Teaching English as a foreign

Language through Friendly

Literature for Young Learners

BY: Dr. Latifah Abdullah Alharbi

1433-1434
April 2013

Copyright Latifah Abdullah Alharbi

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A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
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The author is a Vice Dean of Dariyah College of Arts and Sciences,

Qassim University. She received her PhD and Master degrees
from West Virginia University, US, specialized in Teaching
English as a second Language. She likes reading, research, and
dealing with technology.

Abstract:
Many beginner English as a Foreign Language students (FLs) and their
teachers find the use of substantial childrens literature problematic because
it is written for the native English context. When books are selected based on
perusal formulas alone, they will be crushing for beginner FLs. However,
when literature is appropriately selected for the English as Foreign Language
classroom it is an easy to use and wonderfully enjoyable resource. The
following paper reports on the parameters of appropriate literature selection
for use in oral activities with beginner FLs.
Teachers of young learners of English are often encouraged to use childrens
literature in their teaching. My overall aims in this research project were to
find out:
what types of teaching materials and resources teachers of English to young
learners claim to use and to value, and what types of teaching materials and
resources they actually use, and how they use them;
whether there is any agreement about the meaning of the term childrens
literature, particularly among those who recommend its use in the teaching of
English to young learners ;
how a sample of textbooks, guided readers and popular childrens literature
commonly used by teachers of young learners rate when considered in
relation to a range of criteria derived from a critical review of writing on
childrens literature and, in particular, good childrens literature.

1: Introduction:
Providing a suitable childrens literature for beginner English as a Foreign
Language students (FLs) is difficult. Many beginners are run over with the
amount and complexity of the English found in childrens books written for
native English contexts (Tabors, 1997; Wood & Salvetti, 2001). Few book lists
are available that address the needs of beginner English language learners and
fewer address the needs of young learners (Smallwood, 2002). Although
recent research has provided us with different criteria for selecting reading
materials for FLs as compared to English speakers, not enough work has been
done to systematically identify criteria for selection of appropriate books for
use with beginner FLs (Chamot & OMalley, 1994; Greenfield, 2004). Given the
paucity of resources addressing issues of importance to the context of
teaching beginner FLs, teachers often use readability formulas and texts
developed for English speakers in matching texts to FLs (Fry, 2002;
Greenfield, 2004).
Many childrens books have a flooding amount of complex English for a child
in the initial stages of learning English. Children books are often written to
expose English speaking children to poems and art, to reading, and to
narrative language. These purposes are conflicting with the needs of the
earliest beginner in English (Lado & Daly, 2004). Using literature with beginners presents some challenges. However, many teachers like teaching with
childrens literature. They either develop appropriate EFL activities that
intercede between the language of the books and the language proficiency of
the students, or they find books with simple English that match the students
proficiency. Teachers are challenged in several ways when using literature
that is beyond the capability of their students.

Statement of the Problems and Aims: 1-1

The main objective of this section is to illustrate the distinction between
criteria used to select childrens books for teaching FLs and criteria used to
select books for native English speakers. Pertinent criteria for selecting books

to teach oral English to beginner FLs concentrates around features of

comprehensible language, topics, and styles.
Since this subject covers specialized studies in several different fields, there
are many questions yet to be answered such as:
1. What are the different ways in which childrens literature in English can
be defined, and how is it generally conceptualized by educationalists ?
2. What are the characteristics of linguistic differences between literature that
is intended primarily for children for whom English is a first language and
literature that is intended primarily for children for whom English is second
language?
3. What are the professional and language backgrounds of a sample of
teachers of young learners of English , what are their beliefs about their own
teaching context and what materials and resources do they use in their
teaching?
4. What can educationalists learn from childrens literature that can be
applied to the design of teaching materials for young learners of English?

1-2 Research methodology:

In prospection to answer Questions 1 and 2 (see section 1.2 above), I critically
reviewed a selection of writing about childrens literature by educationalists
from other countries (see Literature Review, in the same page).
In relation to Question 3, I conducted a survey of a random sample of six
teachers of young learners of English, using a self-completion questionnaire
that I designed and trailed specifically for the purpose.
Question 4 emerges out of the other questions and requires a response that
relates to the responses to the other questions. My response to question
therefore involves a summary and discussion of the findings of the research as
a whole (see Recommendations, pages16/17).

1-3 Data collection:

Data were collected through a questionnaire. Six teachers were selected. Their
learners were between 6 and 10 years of age. They were chosen randomly.
Additionally, five reports in the same topic were viewed.

