Exploring EFL literature approaches in Dutch secondary education

Figures & data

Table 1. Organisation of FL curricula in Dutch secondary education.

National Exam: year 6 (50% of final mark)	School Exams: years 4, 5, and 6 (50% of final mark)
Reading skills (expository texts)	Reading skills
	Writing skills
	Listening skills
	Speaking skills
	Literature

Figure 1. Paran's (2008) quadrant of the intersection of literature and language teaching.

Table 2. A selection of categorisations of FL literature teaching approaches.

Littlewood (1986)	1st level: language as a system of structures 2nd level: language as a specific stylistic variety 3rd level: language as the expression of superficial subject matter 4th level: language as the symbolisation of the author's vision 5th level: literary work as part of literary history or of the author's biography
Sage (1987)	The educational value The linguistic importance The cultural value
Carter and Long (1991)	The Language Model The Cultural Model The Personal Growth Model
Lazar (1993)	A language-based approach Literature as content Literature for personal enrichment
Parkinson and Reid Thomas (2000)	1st reason: cultural enrichment 2nd reason: rhetoric 4th reason: language difficulty 5th reason: authenticity and genuine samples 6th reason: literary language is memorable 7th: assimilation of language rhythm 8th reason: non-trivial motivator
Maley and Duff (2007)	Linguistic factors Cultural factors Personal growth factors
Van (2009)	Approach 1: New Criticism Approach 2: Structuralism Approach 3: Stylistics Approach 4: Reader Response Approach 5: Language-Based Approach 6: Critical Literacy
Divsar and Tahriri (2009)	Language-based Literature as content or culture Literature as personal growth or enrichment
Nance (2010)	Cross-cultural understanding and ethical engagement Critical thinking Intellectual exploration Unique language benefits
Barrett, Paesani, and Vinall (2010)	Literary analysis Stylistics Culture

Table 3. Four approaches to FL literature education.

FL Literature education
The study of literature Focus: the literary text		The use of literature as a resource Focus: the student
Text Approach	Context Approach	Reader Approach	Language Approach

Table 4. Detailed overview of the four FL literature teaching approaches.

	Initial elements (summarised)	Dutch Core Curriculum Standards for FL Literature	Common European Framework Reference (CEFR)
Text approach	Literary terminology Recognising text types Distinguishing text types Storyline Character development Who, what and where	The student can recognise and distinguish literary text types and can use literary terms when interpreting literary texts	B1 level: relate the plot of book or film and describe reactions in a sustained monologue B2 level: following established conventions of the genre concerned in creative writing B2 level: understand contemporary literary prose C1 level: appreciating distinctions of style in long and complex factual and literary texts
Context approach	Literary periods Literary history Historical aspects of a literary work Cultural aspects of a literary work Social and societal aspects of a literary work Information about the author Biographical aspects of a literary work	The student can give an overview of the main events of literary history and can place the studied works in this historic perspective	B2 level: understand contemporary literary prose
Reader approach	Reading pleasure Student's personal reaction Critically report on reading experiences Critical thinking skills	The student can report about his/her reading experiences of at least three literary works with clear arguments	B1 level: relate the plot of book or film and describe reactions in a sustained monologue B2 level: understand contemporary literary prose
Language approach	English linguistic aspects in a literary text Making reading miles to improve language skills English vocabulary in a literary text		B1 level: relate the plot of book or film and describe reactions in a sustained monologue B2 level: understand contemporary literary prose

Table 5. Teacher demographics.

Gender	Male (30%)	Female (70%)
Education	University (69%)	Higher Professional Education (31%)
Years of teaching experience at pre-university level	0–40 years	mean 13.44	S.D. 10.97
Age	25–63 years	mean 46.65	S.D. 10.61

Table 6. Four approaches to FL literature education and the 20 underlying initial elements.

