Teaching English literature in the context of English as a Lingua Franca

532 TEACHING ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE CONTEXT OF ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) ABSTRACT English is taught in classes of all levels in the Vietnamese educational system. At tertiary level, English literature, as a theoretical subject, is an obligatory course in most English Departments teaching students majoring in English due to the inextricable link between literature and language. The incorporating of literature into teaching language becomes intriguing when English adopts its role as a lingua franca (ELF), a means of communication among people of different mother tongues and cultural backgrounds. The study aims at exploring the perceptions of six Vietnamese teachers of English literature from five major universities in Hochiminh City by using unstructured interview, which focuses on two main aspects namely, their awareness of ELF as well as their evaluation of its status in Vietnam, which altogether contributes to their teaching philosophy and practice of English Literature courses. Results show that despite their appreciation of ELF, English is considered a foreign language (EFL) rather a lingua franca in the Vietnamese context. However, a number of concepts associated with ELF, which the participants value, have influenced their teaching in terms of material selection, class activities except for assessment where the native speaker norms concerning language use is respected. (199 words) Keywords: English Literature teaching, English as a Foreign Language, English as a Lingua Franca, teacher‘s perceptions, teachers‘ practice. 1. INTRODUCTION English Literature, either British or American Literature, is an obligatory subject in any curriculum of the English Department at tertiary level in Vietnam and other countries, where English is used either as a native or non-native language. And yet, in countries where English is a non- native language, the question whether literature in English should be taught as a discipline for its own sake, as an end in its own right, an object of study or as a resource, a means to language learning has been a controversial issue among language teachers. However, since the early 1980s more and more scholars such as Widdowson (1975), Brumfit and Carter (1986), Carter and Long (1991), Duff and Maley (1991) have advocated for the integration of literature in foreign language (FL) teaching. Other educational experts chimed in, highlighting the advantages of teaching literature in the foreign language classroom (Parkinson and Reid Thomas, 2000, p. 9-11, Lazar, 1993, p. 15-9, Ur (1996), cited in Sell, p. 87, 2005). As a matter of fact, literary courses have been widely acknowledged for their contribution to language learning and teaching and that is the reason why English Literature courses have become an integral part in the training program of the English Department or Faculty of most universities in countries where English is a foreign language (FL) such as Vietnam. On the other hand, arguments against teaching literature in FL teaching were raised in the midst of the dominant trend of the Communicative Approach with the shift towards the use of English for communication. The reading and analysis of a foreign literary piece, for example a novel, which is rather long, full of words, with well-formed sentences in a kind of figurative language, is considered boring and even useless to those who have the need to communicate with native English 533 speakers such as Englishmen or Americans in a business deal or in everyday life activities. Recently, it becomes more acute when English is moving toward its position as a lingua franca, which is a common means of communication among people of different mother tongues, not native English speakers. The debate concerning whether literature should be taught in English classrooms and how the teaching of English literature should be modified for better adaptation to the current situation of English as a lingua franca (ELF henceforth) is all the more complicated. It is undeniable that literature courses are indispensable in the training program of English majors in universities, and yet with the rising of ELF and the supportive role of literature in language teaching, it is expected that literature teaching should be redefined. Nevertheless, whether such a process could be realized and how it would happen is quite an issue for consideration. In such a context, the perception towards the new role of English is vital to the teachers‘ practice of introducing English Literature to students majoring in English. However, the problem is whether the teachers in charge of English literary courses are aware of the new trend as well as ready to make changes. For this reason, this article is an initial step to explore how the Vietnamese teachers in charge of English Literature courses think about the new role of English as a lingua franca, their attitude towards ELF and whether there is any influence on their teaching. In the current study, ―English Literature‖ is used as the umbrella term for the literature written in English, regardless of the authors‘ nationality, either British or American. The study is guided by the following research question: What are the perceptions of Vietnamese teachers in charge of English Literature courses regarding ELF and its impact on their teaching? 