1-4 Defining childrens literature:

Definitions of childrens literature can be assigned to three broad categories
(intended audience; purpose; style/quality), the second of which includes
three sub-categories (entertainment; entertainment and information;
sympathy). Although, in terms of overall sympathies, the majority of
definitions fall into one of these categories and sub-categories, some include
aspects of more than one of them.
The most commonly revolving contemporary definition of childrens
literature is one that concentrates on meant audience. For many writers,
childrens literature is simply a body of texts that is intended for a particular
readership, that is, children, children being defined loosely in terms of a range
of socio-cultural and individual characteristics (see, for example, Galda &
Cullinan, 2002; Hunt, 1996; Lesnik- Oberstein, 1999; McDowell, 1973;
Weinreich & Bartlett, 2000). Also common are definitions of childrens
literature that focus on purpose. That purpose is sometimes seen in terms of
both information and entertainment (see, for example, Norton, 1999;
Tomlinson & Lynch-Brown, 1996/2002; Winch, Johnson, March, Ljungdahl &
Holliday, 2004); sometimes, however, entertainment alone is the critical
definitional feature, the emphasis generally being on works belonging tothe
narrative genre (see, for example, Ghosn, 2002; Hollindale, 1997). Less often,
definitions that relate primarily to purpose focus on empathy, childrens
literature being classified as literature that is designed to help children to
understand, and emphasize with, the world views and experiences of others,
including other children (see, for example, Huck, Helper, Hickman & Kiefer,
2001; Saxby, 1997; Tomlinson & Lynch-Brown, 1996/2002). Finally, there are
those who believe that childrens literature should be defined in terms of style
and quality (see, for example, Lukens, 1995).

1-5 EFL-Friendly Features of Books:

Another modification is the topic. The most popular topics of childrens books
involve animals, both fictional and non-fictional. Often the topic is inconsistent
with the needs of beginners because of their need for impressionability in
order to comprehend the input. They may be of a different age, background,
and literacy ability than that assumed by the author. Again, using the example
of wordless, some cover abstract topics, others tell elaborate stories
drenched in cultural assumptions, and so on. Finally, in terms of topic, in the
EFL settings, cultural knowledge cannot be assumed. There are educational
programs which promote learning of another culture without addressing
language, and these programs use books with culture or multiculturalism as a
topic. In other programs, a teacher must decide whether learning an
unfamiliar culture will slow down the goal of competency with learning the
language forms.
Dealing with topics brings us to the issue of student ages. With English
speakers, it can be assumed that those learning oral skills are kids and that
those dealing with learning to read are 1st graders. Therefore, many
childrens books focusing on oral language development also focus on topics
of interest to a kid audience. But beginners in English are most often schoolaged and not kids. In addition, school programs vary greatly in their goals and
speed. In one program, children may move beyond a beginner level in a short
time, while in another program, a student may remain a beginner for years.
In addition to language and topic issues, teachers of beginners use a distinct
style of English that provides inclusive extra-linguistic support. Books that are
compatible with providing extra linguistic support are easier with beginners.
Some books provide illustrations that give this extra support. Others provide
it through repetition, or an interactive style. Different styles of literature
provide for different levels of difficulty. For example, a book with a repetitive
question-and-answer style can be used easily with call and response chanting;
a book with action verbs is compatible with Total Physical Response TPR; a
tiny, lift-the-flap book, with one-on-one tutoring. The style of a book may
make a book easier or more difficult, given a childs background. Children
unfamiliar with storytelling conventions may find a straightforward, fiction
book more accessible.
While a teacher can adjust jointly to the language, topic, and style needed by a
child in any one stage, it is rare to find a book in which every feature is

perfectly matched to a particular beginning stage. Therefore, in devising a

system for selecting books based on proficiency stages, we determine the
levels of each feature (language, topic, and style) and add teacher judgment.
An overall rating of a book needs to be based on a combination of these as
they best relate to the instructional setting.
The descriptions include relevant information about a books language
features, topic, and style considerations, combined with salient educational
features. This system of finding EFL-friendly books can be replicated with
other books.

1-6 Samples of EFL-Friendly Books:

One problem in developing systematic book selection criteria for beginner FLs
stems from the extraordinary variation of this population. Despite this
variation, these students have characteristics in common which distinguish
them from native English speakers. Beginner of FLs are unfamiliar with the
story itself and are unable to decipher extended discourse (Lado, 1988). Their
active and passive vocabularies are of comparatively similar size, unlike
native English speakers whose passive knowledge is much larger than their
active vocabularies (Laufer & Paribakht, 1998). They understand books
matched to their speaking ability. The language in many childrens books is
unfamiliar (Chamot & OMalley, 1994). This overwhelming amount of English
is simply listened to for overall features rather than decipherable chunks
(Tabors, 1997).
Teachers deal with the mismatch between the English of childrens books and
the abilities of beginner FLs in several ways. Teachers use specialized
language, adjusted in amount, familiarity, complexity, and slowness. They
complement it with extra linguistic supports such as indication and
armatures. They conduct guided practice until students are able to practice
independently.
Teachers approach this mediation task by using childrens books in two ways.
One approach is for the teacher to develop supplemental instructional
activities for mediation. For example, a teacher may record an audio tape at a
slower reading rate or write a repetitive chant to teach the essential