	Mean	(S.D.)
Text approach (Cronbach α = .87)
storyline	4.54	(1.35)
character development	4.30	(1.35)
who, what and where	4.28	(1.44)
recognising text types	4.08	(1.37)
distinguishing text types	4.05	(1.31)
literary terminology	3.77	(1.45)
Context approach (Cronbach α = .88)
historical aspects of a literary work	4.07	(1.52)
social and societal aspects of a literary work	3.83	(1.33)
cultural aspects of a literary work	3.80	(1.33)
overview of literary history	3.46	(1.59)
literary periods	3.39	(1.46)
information about the author	3.20	(1.22)
biographical aspects of a literary work	3.15	(1.27)
Reader approach (Cronbach α = .81)
student's personal reaction	4.33	(1.27)
critical thinking skills	4.13	(1.30)
reading pleasure	4.02	(1.39)
critical report of reading experiences	3.65	(1.50)
Language approach (Cronbach α = .61)
making reading miles to improve language skills	4.05	(1.37)
English vocabulary in a literary text	3.68	(1.35)
English linguistic aspects in a literary text	2.89	(1.48)

Figure 2. Results of the CFA regarding the Comprehensive Approach to FL literature teaching.

Table 7. Descriptives of the reported occurrences of the four FL literature teaching approaches.

	Mean	S.D.	Minimum	Maximum
Text approach	4.18	1.07	1.00	6.00
Context approach	3.56	1.07	1.00	6.00
Reader approach	4.03	1.09	1.00	6.00
Language approach	3.55	1.06	1.00	6.00

Table 8. t-Test values of variables gender and level of education.

	Approach		mean	S.D.	Sig
Gender	Text	Male	4.03	1.20	0.42
		Female	4.19	1.05
	Context	Male	3.70	1.04	0.25
		Female	3.48	1.07
	Reader	Male	3.89	1.13	0.43
		Female	4.04	1.10
	Language	Male	3.51	0.96	0.95
		Female	3.50	1.07
Education	Text	High Prof	4.16	1.04	0.86
		Uni	4.18	1.13
	Context	High Prof	3.57	1.06	0.73
		Uni	3.51	1.10
	Reader	High Prof	4.12	1.06	0.13
		Uni	3.85	1.14
	Language	High Prof	3.55	1.04	0.95
		Uni	3.54	1.10

Note: t-test, two-tailed.

Table 9. Correlations between age and years of teaching experience and literature approaches.

	Age	Years of teaching experience
Text approach	–0.02	-0.01
Context approach	0.18*	0.07
Reader approach	0.09	0.08
Language approach	–0.04	-0.03

*p < .05.

Table 10. Correlations between curricular factors and teaching approaches.

	Years 4, 5, and 6	Number of literature lessons per year	Percentage of the literature component for the final English mark
Text approach	0.06	0.23**	0.32**
Context approach	0.26**	0.34**	0.30**
Reader approach	0.08	0.12	0.14
Language approach	0.03	0.19*	0.08

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

Table

Literary terminology	1	2	3	4	5	6
Recognising text types	1	2	3	4	5	6
Distinguishing text types	1	2	3	4	5	6
Storyline	1	2	3	4	5	6
Character development	1	2	3	4	5	6
Who, what and where	1	2	3	4	5	6
Literary periods	1	2	3	4	5	6
Overview of literary history	1	2	3	4	5	6
Historical aspects of a literary work	1	2	3	4	5	6
Cultural aspects of a literary work	1	2	3	4	5	6
Social and societal aspects of a literary work	1	2	3	4	5	6
Information about the author	1	2	3	4	5	6
Biographical aspects of a literary work	1	2	3	4	5	6
Reading pleasure	1	2	3	4	5	6
Student's personal reaction	1	2	3	4	5	6
Critically report of reading experiences	1	2	3	4	5	6
Critical thinking skills	1	2	3	4	5	6
English linguistic aspects in a literary text	1	2	3	4	5	6
Making reading miles to improve language skills^3	1	2	3	4	5	6
English vocabulary in a literary text	1	2	3	4	5	6

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