The Implementation of Literature Teaching Approaches in the ESL Classroom: A Systematic Review

Abstract

According to Widowson (1984), teachers are having dilemmas in choosing the right teaching method for the non-native learners. Thus, the methods to teaching literature are constantly changing to suit learners’ needs and differences (Padurean, 2015). This paper aims to highlight on two main objectives. Firstly, it aims to describe the literature teaching approaches applied by teachers in the ESL classroom. Secondly, it intends to elaborate on the challenges in applying appropriate literature teaching approaches in the lesson. This research employs thematic analysis of 22 journal articles related to the teaching and learning of literature in the ESL settings through the use of systematic review approach. Specific samples’ inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied during the screening process of article search and the main platform for sample collection are Scopus and Google Scholar. The distribution of year for the article sampling is set between the years of 2003 to 2021. Important keywords such as ESL teaching strategies, literature teaching approaches, challenges in teaching literature, ESL teaching and learning, and second language pedagogy were used to search for relevant samples. The findings show that there are six approaches to teaching literature that may be applied by the ESL teachers in their classroom, which are the information-based, paraphrastic, stylistic, language-based, reader response and moral philosophical approach. Meanwhile, previous research shows that the challenges to implement appropriate literature teaching approaches are the examination-oriented system, large class size, time constraint, learners’ attitude, poor language competence, and inappropriate texts selection.