The first experience in conducting the integrated lesson in literature and stylistics of the English language

In the poly-lingual Republic of Kazakhstan the need in highly educated specialists of foreign languages increased considerably. In accordance with the transference into three languages state the educational system should train the teachers capable to meet up to date requirements. Simultaneously with it the hours for the obligatory disciplines start to be cut. For instance for the subject stylistics the Syllabus gives only one credit, it means forty-five hours that is insufficient for excellent acquisition of the material. Moreover this discipline became voluntary in conformity with the last recommendations. Thus the question arises: How to teach a well educated specialist?

So, we made an attempt to conduct the extra curriculum lesson which should be called integrated.

The integrated education means the conduction of binary lessons and the lessons with wide usage of interdisciplinary connections [1].

Integrated learning is particularly suited to learners studying content-based subjects in English or as part of a bilingual education programme.

There is no set format for intergraded lessons, the underlying principles being that language is used to learn as well as to communicate and that it is the subject matter which determines the language that students need to learn. However, such method also attempts to follow the 4Cs curriculum in that it includes Content, Communication, Cognition and Culture, and includes elements of all four language skills [2].

The basis of integrated teaching and learning is that content subjects are taught and learnt in a language which is not the mother tongue of the learners. Taking this fact into account we may have reference to the following principles:

• •    knowledge of the language becomes the means of learning content;

• •    language is integrated into the broad curriculum;

• •    learning is improved through increased motivation and the study of natural language seen in context. When learners are interested in a topic they are motivated to acquire language to communicate;

• •    the method is based on language acquisition rather than enforced learning;

• •    language is seen in real-life situations in which students can acquire the language. This is natural language development which builds on other forms of learning;

• •    fluency is more important than accuracy and errors are a natural part of language

  The first experience in conducting the integrated lesson in literature and stylistics of the english language

  
  

  O.V. Gerock-Erzhanova, O.D. Podavets

  
  

learning. Learners develop fluency in English by using English to communicate for a variety of purposes;

• •    reading is the essential skill [3].

A lesson of this type, at this level is conducted by two subject teachers. All the activities can be adapted for a variety of levels and mixed-ability groups. Since such lessons are topic-based the subject matter and tasks could be covered in a single period or spread over a number of class hours, depending on the depth of study [4].

There are some definite advantages of integrated lessons. Thus, such a method helps to:

• •    introduce the wider cultural context;

• •    improve overall and specific language competence;

• •  prepare for future studies and / or

working life;

• •   develop multilingual interests and

attitudes;

• •    diversify methods & forms of classroom teaching and learning;

• •    economize on time taken up for teaching and learning;

• •    шncrease learner motivation [5].

There is no doubt that learning a language and learning through a language are concurrent processes, but implementing the method of integrated teaching and learning requires a rethink of the traditional concepts of the language classroom and the language teacher. The immediate obstacles seem to be:

• •    the method is based on language acquisition, but in monolingual situations, a good deal of conscious learning is involved, demanding skills from the teacher.

• •   there is the lack of teacher-training

programmes on integrated lessons and most current programmes are experimental.

• •    there is little evidence to suggest that understanding of content is not reduced by lack of language competence. Current opinion seems to be that language ability can only be increased by content-based learning after a certain stage [6].

Integrated teaching and learning assumes that subject teachers are able to exploit opportunities for language learning. The best and most common opportunities arise through reading texts. This method draws on the lexical approach, encouraging learners to notice language while reading. Obviously, that such subjects as Literature and Stylistics can be served as a good example of training reading skills and as a way of presenting the given material by means of expressive means and stylistic devices.

This particular lesson is designed to be a part of English literature and Stylistics and is based on the following: the factual material on English Romanticism and the elements of stylistic analysis of the Romantic poets’ poetry.

Here we provide a specific example of a topic covered in an integrated teaching and learning style. There are some types and kinds of integrated lessons however we consider the type of forming new knowledge more appropriate to the abovementioned disciplines. That is why we chose the form of multimedia lesson.

The theme of our extracurricular lesson was “Romanticism in English literature”, and then we defined the goals:

Educational: to consolidate the knowledge on the “Romanticism in English literature”.

Developmental: to develop logical thinking, social-cultural competence.

Upbringing: to bring up the love to the English literature by means of stylistics

Objectives:

• •    to revise four trends in romanticism of the English literature;

• •    to practise identifying stylistic devices in the English poetry;

• •    to provide a chance to critically read, question, analyse and summary.

Our integrated lesson has the structure recommended by J. Harmer [1]. The lesson lasts 50 minutes (table, p. 101).

