Designing an English syllabus for the third year students at FLD, Nghe An Teacher Training College. M.A Thesis Linguistics: 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* THÁI THỊ MAI LIÊN DESIGNING AN ENGLISH SYLLABUS FOR THE THIRD YEAR STUDENTS AT FLD, NGHE AN TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE (Thiết kế chương trình môn Văn học Anh cho sinh viên năm thứ ba Khoa Ngoại ngữ trường CĐSP Nghệ An.) M.A Minor Program Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Hanoi, 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* THÁI THỊ MAI LIÊN DESIGNING AN ENGLISH SYLLABUS FOR THE THIRD YEAR STUDENTS AT FLD, NGHE AN TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE (Thiết kế chương trình mơn Văn học Anh cho sinh viên năm thứ ba Khoa Ngoại ngữ trường CĐSP Nghệ An.) M.A Minor Program Thesis Field: Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Assoc Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm Hanoi, 2010 v Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of figures and tables iv Table of content v PART A: INTRODUCTION .1 Rationale for the topic Aims and objectives 3 Scope of research .3 Significance of the study .3 Methodology .4 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Definition of Literature 1.1.1 Literature and language teaching 1.1.2 Poetry and language learning 1.1.3 Prose and language learning 1.1.4 Drama and language learning 1.2 Curriculum and syllabus 1.3 Syllabus design 1.3.1 Needs analysis 10 1.3.2 Content specification .11 1.3.3 Syllabus Organization .12 1.4 Types of Syllabus .12 1.4.1 A structural (formal) syllabus 13 1.4.2 A situational syllabus 13 1.4.3 A notional/functional syllabus .14 1.4.4 A skill-based syllabus .15 1.4.5 A task-based syllabus 15 vi 1.4.6 A content-based-syllabus 16 CHAPTER 2: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 18 2.1 The questionnaires .18 2.1.1 Objectives of the course 18 2.1.2 Contents of the course .20 2.1.2.1 Situations of teaching English Literature at the FLD 20 2.1.2.2 Students’ needs .21 2.1.3 Teaching methodology and assessment 24 2.1.3.1 Situations of teaching English Literature at the FLD 24 2.1.3.2 Students’ needs .24 2.2 The interviews 26 2.2.1 Objectives of the course 27 2.2.2 Contents of the course .27 2.2.3 Teaching methodology and assessment 28 2.3 Discussion 29 2.3.1 Situations of teaching English Literature at the FLD 29 2.3.2 Students’ needs 30 2.3.3 Teachers’ opinions 30 CHAPTER 3: THE PROPOSED ENGLISH LITERATURE SYLLABUS .32 3.1 Aims and Objectives of the course 32 3.2 Contents of the course 32 3.3 Teaching methodology and assessment of the course 36 PART C: CONCLUSION 39 References 41 Appendices I Appendix I Appendix V iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLE Table 2.1: The uses of English Literature Table 2.2: Important items that English Literature subject support to students’ study Table 2.3: People who decided the contents of the syllabus Table 2.4: People who should decide the contents of the syllabus Table 2.5: The order of syllabus contents Table 2.6: Old or Modern English Literature Table 2.7: The most favorite of students’ studying Table 2.8: The order of the contents to be taught Table 2.9: The activities carried in the past Table 2.10: The activities should be carried during the course Table 2.11: The ways students should be assessed PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the topic Together with the recent political and economic development, English has become a means to help strengthen the understanding and promote communication between countries English has been taught and emphasized greatly in grammatical rules, phonetics and vocabulary in Vietnam Consequently, Vietnamese learners of English, despite their perfect grammar often fail to understand English speakers who come from a culture different from their own This leads to a consideration into the social and cultural in English Language acquisition English Literature as well as many other subjects for the last year students at Nghe An Teacher Training College helps them develop English language skills at advanced level Most of the English-majored-students at Nghe An Teacher Training College spend their first two years to further their knowledge on English language skills and language competence In their last year at the college, they have a chance to study English Literature and Country Study considered as the two cultural subjects when they are in their last year English Literature subject focuses on the history development and outstanding works composed in English Language Literature is art, a special form of art Literature is the art of exploiting words Culture is expressed through language Thus, the subject does not only help improve general language skills but also provides our learners with cultural knowledge of native country of the English language The name of the subject “A glimpse of English Literature” as well as the allocation of time (30 periods in 15 weeks, in the 1st or 2nd term of three year degree) introduced at the curriculum causes the teaching and learning confused There is no further instruction, either on the aims, the objectives of the course, contents, and methodology or evaluation techniques Presently, books on English Literature subject are rare in Viet Nam, the best one “A history of English and American Literature” written by Nguyen Xuan Thom has shown its advantages, positive aspects in both contents and construction That it has been used as the textbook for students at many universities in all over Viet Nam is understandable However, to some extent, it is not suitable to choose this course book for the college students because of the specific conditions