the role of literature in language

7/30/2019 The Role of Literature in Language http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-role-of-literature-in-language 1/2 The Role of Literature in Language/Intellectual Development in the Element The Case of Six Arab Counties By: Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh, Professor, Dean of FLS Abstract It goes without saying that the first six years of students’ school education, what is re most Arab countries as the “elementary” stage (grades 1 to 6) and which occupy mos known as the basic cycle, are quite formative. Their impact on students’ learning, inte growth, and overall character is quite substantial. This is where formal education beg This study focuses on the impact that literature has on the learners, both in terms of l development and intellectual growth. From the times of Plato and Aristotle to the pre has been seen as visibly affecting students’ education and character. While Plato sees primarily negative, Aristotle and many others who followed in his steps see it as posi famous saying goes, literature “teacheth and delighteth.” Even till our times, this mot seen as valid. At Arab schools literature has always been “fundamental” in the school syllabus. By here, we mean not only entire lessons devoted to the study of literature, but any texts oral, print or electronic) used in any class (primarily Arabic or English) that have a li These texts include not only poems and short stories, but essays, nursery rimes, speec advertisements, etc. In fact, the notion of what constitutes “literature” has changed dr the past couple of decades alone, due to the advent of Postmodernism, which both lib expanded the concept of what literature is: “graffiti” being a form of literature now. The aim of this study is three-fold. It, first, intends to survey the literary material ava learners in the elementary-school (both the public and the private, and in both Arabic in six Arab countries (where each branch of AOU is) in order to determine the “exten used as a tool for language learning and intellectual development. Such a survey is im because A) it reveals whether the emphasis on literature today is in fact substantial, a has lessened or increased over time, and B) whether there are significant differences, and genre-wise, between the teaching of Arabic literature and English literature. Seco to try to analyze and assess the impact of literary education on the students’ language intellectual development, on the basis of questionnaires and interviews with the teach and administrators, and on the basis of assignments and exam papers. Third, the stud come up with suggestions for decision makers in the said countries, and the Arab Wo with respect to the importance or relevance of literary education at schools. It is hope outcome of the study would be a voluminous book on the subject, to be published at publishing house.

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Page 1: The Role of Literature in Language

7/30/2019 The Role of Literature in Language

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-role-of-literature-in-language 1/2

The Role of Literature in Language/Intellectual Development in the Element

The Case of Six Arab Counties

By: Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh, Professor, Dean of FLS

Abstract

It goes without saying that the first six years of students’ school education, what is remost Arab countries as the “elementary” stage (grades 1 to 6) and which occupy mos

known as the basic cycle, are quite formative. Their impact on students’ learning, inte

growth, and overall character is quite substantial. This is where formal education beg

This study focuses on the impact that literature has on the learners, both in terms of l

development and intellectual growth. From the times of Plato and Aristotle to the prehas been seen as visibly affecting students’ education and character. While Plato sees

primarily negative, Aristotle and many others who followed in his steps see it as posifamous saying goes, literature “teacheth and delighteth.” Even till our times, this mot

seen as valid.

At Arab schools literature has always been “fundamental” in the school syllabus. By

here, we mean not only entire lessons devoted to the study of literature, but any textsoral, print or electronic) used in any class (primarily Arabic or English) that have a li

These texts include not only poems and short stories, but essays, nursery rimes, speec

advertisements, etc. In fact, the notion of what constitutes “literature” has changed drthe past couple of decades alone, due to the advent of Postmodernism, which both lib

expanded the concept of what literature is: “graffiti” being a form of literature now.

The aim of this study is three-fold. It, first, intends to survey the literary material ava

learners in the elementary-school (both the public and the private, and in both Arabic

in six Arab countries (where each branch of AOU is) in order to determine the “exten

used as a tool for language learning and intellectual development. Such a survey is im because A) it reveals whether the emphasis on literature today is in fact substantial, a

has lessened or increased over time, and B) whether there are significant differences,

and genre-wise, between the teaching of Arabic literature and English literature. Secoto try to analyze and assess the impact of literary education on the students’ language

intellectual development, on the basis of questionnaires and interviews with the teach

and administrators, and on the basis of assignments and exam papers. Third, the stud

come up with suggestions for decision makers in the said countries, and the Arab Wowith respect to the importance or relevance of literary education at schools. It is hope

outcome of the study would be a voluminous book on the subject, to be published at

publishing house.