LANGUAGES are more to us than systems of
thought-transference. They are invisible garments that drape themselves
about our spirit and give a predetermined form to all its symbolic
expression. When the expression is of unusual significance, we call it
literature.
Language is the medium of literature as marble or bronze or clay are
the materials of the sculptor. Since every language has its distinctive
peculiarities, the innate formal limitations—and possibilities—of one
literature are never quite the same as those of another. The literature
fashioned out of the form and substance of a language has the color and
the texture of its matrix.
Literature must be taught in the right way so
that students become increasingly sensitive to English language and
acquire the ability to use it effectively.
Highlighting the increasing importance of English language teaching in
the age of globalization, that skills in English happen to be
among the most salable commodities in the job market today.
At the national level, English can serve as our 'window of the world'
while at the individual level, English will continue to serve as the
language of opportunity.
How best to restructure the teaching of English language and literature
in the face of challenges of globalization. It was generally agreed that
the emphasis in teaching should shift from literature to language.
Literature should be used to increase a student's proficiency in
language.
Another agreed view that emerged from the discussion was that there should be an active involvement of the learners in the learning process.
Language is a method of communication; literature
can be the content being communicated. Language is a set of gestures
and words and phrases with meaning behind them, and literature is the
manipulation and use of those gestures and words and phrases.
In literature, language is meticulously crafted, not just to inform a
reader but to persuade him, to play and poke at his mind. In theory,
with the right rhetorical devices
you can write one thing but make a reader think something else. For
example, if you keep saying something over and over and over again, your
reader might believe it at first, but with continued repetition he may
start to wonder who the writer is really trying to convince. So, you can
say something, but say it in such a way as to make the reader doubt.
Literature is a lot more complicated than the language being used.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that literature requires a lot more
thought than bare language. Literature makes your head hurt.
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