such as students’ language proficiency; the aims and objectives as well as the time allocation and many other factors (The students at the universities spend three terms dealing with this subject where as the college students have just one term for the subject) Hence, the teachers of this subject at all the colleges in Vietnam have to decide themselves what and how to teach their students That the teaching is completely left to individual teachers leads to the fact that the teachers teach what ever they consider necessary or capable in terms of convenience and the availability of materials Being one of the teachers of the subject, seeing the burning situation, the thought of doing something to improve this situation has risen in the mind of the author of this study In present time to some changes to the fixed curriculum seems to be impossible The only one thing that a teacher could is to develop syllabus based on students’ needs in order to give students a chance to understand the history development of English Literature and approach to a special kind of text: novels, poems, and plays which they are really interested in There is also a hope that the learners can be more confident in using English to express their understandings of their own country literature From all the reasons given above, the author of this paper is strongly believed that if the minor thesis “Designing an English Literature Syllabus for the 3rd year students at Nghe An Teacher Training College” is completed, the situation will be improved, the teaching and learning English Literature subject at Nghe An Teacher Training College will be more effective to both teachers and learners The author of the research expects that the study would be a necessity and of great significance to the teachers of the subject who have been at sea for a long time working out how to make the teaching and studying of English Literature subject clearer, more interesting and more effective Aims and objectives The study aims to have a deep understand into the student’s needs and teacher’s ability concerning English Literature It draws the experiences of ex-students and the situation of teaching and learning English Literature at NA TTC It also carries a hope to build an English Literature syllabus for the last year students in FLD at NA TTC from the detailed aspects of aims and objectives of the course, contents of the lectures as well as teaching methodology and assessment The syllabus is designed for a three-month teaching time (15 weeks) with a schedule of two hours per week per class The syllabus mainly focuses on the contents of the syllabus This should be the most important for the subject It is not only a “day-to-day guide to the teacher” but also the specification of “what is to be taught and in what order” (Prabhu, 1984) Scope of research According to many curriculum developers’ theory, from seeing syllabus as “a course of study or the content of a particular course or program” (Stern 1983) to a more detailed definition “a day-to-day guide to the teacher, partly a statement of what is to be taught and how, sometimes partly a statement of an approach.” (Strevens 1977) or “to specify what is to be taught and in what order” (Prabhu, 1984) Hence, within the scope and due to the quandary of time and resources, this study is limited to the search out of the need of English majored students and the teachers’ opinions about the objectives, contents, teaching methodology and evaluation of English Literature in FLD at Nghe An Teacher Training College Significance of the study The study carries a hope of providing clear objectives, detailed contents in an order as well as the teaching methodology and evaluation to the English Literature subject for the last year students in FLD at NTTC It would give the teachers of the subject a good chance to clarify the difference between a detailed syllabus and the training curriculum The study would also help students with an obvious sight at what they are going to achieve after finishing the subject Methodology Since the study attempts to analyze the students’ need and teachers’ opinions in finding out what should be presented in English Literature syllabus for the last year students at the college, a survey has been conducted Descriptive and analytical methodology is applied to analyze the collected data from the questionnaires and the interviews Because the number of second year students in the department is not big, thus a decision of taking all of them as sample for the study is a probability within the researcher’s time Questionnaires have been employed to the second year students and the students who have completed the course at FLD The survey elicits the second year students’ expectation from the subject in their last year and it also seeks for the situation and the experiences of exstudents of the teaching and learning English Literature at Nghe An Teacher Training College In addition, interviews have been carried out to teachers in the FLD to get help and opinions from them in the field PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Definition of Literature There are many definitions on Literature from unscientific to scientific view points Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 7th edition defines Literature as “pieces of writing that are valued as works of art, especially novels, plays and poems.” Lazar (1993) introduces Literature as “feelings and thoughts in black and white”, “the use of language to evoke a personal response in the reader or listener”, and “means to meet a lot of people, to know other different points of view, ideas, thoughts, minds to know ourselves better” Selden (1989) sees