Contenidos:
This book has been written as a very general introduction to the field of English Literature for future teachers of English as a Foreign Language. The word “Literature” is meant to include Popular Literature, Folktales Children’s Literature or comics, and the term “English” is used to include Literature written in English, including therefore works from the USA, Ireland and other former British Colonies, or writers like Joseph Conrad or Vladimir Nabokov who wrote in English even though they did not come from an English speaking country. Since it is only an introduction, and written for language students, often without a very deep literary background, it is inevitably full of simplifications and generalizations for which apologies are offered.
After Chapter 2 (“Why (and how) to Teach Literature”), which deals with the main reasons to include literature in an English as a Foreign Language syllabus and the best ways to do it, the book describes English literature from a chronological perspective. Although some anthologies and literary histories have done away with traditional labels, this book still uses general terms like ‘Romanticism’ or ‘Modernism’ since, in spite of all their inadequacies, they are found useful by students in their first approach to the field. The selection and importance given to writers is based on general consensus, but inevitably also on personal opinions, and thus can be debatable. Many important writers and works have been left out, and many others oversimplified with a brief mention, but again we have to remember that the main aim of these chapters is just to offer a general overview of literature written in the English language. Every chapter is organized into a section called “Context” and another one called “Texts”, which includes a selection of representative texts, often with some comprehension questions.
The book ends with a list of bibliographical references and websites, as well as an appendix with Lesson Plans that students can use to plan their classes in the future.