English Literature at university level is a wide-ranging and evolving subject—new approaches to traditional texts and new

Table

The structure of the integrated lesson reccomended by J. Harmer

№	Stage	Procedure	Time, min	Notes
1	Presentation	Introduction	3	Video film
2	Warming up activity	Romanticism Quiz	7	Revision of the main, characteristics group activity
3	Study	The stages of stylistic analysis of the English poems. Problem Points 1.2	3	Presentation in Power Point
4	Engage Study Activate	Literary interpretation and stylistic analysis of the poem “The Tyger” by W. Blake. Problem Point 3 . What Stylistic devices were used by the poet?	7	Video PowerPoint presentation
5	Study Activate Engage activate	Literary interpretation and stylistic analysis of the poem “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron Problem Point 4 What Stylistic devices were used by the poet?	5	Video, Presentation in PowerPoint
6	Study Activate	Literary interpretation and stylistic analysis of the poem “the Raven” by S.T. Coleridge	7	Video film; Presentation in PowerPoint
7	Study Activate	Literary interpretation and stylistic analysis of the poem “A Red, Red Rose” by R. Burns	7	Presentation in PowerPoint
8	Study/ Activate	Literary interpretation and stylistic analysis of the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud By W. Wordsworth	7	Presentation in PowerPoint
9	Summing up	Summarizing of the main notions. Evaluation of the students.	4	–

areas of study are continually revitalizing the discipline. At practical and seminar classes students have a great opportunity to study a substantial number of authors and texts from different periods and areas of literary history.

At the heart of the subject lies a rigorous and imaginative engagement with literary texts. Students develop close reading skills that increase their appreciation and understanding of the creative powers of language and literary forms. They also learn about the many contexts (for example, historical, geographical, social, political, stylistic, ethnic,) in which

literary texts are produced and read. This allows students to reflect on the active role played by literature both historically and in contemporary society, and to acquire an enhanced sensitivity to cultures and ideas different from their own [7].

The lesson presented in this article requires and fosters open-mindedness and intellectual curiosity, and stimulates the capacity to respond creatively and innovatively to new challenges. Our desire is that, beyond the period of students’ formal studies, they will retain an enthusiasm for literature and a sense of its past and present importance in society. For Romanticism quiz

The first experience in conducting the integrated lesson in literature and stylistics of the english language

O.V. Gerock-Erzhanova, O.D. Podavets

we recollect students’ knowledge on social and historical background, understanding the core ideas and principles involved in Romanticism in the light of wider events.

Stage on Literary interpretation and stylistic analysis of the poem “The Tyger” by W. Blake deals with ideas related to issues of gender and to the major preoccupation of Romantic writing, the natural world, which students will explore during the analysis. William Blake is essentially stating in “The Tyger”, as a form of social protest, in much the same theme as the French Revolution that Protestant Christians should be critical of a faith that has, at its centre, a God that chooses to punish so readily the creatures he brings into existence. The poem was written with a simple structure and a perfect rhyme to help the reader see the images he wanted to transmit. Above all, the description of the tiger is glaringly graphic due to essentially the contrast between fire and night.

While analyzing the poem “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron, students touch upon the well-rounded sense of Romanticism as a full development of earlier eighteenthcentury ideas and movements, as well as a distinct period in itself. Material and traditional aspects of society are treated as artificial, and appreciation of nature is viewed as a return to the basic elements of human existence. Nature represents an organic connection with the world at large, and often the universe, to Romantic sonnets of the writer.

The poem “the Raven” by S.T. Coleridge works out of close knowledge of key texts in order to begin to tackle some of the wider, more abstract ideas, such as nature, memory, imagination, and the sublime. Students also try to consider literary ideas within a broader social, historical and philosophical context. An emphasis on personal freedom and liberty is a distinction of Romanticism. Logic, reason and creativity are valued more highly than conformist or cliché topics. Heroes and heroines often question their roles in society and purposes in life rather than following a formulaic storyline. The idea of the individual’s imagination as a way of exploring psychology and philosophy also gains popularity in Coleridge’s creative activity.

The poems “A Red, Red Rose” by R.Burns and“IWandered Lonely as aCloud “by W. Wordsworth turn students’ attention to the literary movement of ‘Gothic’ which emerges during the Romantic period. Furthermore, they examine the relationship between first and second generation Romanticism exploring some of the more complex underlying ideas about the workings of the mind, of identity and of the imagination as they find expression in the major writers of the period and considering the extent to which these ideas are located within a social context [8].

It can be concluded that in spite of the mistakes made by the students we had analyzed the given poems from the point of stylistics, and the result of such an integrated class was the arisen interest by the students. Thus, we have a lot of advantages in comparison with the disadvantages, such as a lot of time spent by two teachers.