Literature as “a special use of language which achieves its distinctness by deviating and distorting practical language” Literature as defined above is the term used to describe written or spoken material Broadly speaking, “Literature” is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, the term is more commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction 1.1.1 Literature and language teaching Literature on the one hand provides texts of different genres like novels, short stories, poems and plays, which mainly discuss the human life from all aspects On the other hand, it offers culture and life styles all around the world, and more than that, it transcends the time and culture to speak directly to a reader of a different culture at different periods of time In other words, Literature can be said to have a communication task from people to people regarding time, space and culture Seeing this important role of Literature, the constructors of many course books as well as text books all over the world have been bringing a variety of reading texts into the books Literary texts are now considered the valuable authentic material, which plays a very important part in student’s cultural enrichment, language enrichment as well as personal involvement Having this subject at the college for the students who want to become teachers of English is a necessity for the fact that the course can provide them with a deep understanding into different forms of Literature As a result, they should have a basic knowledge for their teaching of different genres of Literature designed in many course books and text books 35 LECTURE 6: ELIZABETHAN PERIOD Christopher Marlowe and his poem “The Passionate Shepherd to his love” Objectives   To provide students with the Language Competence  Phonetics: knowledge of Christopher - Rhyming scheme Marlowe’s life and career - Intonation in requests To provide the students with - The pronunciations of     Listening: -  all the new words the knowledge of the rhyming scheme in the Language Skills  Introduce any of Listen to the teacher reading and tell Vietnamese the general idea of the poem romantic poems Reading: about love that have - Read the poem with the rhyming the same mood with scheme you have learnt this poem Vocabulary:  Extra activities  poem - Thee, thy To help students develop the - Pastoral poem, - Discuss the questions given ability of understanding and Madrigal, leaves of - Talk about the love of the shepherd in England: analyzing a poem in English Myrtle, Ivy bud, and and the way he persuade his lover summer Literature amber stud Speaking: - Express your opinions about love To enrich students’ and different ways of expressing vocabulary in analyzing a love poem  Writing: (for homework) - Write a paragraph of 150 words discussing if you like or not like the poem Culture notes: - - the best season 36 3.3 Teaching methodology and assessment of the course As discussed early, having formal lectures, watching films or plays, taking part in seminars or discussion and giving presentations are the main activities in teaching methodology An assignment set as homework during the course is appropriate Teacher should encourage students to translate poems, short stories into Vietnamese, rehearsing plays is also a good idea that the teacher should raise for the students who really love drama Further more, one or two weeks before the lecture, handouts should be delivered for students to read at home The handouts should include questions for discussion as well as the students’ writings A sample of handouts for one lecture is included in this thesis (see Appendix) A written test is one of the best ways to assess students’ writing skills The written test should include multiple choice questions testing student’s memory of date, authors and their works’ names, meanings of some specific words or phrases The second part should consist of guided questions to check students’ ability of analyzing a poem, a short story or an extract of a novel There should be topics for free writing This part would help teachers to find out the students who are good at using language in expressing their understandings English Literature Besides, presentations and one assignment during the course should be marked and kept records Participation, behaviour as well as other activities such as translating poems, novels, rehearse plays should be added to study result The teachers of the subject should make a list of questions for students to choose for their presentations The topics of those questions must be various that cover all periods of history development of English Literature The authors should be from all periods of time and the works should be in all genres: poems, short stories, novels, and plays The students should have the right to be familiar with the questions they are going to deal with in their written papers The teachers of the subject should give students a chance to similar question forms during their course This activity would help students get better results for their studying Below is a sample for written papers 37 TEST ON ENGLISH LITERATURE Time allowed: 60 minutes (Write your answers on the answer sheet) I Multiple choice Circle the correct letter A, B, C or D to fill in the blank or best replace the underlined parts Shakespeare was born in …………………… A Stratford B London C Canterbury D Edinburgh The Wife of Bath in “The Canterbury Tales” married ……………… husbands in church A B C D The Pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales are visiting the shrine of …………… A Queen Elizabeth B Thomas Beckett C Sir Walter Raleigh D King Edward C you’re D yours Thou art thyself, though not a Montague A