EFFECTIVE USE OF LITERATURE FOR TEACHING ENGLISH IN A MULTI-

CULTURAL CLASS ROOM: A study of ‘Girls from overseas.’

Shakila Bhanu.Sk
Assistant Professor
Vignan University
Vadlamudi
Guntur Dist
bhanushakila@gmail.com

Abstract
Teaching Communicative English in today’s multicultural class room has been a
challenging task and yet provides an opportunity for both teachers and students with different
cultures to bring their enormous range of experiences, knowledge, perspectives and insights into
the learning platform. As literature reflects the cultural values and conflicts of a society in flux,
literature may become the best tool to explore and learn culture through the study of literary
text. The present paper exemplifies the same using Dalal’s ‘Girls from overseas’ as the
materials in a multi-cultured class room.

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Introduction
Communicative Language Teaching has been a dominant model for language teaching
and learning for more than three decades. CLT teachers have the general idea of what
Communicative language Teaching is and have many misconceptions how to apply it in
classrooms. In this context teaching method would become the only method what a teacher
experiences. CLT does not have any structured method for teaching and any prescribed material
for learning. Hence, it becomes a big challenge for CLT teachers especially when the classroom
becomes multicultural. Literature is the integrated part of any teaching and even more in
language teaching. Effective use of literature for language teaching depends on appropriate
methods used for teaching. However, selection of appropriate literature for multicultural
classroom language teaching is again an immense test for CLT teachers.
CLT needs innovative activities and tasks demanding the CLT teacher to frame activities
that can sustain the students’ interest in learning. As Cook (2001:89) cautions: “… however
enjoyable the class may be, however much language is provoked from the students, the teacher
always has to question whether time is being well spent; are the students, learning as much from
the activity as they would from something else?” Besides building the students interest, the
teachers’ role involves in time to time enquiring about the students progress in subject.
Necessity of literature for language teaching in class rooms
Collie and Slater (1987) raise four essential questions: Why? What? How? When? giving
following reasons why should a language teacher use literary texts in class rooms:

 Literature is a valuable authentic material because readers have to deal with

language intended for native speakers (different linguistic uses, forms and
conventions)
 Cultural enrichment. The imagined world of literature reveals thoughts, feelings,
customs, and other features of life of the country where English is spoken.
 Language enrichment. Literary texts offer many features of written language that
can broaden learners' skills.
 Personal involvement. Engaging imagination with literature helps learners to
change their attention from language system to the story itself. Sometimes the
readers are drawn into the development of the plot." The language becomes
'transparent' – the fiction summons the whole person into its own world.'“ (Collie,
Slater, 1987: 8)
Using literature as authentic and genuine samples for language teaching, selected literature has to
be used for teaching language in multicultural class rooms to create interest in students (Collie
and Slater). Selected books must be relevant to the life experiences, emotions, or dreams of
learners balancing students’ academic needs, teachers must be knowledgeable in content areas,
teaching methodologies, strategies and effective practices.
Knowing the Students’ Background Knowledge
 According to Kristina Robertson “Students need to connect with literature on three basic
levels: text to text, text to self, and self to the world.” (Accessing Students' Background
Knowledge in the ELL Classroom, Reading Rockets) Connecting to text and to self is only
possible when they connect text to their own culture.
Eliminating culture based communicative barriers
If the teacher does not know the culture of learner it may lead to communication barrier
leading to confusion and misunderstanding. “For instance, an Indian asked his Arab colleague
why he was a bachelor at the age of forty. The Arab replied innocently, “because
dowry…………” The Indian responded, ‘You should not have been so greedy’. The Arab was
upset and confused because he could not understand why his Indian friend considered him
greedy. There was a communication breakdown. Dowry for an Indian is the money that the
groom takes from the family of the bride while ‘dowry’ for an Arab the amount of ‘mehar’ that
the groom has to pay to the father of the bride.” (Rizvi Ashraf, Effective Technical
Communication, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, 2005: 19) To avoid this
communication barrier the teacher should aware of the cultural issues of his/her students. To
know cultures and customs they can make use of different means like internet, social net working
sites and books. In this circumstance literature can soundly fill the gap. If the student is provided
with some text of literature he/she can go through it and understand and can use in designed
tasks.
I would like to experiment in classroom where a selected excerpt from Nergis Dalal’s
Girls from Overseas, set in 1970s’ and based on cultural problems faced by foreign women in
India, has been used for teaching communicative language. The novel could be undoubtedly a
rich material and tool to be experimented on students having 5 foreign women – (American
Sandy, French Michelle, Canadian Louise, English Gertrude and Jane) who are all married to
Indians, having met their husbands in native countries, as recommended by Robertson Kristina.
“You can start by researching your students' native countries, cultures, and educational systems.
You may even want to study the historical figures, musical and artistic traditions, geography, and
biodiversity of these countries so that you can connect your lessons to something that the
students already know.” (Robertson Kristina, Accessing Students' Background Knowledge in the
ELL Classroom, Reading Rockets). After briefing the storyline, the selected parts of the novel
were given to First year B. Tech students consisting of different states as well as a few foreign
students.

