Final Essay.

Criticizing what is wrong: Teaching British Literature in EFL classes.


Since ancient times, Literature has been present to complain about social issues, to show facts that most of the people do not see, and to start opening discussions in order to allow reflection. These aspects encouraged me to write this essay about the importance of using Literature in EFL classes at Chilean schools. For that, it is necessary to start by giving a definition of what Literature is. Then, I will analyse one literary work which presents relevant topics that must be taken into the classroom. It will be a poem titled “September 1, 1939 written by one of the most influent writers in English Literature whose name is W.H. Auden. Then, it is essential to say why Literature is important and this master piece can be aplied in a EFL class, and finally I will conlude by recalling the main ideas of the whole essay.

A general definition of Literature is, “writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays” . Through this definition we can see that Literature is people’s expression, or reflection on important topics that occur in society, and ideas that go around people’s mind. Literature is a helpful tool for seeing what we sometimes do not see, it invite us to reflect on what concerns human being. Our ideas, thoughts and complains can be correctly reflected on a poem, a novel, a short story, even in a biography. That is how Literature works- it is just like a mirror which allows us to see details that maybe we have never seen before, those details that might help to change the world. Literature let us go beyond the words we see on a piece of paper, it opens a road for a non end - reflective journey in which the main participant is the reader because the person who reads is the one in charge of coming up with new ideas and different points of view from what the writer expressed on a book.

To illustrate the idea that I expressed earlier, it is necessary to start analyzing the first literary work I mentioned in the introduction. The poem “September 1, 1939” is a critique how society is build. In this poem, W.H. Auden shows his discontent to the world by criticizing negative aspects of society. First, he states that we are living opressed by the powers of Education and Government. It is expressed in two lines of the second stanza which say.


“I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn”

These two lines show how people are being normalized. At schools, kids are not being educated, but they are just schooled. What I mean with this is that teachers do not teach students to be active agents of social change. In this case the result is “uncritical students who readly unknowingly accept policies, attitudes, values, and beliefs as common sense or natural” (Priya Parmar, Critical Pedagogy of Hip Hop); that is schooling. On the other hand, educating means that teachers guide their students to find the truth so that they can become critical. Now moving on to the second power, there is a stanza which contains four lines in which the author complains directly against Government by saying:

“Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say
About Democracy,
And what dictators do”.

Through these lines, the writer let us see how Government hides the truth by blinding us with lies which normalize our lives. Auden expresses this idea in the third stanza, and he mainly refers to the contradiction between the right and wonderful discourse of government, and the way it governs through lies. Throughout the poem we can also find a critique to the individualism of men caused by industrialization. It clarifies that society is living under the rules of an individual world that impedes us to accept others, to respect differences, and to love one another.This is the strongest critique that Audens wants to share with the readers of the poem because of his homosexual condition. Of course that all the ideas from the poem are Auden’s point of view of the world, so it can be argued by anyone who disagrees because we all have different perceptions, and as the author states "We must love one another or die" (88), we should show respect to other’s oppinion.

Now that I already analysed the poem, I will move on to the importance of Literature in our lives. A s I mentioned earlier, W.H. Auden wrote “September1, 1939” in order to open peoples’ eyes so that everyone could see how we are wrongly living. Regarding this idea, I want to say that Literature helps each person to make a positive change in life. It makes us dream and think deeply on what is written. For that reason, it is essential to use Literature At schools, especially in EFL classes where the only method used is the Grammar Translation Approach. In an English class students are taught grammar and structures but they are not encouraged to develop critical thinking. This is a strong reason for changing EFL teaching. English teachers must educate students, and educate them means that they must promote critical thinking so that they turn into active citizens. As Priya Parmar mentions in her book Critical Pedagogy of Hip Hop “Teaching a critical Pedagogy…transform the role of students from one of passivity and silence to one that is socially and politically aware and active, inspiring students to question and challenge injustices…” (3). That is Literature, a reflection on what is going on around us. It is what “September 1, 1939” encourages.

A good method for using Literature when teaching English is to talk about the author in order for them to know who they are reading. Once they know important issues of the author’s life, we can show them some quotes or stanzas. It is possible that sometimes students could not understand but it is important to ask what they get, what they think about the reading because in that way they feel they have the space to present their perception to the rest of the class, which can provoke interesting discussions. Besides, it will make them be respectful one another because not all of them will have the same points of view, so they will learn to respect different opinions, and especially differences because the poem deals with that. And teaxhers should not be afraid of using English Literature in EFL classes because vocabulary and some grammar can also be taught through literary works. As a final result, Literature helps to learn English language and the most important characteristic is that it really encourages critical thinking.


To conclude, it is important to mention once more that it is necessary to know what Literature is firstso that we look for the correct literary works according to what is going on in our country or what is going on in the entire world that is affecting us. And the inclusion of Literature at schools is essential for the development of critical thinking. This is exactly what W.H. Auden shows in this especial poem. He criticizes the aspects of society that he thinks are wrong and highlights what he sees we are lacking of. That is why I propose to form active agents of social change, let’s teach Literature.


Work Cited

http://www.poemdujour.com/Sept1.1939.html (W.H Auden. September 1, 1939).

Parmar, Priya. Knowledge Reigns Supreme: The Critical Pedagogy of Hip Hop Artist KRS One. Brooklyn College – City University of New York. June 8th, 2009.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/literature