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. English as a lingua franca The popularity of English which started with the growing of the British Empire in the 19 th century and later on with the rise of the US as a world power in the 20 th century has made English become the language that is used the most used in international transactions. The number of people using English in communication has rapidly increased. Kachru‘s three-circle model has prompted Seidlhofer (2004, cited in Curran and Chern, 2017) to claim that the users of English as a foreign language are making a profound impact on how English is evolving today. English is considered ―an international standard of spoken English, to be used as a means of international communication‖1 , a global language or the international lingua franca. What is important about ELF is the view that the native speaker use of English is no longer the model to be imitated and to be measured against as in the traditional framework of English as a foreign language (EFL) which considers any deviants from the norms set by native speakers as errors to be avoided. 2.2. Literature teaching versus language teaching Literature has been a discipline for its own for a very long time in human history. It involves exploring literary works within an academic, institutionalized setting for purposes of obtaining literature competence and qualifications in literary studies. In this way, literature is considered as separate to other branches in the academic circle though its relationship with foreign language training was rather close during the heyday of Grammar Translation Method in language teaching. In the early 1980s, there was a strong theoretical undercurrent advocating for the use of literature as a resource in language teaching. Literature was then viewed in its connection with language as ―a promising tool‖ for language learning purposes 1 David Crystal , “The Future of Englishes,” English Today, 58 (April 1999) 534 (Dang, 2011). Despite the fact that there are opinions against the integration of literature in foreign language classrooms, literature courses are extensively offered in foreign language departments, especially in classes of English major students with the application of the Language-based approach. As English has gained the status of an international language, a lingua franca which focuses on intelligibility among the speakers rather than following the norms set by the native speaker, nativeness should be disregarded in English language teaching and consequently, the role of literature as resources for language practice is then inevitably questioned. It is worth considering that the goal of ELF is communication and a lot of studies have been devoted to English teaching in general and the perceptions as well as practice of those who teach English language skills concerning ELF. English Literature is a theoretical subject and yet due to its supportive role in language teaching, the teachers in charge of English literary courses are very likely to be involved in introducing ELF to their students. However, little or even no interest has been given to this population. It is not clear if the Vietnamese teachers of English literature who are currently teaching English major students are aware of ELF and whether they are for or against it, which could be reflected in their practice. Consequently, it is necessary to conduct such an exploration for empirical evidence for further study into the matter. 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1. Research design As the study was an exploration of the teachers‘ perceptions of a newly introduced concept, it was expected to be more productive for the adoption of the qualitative method. In this particular case of a limited scope, both in terms of sampling and contents, unstructured interview was the appropriate tool. The interviews pivoted on what the teacher participants had in mind about ELF and on the influence of the shift from English as a foreign language to English as a lingua franca, which has been reflected in their practice by means of a number of factors such as choice of literary texts, class activities, assessment. No specific questions were designed and the interviewees were free to talk about the two main issues and were interrupted only for clarification or confirmation of incoherent or vague ideas. No fixed time length was set and the interviews ranged from 15 minutes to half an hour; four participants agreed to have the interviews recorded and the other two preferred written notes. Code switching of English and Vietnamese was used during the interviews for a relaxing and friendly atmosphere where the speakers were free to express themselves comfortably. 3.2. Participants Six Vietnamese teachers in charge of teaching English Literature from five prestigious universities in Hochiminh City, namely University of Social Sciences & Humanities- HCMC, University of Agriculture & Forestry, University of Pedagogy-HCMC, Hochiminh City University of Technology and Education, and Sai Gon University, were invited to participate in the study. Two participants came from the first institution and one from each of the other four. These universities have the English Department or Faculty teaching English major students and offer at least one course of English Literature. All of the participants are experienced teachers with one of them specializes in American Literature while the rest teach both British and American Literature, and in the current study, they were encoded from T1 to T6, but not in the order of the universities listed above. All of them hold M.A. degree in TESOL but have taught Literature in English for at least five years. 535 3.3. Data analysis Due to the nature of the instrument employed, the contents of the interviews were transcribed and analyzed and the answers were grouped on the basis of the two main issues in consideration, i.e. the teachers‘ perceptions of English as a lingua franca and the impact that those perceptions had on the way they conducted the course. Irrelevant information presented in the transaction was excluded. 