate well to the MFL world and provide some useful theoretical underpinning to a teacher's practice. I learned a lot reading this book and it will certainly add a lot to your own knowledge and skills.
Secondly, the book is filled with practical classroom ideas and strategies, clearly described and easy to implement. For example, in the chapter on characters, I liked the "Light and shade ping pong" where pairs of students or teams take turns to say something positive or negative about a character, citing from the text. I also liked the "Exploring themes" activity on page 144, a whole class task where large sheets of paper are placed around a room and students move around adding any pertinent evidence from the text. The sheets are then divided between the class and each individual, pair or group has to expand upon the information already on each sheet. Then the mini posters are displayed once more and students add further information. This then leads to written paragraph writing. There are many, many more examples I could have picked out.
Next, I really welcome the fact that the authors emphasise how important it is not to separate out "language" from "literature" in the A level curriculum. Examples are given about how to make the literature an excellent source of language for all types of exercises, whether it be translation, reading comprehension, gap-fill, or creative speaking and writing. In fact, Chapter 11 looks at how literature can be used with younger pupils as a source for creative language use, as well as reading input.
Teachers will also welcome the chapter on how to prepare for the examination essay. The "Implications for teachers" checklist at the end of the chapter is useful, as is the guidance on exam technique and practice activities. The authors are full conversant with exam board advice on essay writing, noting for example, that introductions need to be very concise and that teachers and students need to know the mark scheme inside out.
It's also worth mentioning that the authors do not neglect the less commonly taught genres (plays and short stories), devoting detailed chapters or sections to the specific requirements of these text types. The chapter on teaching the play, for example, provides a useful list of dramatic devices (p.107), examples of performance activities and how to focus on key scenes.
I enjoyed Chapter 3, about choosing texts. I have found that teachers are often unsure which texts to choose and why. This chapter takes into account the full range of factors involved in this important decision, including (I was pleased to read) the teacher's own enthusiasm for the text. Occasionally I read teachers asking other teachers for recommendations online, when, as the authors point out: "... some works of literature will be more appropriate than others for the specific circumstances of a particular class and teacher. These circumstances are known best to the individual teacher..."
To conclude, I thoroughly recommend this book to all MFL A-level teachers, whatever their level of experience. The subtitle of the book is A Teacher's Guide to Success and the brief is fulfilled. It will give you a much more profound understanding of why and how we teach literature. All departments should keep a copy in their teacher library.
The book consists of 11 chapters and six appendices. Chapter titles include: why teach literature? choosing the text; introducing the text; teaching the novel and short story; teaching the play; understanding characters; understanding themes, style and structure; writing the examination essay; sparking creative language use - before and beyond the set text. The appendices cover sources of information, lists of literary language phrases and examples of reading logs. The languages and texts referred to are from the French, German and Spanish specifications of all the examination boards.I like a number of things about this book.
The authors draw on a rich seam of knowledge, experience and literature. The text feels like it was written by teachers with excellent research knowledge but who also fully understand the needs of practising teachers. In fact, both Katherine, a teacher trainer, taught A level French and German and Alison has been a teacher, consultant and teacher educator. The depth and detail of coverage is impressive, while the content never wanders beyond what is really useful for teachers to know. Most of the research in this field, as the authors note, comes from the world of English language Teaching, but the references chosen all relate well to the MFL world and provide some useful theoretical underpinning to a teacher's practice. I learned a lot reading this book and it will certainly add a lot to your own knowledge and skills.
Secondly, the book is filled with practical classroom ideas and strategies, clearly described and easy to implement. For example, in the chapter on characters, I liked the "Light and shade ping pong" where pairs of students or teams take turns to say something positive or negative about a character, citing from the text. I also liked the "Exploring themes" activity on page 144, a whole class task where large sheets of paper are placed around a room and students move around adding any pertinent evidence from the text. The sheets are then divided between the class and each individual, pair or group has to expand upon the information already on each sheet. Then the mini posters are displayed once more and students add further information. This then leads to written paragraph writing. There are many, many more examples I could have picked out.
Next, I really welcome the fact that the authors emphasise how important it is not to separate out "language" from "literature" in the A level curriculum. Examples are given about how to make the literature an excellent source of language for all types of exercises, whether it be translation, reading comprehension, gap-fill, or creative speaking and writing. In fact, Chapter 11 looks at how literature can be used with younger pupils as a source for creative language use, as well as reading input.
Teachers will also welcome the chapter on how to prepare for the examination essay. The "Implications for teachers" checklist at the end of the chapter is useful, as is the guidance on exam technique and practice activities. The authors are full conversant with exam board advice on essay writing, noting for example, that introductions need to be very concise and that teachers and students need to know the mark scheme inside out.
It's also worth mentioning that the authors do not neglect the less commonly taught genres (plays and short stories), devoting detailed chapters or sections to the specific requirements of these text types. The chapter on teaching the play, for example, provides a useful list of dramatic devices (p.107), examples of performance activities and how to focus on key scenes.
I enjoyed Chapter 3, about choosing texts. I have found that teachers are often unsure which texts to choose and why. This chapter takes into account the full range of factors involved in this important decision, including (I was pleased to read) the teacher's own enthusiasm for the text. Occasionally I read teachers asking other teachers for recommendations online, when, as the authors point out: "... some works of literature will be more appropriate than others for the specific circumstances of a particular class and teacher. These circumstances are known best to the individual teacher..."
To conclude, I thoroughly recommend this book to all MFL A-level teachers, whatever their level of experience. The subtitle of the book is A Teacher's Guide to Success and the brief is fulfilled. It will give you a much more profound understanding of why and how we teach literature. All departments should keep a copy in their teacher library.
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