TOPIC 16: La literatura infantil en lengua inglesa.

Técnicas de aplicación didáctica para acceder a la comprensión

oral, iniciar y potenciar los hábitos lectores y sensibilizar en la función poética del lenguaje.

When we deal with literature specifically targeted to children, the following are some general characteristics.

 The story generally has children as protagonists and it does not contain adult themes that can be
inappropriate for children.

 They are relatively short and contain illustrations.

 The language used is simple and direct and the story is plot-oriented with more dialogue and events and
fewer descriptions.

 They also have elements of fantasy and adventure and have a happy ending, in which good triumphs over
evil.

Having exposed these general features, we can mention some types of texts that have been used traditionally for
educational purposes in the English class.

 Books for adults with an appropriate topic for children.

 Illustration books.
 Adaptations and short versions of classic stories.
 Poems and nursery rhymes: simple poetic pieces with common language that foster children's
imagination.
 Educational books that suit the official curriculum.
 Folk material, such as
o Legends and myths, performed by humans or animals.
o Fables, that normally have a moral ending.
o Fairy tales, which are traditional tales transmitted orally.

Most of these texts were not specifically written for children. It wasn't until the second half of the 18th century
when children literature emerged as an independent form, because at that time books became cheaper and there
was a higher concern about education. From that moment, literature has been given the importance it deserves,
and it has become one of the most relevant and successful tools in education.

3. (T16). EVOLUTION OF CHILDREN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH.

In this part of the essay, I am going to develop a historical overview on children literature, putting a special
emphasis on stories for children and to those that have been traditionally used for educational purposes.
 During the time of the Anglo-Saxons, we can highlight some heroic poems like Beowulf, which were written in
old English and transmitted orally for centuries.

 During the Middle Age, most of the population were illiterate, since education were given very little
importance, especially in the case of the worker class and children. However, some books gave a good
description of the atmosphere and customs of that time.

o Books for adults, like 'Canterbury Tales ' by Chaucer or 'Aesop's Fables'.
 The Renaissance supposed a renewed interest in arts and culture. Some important authors were the
following.

o William Caxton, who introduced the printing process in England, and translated many foreign stories,
like the fable 'Reynard the fox'.
o Comenius who wrote the first illustration book for children, a kind of dictionary or short encyclopaedia
called 'Orbis Sensualium Pictus'.
o And above any other writer, we need to emphasize William Shakespeare, who is one the most
significant figures of English literature. His theatrical plays, like 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Hamlet' or 'Macbeth'
are famous world-wide and they are considered master pieces.
  The 17th century was characterized by puritanism. Literature was not understood as a source of
pleasure, but as a tool for educating people. Folk tales and legends were replaced by religious stories. Some
books of that time which can be appropriate for children are the following: 'A token for children' by Janeway.;
‘Thoughts concerning education' by Locke and 'A little pretty pocket book' by Newbery.

 In the first half of the 18 th Century, there was a transition from adult books to children literature.
Books were still written from the perspective of the adults, but at least, the novel appeared, casting
youngsters who lived adventures. That kind of stories were very appealing for children. Some of them are:
'Robinson Crusoe' by Defoe; 'Tom Jones' by Fielding and 'Gulliver travels' by Swift.

 In the second half of the 18th Century, The Victorian Age happened. This is probably the most prolific time
concerning British literature. It was characterized by morals, but some authors escaped from the suffocating
atmosphere of the society using satires, irony or fantasy. Besides, American Literature emerged.
Two of the most recognized writers were:
o Oscar Wilde: 'The picture of Dorian Gray' and 'The happy prince'.
o Charles Dickens, who wrote 'Oliver Twist' and 'A Christmas Carol'.
Other important stories are 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland' by Carroll; 'Peter Rabbit stories' by
Beatrix Potter; 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by Baum; 'Tom Sawyer' by Mark Twain; 'Little Women' by
Alcott; 'The Treasure Island' by Stevenson and 'The jungle book' by Kipling.
In addition, many traditional stories and tales were recalled, written and translated at that time. Some authors
were:
o Perrault: ‘Cinderella’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.
o Grimm Brothers: ‘Snow White’, ‘Hansel and Gretel’.
o Andersen: ‘The ugly duckling’, ‘The little Mermaid’.

 During the 20th Century, there was a huge proliferation of children books, which became more
accessible and more valued. [Children] literature is nowadays much more varied. We can analyse that variety
considering three aspects.
o Concerning content, new genres became successful (science fiction or detective books).
o Regarding form: flap-books, comics or interactive books appeared.

o In terms of age, books started to be specifically directed to concrete age ranges.

In addition, we can also highlight a strong and reciprocal influence between [children] literature and other
forms of art, especially with the growing visual media. Hence, books were connected to comics, films,
cartoons or video-games.

Some influential stories and series of books for children and youngsters in this century are: 'The lord of the
rings' by Tolkien; 'Narnia Chronicles' by Lewis; 'Peter Pan' by Barrie; 'Winnie the Pooh' by Milne; and 'Harry
Potter' by Rowling.

I would like to finish this part of the essay pointing out that the books and authors presented are just an example of
some important literary works from English speaking countries. They can serve as a source for further work, using
just some fragments or characters from them.
Nowadays there are a myriad of books that have been explicitly written for fitting the educational curriculum, so we
can choose many different options applying a clear criterion when selecting them.
4. (T16) TECHNIQUES FOR USING CHILDREN LITERATURE IN THE ENGLISH CLASS.