4. RESULTS & DISCUSSION 4.1. Results Regarding the teachers‘ perceptions of ―lingua franca‖ in general and ―English as a lingua franca‖ in particular, various responses were collected. T1 said she has heard the term ‗lingua franca‘ several times and yet did not pay much attention to it because in her opinion English, for the time being in Vietnam, was considered as a foreign language rather than a lingua franca due to the fact that only in big cities where a small number of universities have foreign students and teachers of different nationalities that English can play the role of a lingua franca. Except for T4 who had no idea about a lingua franca, the others including T2, T3, T5 and T6 believed that the use of English as a lingua franca was still limited in the Vietnamese setting and therefore not yet a lingua franca in Vietnam at the moment As for the impact of the role of ELF on the teaching of literature in English, despite the unanimous response that English is not yet a lingua franca in Vietnam but rather as a foreign language - EFL, most teacher participants were aware of the role of literature in language teaching. They believed that literary texts would help provide students with the cultural knowledge, the humanistic values which all humans can share besides the knowledge about literature, namely the elements of fiction, versification, author‘ biography, etc. Another purpose of English literature teaching was to help improve the students‘ linguistic performance. As English has become a means of communication among people of different cultural backgrounds, different mother tongues, it had some influence on the choice of literary texts to be taught in class. Apart from mainstream authors, African American, Irish, Latino and emigrant authors of Asian origin were included in the syllabuses in the hope that different cultural aspects in the works would help Vietnamese students visualize a richer world through literature, a multicultural world. Likewise, the English used by non-mainstream authors would hopefully give the students an idea about how the English language that people of different mother tongues used to convey their thoughts could be. Though admitting that ELF was not actually in full force in Vietnam, the teachers were conscious of the communication function of language and the role of literature in facilitating language learning through communicative activities like role play, summarizing the plot, rewriting the story. As for assessment, 10% to 20% of the total score was allocated for language use because in the teachers‘ view, despite the focus on literary appreciation, interference caused by grammatical mistakes or misuse of vocabularies should not be tolerant in the case of English major students. 4.2. Discussion The purpose of this study was to explore the way Vietnamese teachers of English Literature perceived the concepts associated with English as a lingua franca and how the change of English in terms of its new role as a lingua franca had an impact on the way they conducted the lesson. As the instrument employed was unstructured interview, the results collected showed the disparity among the six participants‘ views on the same issues implied in a variety of details. However, there was a consensus among the participants about the status of English in the Vietnamese setting. The results of the study might be a starting point for a more thorough investigation into the use of ELF in Vietnam and consequently the teaching and learning of English. 536 4.2.1. Teachers’ awareness of the new role of English in the expanding circle As all the participants are living in the most dynamic city of Hochiminh City with millions of tourists coming from all corners of the world, with a large network of expatriates who use English as a common means of communication, five out of six were aware of ELF though the level of interest varied from one person to another. It can be said that they were kept current with new developments in the field of teaching and learning English. 4.2.2. Teachers’ support for ELF concepts In concurrence with what Curran and Chern (2017) found in their study with pre-service English teachers in Taiwan, the participants in the current study were supportive of a number of ELF principles, such as the use of English for real life communication as the most important goal, the preference of teaching materials relating to the cultures other than that of native speakers only, the exposure to various accents because of the higher chance of communicating with non-native speakers of English than native English speakers. They also advocated for the idea that the students should be aware of the differences between people from diverse cultural backgrounds and share their own cultural traditions and practices. 4.2.3. Teachers’ perception of the status of English in Vietnam. Despite the strong support for ELF and confirmation that it would be the language to be taught in English classes, the teacher participants were hesitant in claiming that ELF was in real practice in Vietnam but then unanimously admitted that English was still considered a foreign language in the Vietnamese settings. Although there have been a number of research on the practice of ELF in academic settings, it seemed not to be the case in the academic institutions involved in the current study. 4.2.4. Impact of ELF on the teaching of English in Vietnam Despite their awareness of the new role of English as a lingua franca and agreed with most of the principles associated with it, they believed that English was still considered a foreign language, not yet ELF and consequently the question on the impact of the role of ELF on the teaching of English was still pending. 