your art B your In the Canterbury Tales, the Pardoner …………………… A was a policeman in court B loves his neighbors as himself C fought in battles abroad D sold false, religious relics The season compared with the lady in “Sonnet 18 ” by W Shakespeare is ………… A Spring B Summer C Autumn D Winter Blank verse was first used by …………………… A William Shakespeare B Geoffrey Chaucer C Christopher Marlowe D Walter Raleigh The change in attitude in the last stanza shows us how important the love is A paragraph B octave C iambic D quatrain Daniel Defoe wrote in the style of …………………… A Romanticism B Neo-classism C Patriotism D Enlightenment 10 The language the aristocracy spoke in Period was French because the King was the Duke of Normandy A Middle English B Elizabethan C Romanticism D Victorian 38 II Analyzing a poem The Passionate Shepherd to his love Come live with me and be my love A gown made from the finest wool, And we will all the pleasures prove Which from the pretty lambs we pull; That valleys, groves, hills and fields, Fair lined slippers for the cold, Woods or sleepy mountains yield With buckles of the purest gold; And we shall sit upon the rocks, A belt of straw and Ivy buds, Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks, And coral claps and amber studs; By shallow rivers to whose falls And if these pleasures may thee move, Melodies birds sing madrigals Come live with me and be my love And I will make thee beds of roses The Shepherd swains shall dance and sing And a thousand fragrant posies, For thy delight each May morning; A cap of flowers, and a kirtle If these delights thy mind may move, Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle; Then live with me and be my love Give the rhyme scheme of the poem What does the title of the poem mean? What request is the Shepherd making to the young woman? How does he try to persuade her? III Writing Free writing: Write - lines on TWO of the followings (Nature in Wordsworth’s poetry, Chaucer’s view points on the 14th century society, The hero “Beowulf”) Questions: says: In “the balcony scene” of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Juliet “What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man O, be some other name!” Why is she saying this? What you think she means? 39 PART C: CONCLUSION 1.1 Conclusion The teaching of the subject “English Literature” for the last year English majored students at Nghe An teacher training college has been at sea for a long time With just the name and duration, there is no more information from the curriculum for the teaching and learning this subject Looking at some colleges, seeing the same situation (especially, Hanoi teacher training college does not have this subject), the author of this thesis was inspired to carry out this study with an aim to develop a detailed syllabus for the subject, firstly to apply at the FLD at NATTC Designing a language syllabus has been a difficult task that caused a great deal of argument and controversy Different trends in syllabus design as well as the similarities between “syllabus” and “curriculum” made the job more complicated After considering the most common kinds of syllabus and all the factors that may affect the designing process, the writer of this paper choose the combination of many syllabus types of which the content based syllabus is dominated This part of the thesis will attempt to summarize the process of developing the English Literature syllabus and to put forward some suggestions for further research The thesis is presented in three parts Part one is the introduction of the thesis It covers the rationale of the study, basing on the analysis of current situation of teaching and learning English Literature at FLD in NTTC The aims, scope, significance, and methodology of the thesis are also included Part two is the main body of the thesis with three chapters in length The first chapter is the theoretical background knowledge on Literature in Language Teaching as well as major trends and syllabus types in syllabus design The latter one is considered one of the most complex controversial areas of applied linguistics The main steps in designing a language syllabus have been in focus in this chapter as well Following the steps introduced in chapter one, chapter two is the main part of the thesis that applies the theoretical knowledge in conducting a survey approaching the situations of teaching and learning the subject at the college, the 40 students’ needs, and the teachers’ opinion After collecting the data through questionnaires (for 30 graduated students and 92 second year students) and interviews (for three teachers), the author of the thesis has used descriptive and analytical methodology in processing them Basing on the theoretical knowledge and the results from the analysis, the syllabus designer introduced a suggested syllabus for “English Literature” subject in chapter three And this final part has summed up all the key features in each part and chapter of the study, and it is going to put some suggestions for further research 1.2 Suggestions for further research The syllabus has been developed with the best efforts of the author and much support and great help from many concerned people The syllabus designer hopes it to work well in the context However, syllabus design is among the very spiny research areas, this syllabus is considered far from perfect For further research, the writer of this paper would suggest they should be carried out on the basis of this study with a deep analysis on the criteria in choosing fixed authors and works for the course The chosen authors and works must be suitable to the Vietnamese people, culture as well as the policies of Vietnamese Communist Party And it is advised to consult from experts as well as the authorities 41 References Chauhan, V (2004) Drama techniques for teaching English The Internet TESL Journal, p10 (10) Garcia, D.G.