As I said before, the first aspect to consider is the selection of an appropriate book. In order to do so, we must take
into account the following traits.
 Students' age, needs and interests.
 The linguistic and stylistic level of difficulty of the books.
 The background information that is needed to know in order to understand the story.
 The potential for follow-up activities.
 If the book presents its original version or if it has been adapted for children. In this sense, although authentic
books incorporate real language, adapted versions have to be chosen in many cases to make the reading
possible.

Once teachers have chosen the most appropriate book for the lessons, we need to take advantage of it. Now, I will
present some techniques and principles depending on the main goal to achieve.
 Development of oral and written comprehension.

o For this purpose, teachers can use several techniques like reciting rhymes, playing reading games,
storytelling or using drama activities like role-plays and simulations.

o According to Stovall, we must incorporate top-down and bottom-up strategies to promote both
intensive and extensive comprehension. These strategies include: predicting what is coming next, extracting
specific information, getting the global idea, inferring opinions and attitudes, deducing meanings from the
context and recognizing discourse patterns and markers.

o Other interesting guidelines to take into consideration for developing oral and written
comprehension are the following.

 Activities must be contextualized in situations close to the students' interests, realities and
previous experiences.

 The main goals and the kind of response must be explained in advance, making students aware
of what is expected from them during the activity;

 Teachers must use visual clues to facilitate understanding, such as presentations, flashcards,
videos or non-verbal communication.

 I would also suggest to take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies, such as
interactive activities on a digital smartboard, in order to promote motivation and the digital competence.

 The second main goal is the promotion of reading habits.

o This aim is really important, as reading is a process that promotes the acquisition of linguistic
structures, but it also improves children's imagination and creativity. This fosters the development of
mental cognitive processes that support learning, contributing the overall maturation of the students.

o In order to foster reading habits, we can use several techniques and activities: story-telling,
drama activities or visiting the school library. Besides, I personally think that it would be very beneficial to
set up a reading corner and a classroom library, which will encourage the children to read autonomously
both in the classroom and at home, so they can understand that reading is a tool for learning but also a
source of pleasure.

o For both kind of receptive abilities (reading and listening), we can apply a scheme presented by
Alburquerque. It is composed by three phases.
 During the pre-listening/reading stage teachers introduce the topic and create some expectations,
presenting key words of the vocabulary and preparing the students for further work.
 In the while-listening/reading stage students will use several strategies to get general and specific
information from the text (skimming and scanning), and teachers will make a special emphasis on the
linguistic items of the lesson.
 Finally, the post-listening/reading stage is focused on checking comprehension, and on the
consolidation and extension of the contents, mainly by connecting them to previous knowledge and to
the rest of skills.

 Another relevant goal is the introduction of the poetic function of the language. Students need to be aware
of the fact that language can be used for various purposes. According to Jakobson, [there are seven main
functions: referential, expressive, conative, phatic, metalinguistic, performative and] poetic. The former one
makes reference to the use of language with aesthetic purposes, so it implies focusing on both content and
form.
 Literature is probably the best way to appreciate the poetic function, as it is full of literary figures and stylistic
effects such as metaphors, comparisons and hyperbole. In addition, books for children should reinforce the
artistic awareness, since they are normally supported by colourful and attractive illustrations.
 The last objective I would like to analyze is the inclusion of socio-cultural aspects of English speaking
countries. [Children] literature allows us to incorporate some knowledge about traditional characters and
stories, habits, customs, famous places, festivities or traditions. This promotes inter-cultural awareness and
the promotion of several key competences (personal, social and learning to learn, citizenship and cultural
awareness and expression). This aspect is also justified from the point of view of the current legislation, since
the Decree 61/2022 incorporates a block of contents that deals with inter-culturalism.
[Tomalin and Stempleski offered a number of reasons for introducing socio-cultural components in the
English class.
o Understanding conventional behaviours and how they are conditioned by the culture;
o discovering how social factors like age, gender or origin influence speaking;
o learning cultural connotations of certain words;
o getting information about the target countries;
o and creating curiosity and empathy towards English countries and language.]

Closely related to this issue, I would like to highlight that the use of literature is in accordance to the basis of the
Universal Design for Learning approach (UDL), specifically mentioned in LOMLOE and supported by several
pedagogues such as Meyer and Rose. It makes special emphasis on variety and flexibility, giving all students an
equal opportunity to succeed. It is based on the following main principles.

 Representation: presenting contents in a variety of ways and.

 Action and expression: giving children more than one way to interact and work with the materials and to
show what they learn.

 Engagement: stimulating and sustaining motivation and effort among pupils.

Following the principles of this approach, teachers should set up contextualized, meaningful and constructivist tasks
which imply the use of key and specific competences by the students, this is to say, the implementation of learning
situations.

They must be based on students’ interests and previous experiences, must require active participation and oral
exchanges and may require different groupings. In order to do so, literature, together with other methodological
resources such as songs, games, drama activities, group work, projects, the use of ICTs and self-access corners
would be useful for the purpose of setting up meaningful learning situations.

In this part of the essay I have presented a number of techniques and principles for developing several goals
through literature. But above all of them, we have to bear in mind that the global aim in Primary Education is the
development