4.2.5. Teacher’s practice under the impact of ELF in teaching English Literature The teachers have made some changes in the way literary texts were presented, which could be found in three categories as follows. Teaching materials: Instead of focusing only on classical works of British and American authors, some of the teachers have included works written by non-native or non-mainstream authors. The rationale was that once different cultures were introduced to students, they would be exposed to a diversified environment and be aware of the differences and become tolerant with the new or strange things that they might face in the future. Besides, the language in those literary pieces was deemed to be a kind of English that people in Kachru‘s expanding circle would find familiar or comfortable with. Class activities: The teachers were fully conscious of their task in incorporating literature into language teaching. Communicative activities such as role play, discussion and oral presentation were practiced in class for the sake of language function of interpersonal communication. Literary texts were then used as resources for teaching reading skill and the follow-up activity of summarizing, rewriting the story would improve students‘ writing skill. All of this showed that the teachers were oriented towards the goal of communication, which was the principle of both EFL and ELF. 537 Assessment: As the study was set in an academic setting where English Literature was a core subject in the curriculum, assessment is a must in the discussion of such an issue and the participants inadvertently showed their attachment to the long standing belief concerning evaluation from the EFL perspective. 4.2.6. Teachers’ attachment to EFL perspective Assessment was a salient point where different views towards ELF would be revealed because language accuracy, which is judged by the norms set by native speakers, is vital to EFL test takers whereas it does not receive much consideration from ELF users. According to major ELF pioneers such as Jenkins, Seidlhofer, in an EFL framework ―the native speaker is no longer held up as the standard for students to emulate, and be measured against.‖ (Curran and Chern, 2017, p.138). The participants in the current study explicitly stated that the norms of native speakers should be respected although there was some tolerance for minor mistakes. The rubric for assessing oral or written tasks in their literature class included language use or language accuracy, which accounted for from 10% to 20% of the total score. Some of them did not mention the percentage but clearly stated that a deduction would be made for violation of grammar rules, mispronunciation, wrong choice of words. Thus it could be said that while they were supportive towards ELF, the literature teachers had a tendency to stick to the native-speaker model in assessing their students‘ assignments. One explanation was that the students involved in this study were English majors who were expected to be as native-like as possible because many of them would be English teachers. To the Vietnamese people, English teachers are supposed to use standard English, either American or British English, and any deviations from the norms they make will be judged as unqualified for their teaching job. Another explanation was that when mistakes of grammar or mispronunciations were purposedly ignored by the teachers, it would be considered as a sign of irresponsibility by their students or parents. Thus it could be said that it would take some time or even a long time for both the Vietnamese teachers and students to become familiar with ELF and feel comfortable in practicing it in class, especially in the circumstance when international standardized tests still adhere to the standard written English. 5. CONCLUSION There is no question about the rising of ELF in language teaching in the context of the growing number of people of different cultural backgrounds, different mother tongues using English to communicate with one another. Once the term lingua franca is labeled to English, it means that the language is no longer the property of the English people or American people or those who speak it as the mother tongue only. For that reason, there are a number of English varieties and in the view of those who have advocated for ELF they all have equal values. However, a number of studies on ELF have been conducted and despite some disparity, the results show that there is one thing in common among the studies that there is a mixed reaction among the non-native English teachers or practitioners. The participants are supportive to ELF but still attach to the standard teaching model of British or American English. The current study explored the perceptions of a group of six Vietnamese teachers of English Literature of the role of English as a lingua franca. The purpose of the study was neither to advocate nor to reject ELF but to fathom the mind of the teachers about their awareness as well as attitude towards ELF, which would be reflected in their practice as the impact of their perceptions towards the new role of English. The results were similar to what other researchers in Taiwan and Japan have found. The participants were aware of ELF as well as supportive to the concepts associated with it and yet they believed English was in fact a foreign language in Vietnam due to the scope of use and the attachment to native speaker norms, which is still dominant in academic setting in Vietnam. However, their interest in ELF had some influence on their teaching of English Literature, which could be considered a starting point for an advancement of ELF in Vietnamese universities. 538 REFERENCES [1] Curran, J.E., Chern, C. (2017). Pre-service English teachers‘ attitudes towards English as lingua franca. Teacher and Teacher Education. 66 (2017) 137e146. www.elsevier.com/locate/tate [2] Dang, N.A.C., (2011). Teaching literature to English majors at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities-Hochiminh city: An integrated approach. Unpublished Master‘s Thesis, University of Social Sciences & Humanities – Vietnam National University HCMC. [3] McKay, S.L. (2001). 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