(1976) Decisions and Variables in Curriculum Construction: Their implications for Syllabus Design in English Language Teaching in Wilson, G.H (ed.) Curriculum Development and Syllabus Design for English Teaching Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre Halim, A (1976) Decision-making in Language Course Design in Wilson,G.H.(ed.) Curriculum Development and Syllabus Design for English Teaching Singapore SEAMEO Regional English Language Centre Hanauer, D (2001) Applied Linguistics Cambridge University Press Hess, N (2003) Real Language through Poetry: A formula for meaning making ELT Journal, 57/1, 19-25 Johnson, K (1982) Communicative Syllabus Design and Methodology London: Pergamon Press Lazar, G (1993) Literature and Language teaching Cambridge University Press Mackey, W.F (1980) Language Teaching Analysis London: Longman, Green and Co Munby, J (1984) Communicative Syllabus Design London: Cambridge University Press Nilsen, P (2004) Poetry in the EFL/ESL Classroom Modern English Teacher, 13/2, 31-39 Nunan, D (2001) Syllabus Design Oxford University Press Prabhu, N.S (1984) Procedural Syllabuses in Read, J.A.S (ed.) Trends in Language Syllabus Design Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre Shaw, A.M (1975) Approaches to a communicative syllabus in foreign language curriculum development Ph.D Dissertation, University of Essex Stern, H.H (1983) Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press Strevens, P (1977) New Orientations in the Teaching of English London: Oxford University Press 42 Sun, P (2003) Using drama and theater to promote literacy development: Some basic classroom applications The Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication Digest, p187 Taba, H (1962) Curriculum Development: Theory and practice New York: Harcourt Brace and World Thom, N.X (1992) A history of English and American Literature World Publisher Wilkins, D.A (1981) Notional Syllabuses Revisited Applied Linguistics II, (1981), 83-89 Webb, J (1976) Reflections of Practical Experience in Designing and Mounting ESP Courses at the Colchester English Study Centre in Wilson, G.H (ed) Curriculum Development and Syllabus Design for English Teaching Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre Yalden, J (1983) Communicative Syllabus Oxford: Pergammon Press I APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed to examine the situation and the experiences of ex-students of the teaching and learning English Literature at Nghe An Teacher Training College Your ideas are of great contribution and a necessity to the “Designing an English Literature Syllabus for the 3rd year students at FLD, Nghe An Teacher Training College” research Thank you for your cooperation! Part I: Objectives of the course What are the purposes of English Literature? – It is aimed (Tick √ the one you choose) to entertain to know more about English culture to enrich knowledge of English society to further English Language skills to get acquaintance with English Language all of the above Add any others if not enough (specify below) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Tick the most important item that English Literature subject supports to your study Language Competence Language Skills Grammar Listening Vocabulary Speaking Phonetics Reading Writing Part II: Contents of the course Who decided the contents of the syllabus? Teacher Teacher and students What did the teacher let you know before the lesson? …………………………………………………………………………………………………… .……………………………………………………………………………………………… Who should decide the contents of the syllabus? Teacher Teacher and students Should students know the order of what they are going to learn? (Tick √ the one you choose) Yes No Which one you prefer studying? Old English Literature Modern English Literature Tick the most favorite of studying to you History of English Literature II Famous authors’ biography Poems Novels / Short stories Plays In what order should the contents of the subject be taught? (Tick √ the order you choose) The history of English Literature first then famous authors and literary works (Poetry, Prose, Drama) Each period of the history of English Literature with its famous authors and literary works chronologically Other ideas (specify below) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Part III: Teaching methodology and assessment (Tick √ the important things) What were the types of activities carried during the course? Having formal lectures Watching films/ plays Taking part in Seminars Giving presentations Writing assignment or doing project Others: How were you assessed for the course? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… What are the types of activities needed carrying out during the course? Having formal lectures Watching films/ plays Taking part in Seminars Giving presentations Writing assignment or doing project Others: In what way should the students be assessed? – They should be assessed through their… written test oral test presentation assignment or project participation and behaviour Others: III QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed to examine the needs of students at Nghe An Teacher Training College for English Literature Subject Your ideas are of great contribution and a necessity to the “Designing an English Literature Syllabus for the 3rd year students at FLD, Nghe An Teacher Training College” research Thank you for your cooperation! Part I: Objectives of the course What are the purposes of