Team activities using Selected Samples

1. “Sandy had been in India for months before she became aware the there is as much
difference between the temperate and the tropical zones as there is between night and a
day-and there is equal difference in the impact of day-to- day life on the mind. A climate,
after all, is not only a physical thing; topography is not merely so much land space;
vegetation is not just something grows out of the ground and that one eats or does not eat.
What happened in the mind was inextricably bound up with one’s physical surroundings
and the mental climate of a place could be as foreign as physical terrain.”(60)
2. “Mataji came down the stairs and was greeted deferentially by vikram who bent down to
touch her feet. He did it naturally, without any hint of self consciousness at all—manners
so deeply ingrained that no foreign education could obliterate what was bred into blood
and bone” (52)

3. “She had, of course, heard about Holi-the rainbow coloured festival celebrating springs and
youthful pranks and games of Krishna-a relic of aboriginal and a time for noise, laughter and
fun…She wanted to see, to experience everything. The drums which had been throbbing all the
night and laughter could be heard in the distance. It was well with a crowd of friends. They were
drenched with colour- hair, clothes, hands and bare feet. Faces were smudged with colour,
bearing the imprint of red or yellow palms on forehead and cheeks. They come up the drive in
noisy wavering throng, and Jane, standing on verandah steps founds. They looked like multi-
coloured fools- Holi fools-and they laughed and staggered in a way that made her think they
were drunk.” (172,173)

The above selected texts depict different aspects of Indian culture which can be well understood
by Indian students and explained to foreign pupils. As peer tutoring is proved best method for
learning culture related issues. 60 students of the I ECE – B section were formed into 8 teams
and made to sit in circles. An ample time was given to them to discuss. As there was an immense
scope to share one another’s experiences and culture augmenting friendly relation among them
and creating a chance to know one another’s cultural elements, a solid discussion was done
leading to further team - activities. After discussion the following activities were conducted
which were designed on different language forms and functions of English.

A. Vocabulary and Framing sentences

A list of words from the selected text was given for example, wavering, throng, temperate,
inextricably etc., asking them to frame sentences using the words. Students who were unfamiliar
to words were asked to guess the meaning in accordance with the text given to them. As result of
this activity, students can learn how to frame sentences and in discussion correct meanings of
unfamiliar words can be gotten.

B. Deducing Activity

The aim of this activity is to enhance the students speaking and organizing skills. It can be
conducted as inter team activity. One student of each team is sent out and identification is given
to him by his/ her own team. The identification that has given to the student should be from the
material given to them it may be name of character or thing or ritual that is discussed in it. Later
the student is called into the classroom and allowed to ask YES or NO questions to their
respective team members in order to infer his/her identity. A few question that student can form
are:

1. Am I a living thing?
2. Am I a human being?

3. Am I a male?

As the upshot of this activity students can learn how to build interrogative sentences and also
organizing skills can be improved.

C. Speaking activity

The aim of this activity is to make the students speak at least for 5 minutes on what they have
learnt so far. Each student is supplied with a slip on which his/her topic is written and topics are
obviously from selected text. Every student has to present on their own topic. This activity makes
student reflect on foreign culture. List of topics: Colourful event Holi, religious and hysterical
aspects involved in Holi, psychology and geographic region, manners and inheritance in India,
etc.,

D. Describing activity

Aim of this activity is to make them to describe the persons and things they come across
in their text. Each member is supplied with a slip the member has to give the description
of their thing/person without mentioning its name; the remaining team should identify it.
For instance if it is the character Vikram Indian, male, his physical description. As
result of this activity students learn how to describe and identify

E. Comprehensive task:

Finally a set of statements are given to every student and they need to mark them true or
false. Statements are framed from the text can test their understanding and language
skills. A few statements are as follows:

1. Holi festival falls in winter T/F

2. Manners are integrated part of inheritance. T/F

3. Tropical zones may affect moods of inhabitants T/F

Conclusion

The growing diversity in today's classrooms demands that CLT teachers be

knowledgeable, responsive, and well-prepared to work with a multicultural, multilingual student
population. To meet the needs of students from all backgrounds, CLT teachers must use a broad
array of research based strategies that support diverse modes of learning and build on what they
already know and do. The strategies presented above are especially beneficial for students who
are culturally and linguistically diverse but they also represent excellent educational practices for
all learners whether in formal or informal education programs.
References

1. Anna Lee McKennon, Strategies for Teaching Critical Thinking/Composition

Using Multicultural Contexts, Sacramento Proceedings of the CATESOL State
Conference, 2005)
2. Allison, Barbara N; Rehm, Marsha Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners in FCS
Classrooms, Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences 99, no. 2 (Apr 2007): p. 8-10 ISSN:
1082-1651
3. COLLIE, J., SLATER, S. Literature in the language classroom. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 1987, 266 p. ISBN 0-521-31224-8

4. Dalglish, C. (2002) Promoting Effective Learning in a Multicultural Classroom.

EDINEB June 2002 Mexico

5. http://www.readingrockets.org/
6. http://www.teachingliterature.org/teachingliterature/index.htm
7. http://www.teachingliterature.org/teachingliterature/index.htm
8. http://www.oaktraining.com/traininggames/listeninggames.html)

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