English Literature? – It is aimed (Tick √ the one you choose) to entertain to know more about English culture to enrich knowledge of English society to further English Language skills to get acquaintance with English Language all of the above Add any others if not enough (specify below) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Tick the most important item that English Literature subject supports to your study Language Competence Language Skills Grammar Listening Vocabulary Speaking Phonetics Reading Writing Part II: Contents of the course Who should decide the contents of the syllabus? (Tick √ the one you choose) Teacher Teacher and students Should students know the order of what they are going to learn? (Tick √ the one you choose) Yes No Which one you prefer studying? Old English Literature Modern English Literature Tick the most favorite of studying to you History of English Literature Famous authors’ biography Poems Novels / Short stories Plays IV In what order should the contents of the subject be taught? (Tick √ the one you choose) The history of English Literature first then famous authors and literary works (Poetry, Prose, Drama) Each period of the history of English Literature with its famous authors and literary works chronologically Other ideas (specify below) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Part III: Teaching methodology and assessment (Tick √ the important things) What are the types of activities needed carrying out during the course? Having formal lectures Watching films/ plays Taking part in Seminars Giving presentations Writing assignment or doing project Others: In what way should the students be assessed? – They should be assessed through their… written test oral test presentation assignment or project participation and behaviour all of the above Others: V APPENDIX LECTURE 2: ENGLISH LITERATURE – A BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Questions for discussion and writings Why are there so few works of Literature remaining from the old English period? What event had the biggest impact in changing Old English? Who was the most famous poet to write in Middle English? What kind of Literature was produced in Elizabethan England? Give some examples of famous poets and playwright of this period? What were the characteristics of poetry during the 17th century and during the first part of the 18th century? What was Romantic Movement? Give two examples of famous poets of this time What were the characteristics of Victorian poetry? Who were the war poets and what did they write about? Which is more important to an English writer, history or geography? (Write about 150 words to prove your ideas) 10 Which period of English Literature you think you will find the most interesting? Why? (Write about 100 words) I The Old English Period (c.600 AD – c.1066 AD) The English Literature started from the 5th and 6th centuries with the invasion into England by the Anglo-Saxons At first they had no written language; much story-telling was oral so they had an epic song about BEOWULF In AD 700 the poem BEOWULF was made and 100 years later the manuscript was written down English literature had its beginning Old English is the root of what is English today but it was a totally different language and very few words remain the same VI II Middle English Period (c.1066 – c 1500) In 1066 the King of England Edward died without any children Narol the Earl of Wessex became King according to English law but William, Duke of Normandy decided to come to England to support his claim that he had been promised the succession to English throne Narol was killed and William was crowned He introduced the feudal system into England and the Normandy history For a long time the aristocracy spoke French and the ordinary people old English But gradually new words entered the language and by 1500, Middle English was spoken by everyone The vocabulary had become much larger because of words being added from French but the grammar had become simplified Middle English is a lot close to the language we speak today The most famous writer of the Middle English period and the first major poet to write English was Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 1400) He is the most famous English poet after William Shakespeare III Elizabethan Period (c.1550 – c.1600) In the 150 years after Chaucer’s death, the English became far easier for us to understand today but there were no major English poets until the reign of Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603) This was one of the greatest periods in English history and Queen Elizabeth herself encouraged writers There was freedom for thought, variety in life and freshness of experience to nourish the mind It was a wonderful time for poetry and plays Much of the poetry was about love and was in sonnet form (a poem of 14 lines) The greatest poet and playwright was, of course, William Shakespeare but there were several others, e.g Edmund Spencer (1552 – 1599), Christopher Marlowe (1564 – 1593) IV Romanticism (c.1600 – c.1840) In the 17th century and in the first half of the 18th century is marked by a low standard of morals, political unrest, double-dealing and coarse social life, drunkenness was common and morality was laugh at All these provided materials for the satires of the great writers E.g Daniel Defoe (1660 – 1731) with Robinson Crusoe, Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) with Gulliver’s travels, Henry Fielding (1707 – 1754) with Tom Jones… At this time poetry was mostly about serious theme especially religion and it was extremely formal in style At the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century, a new movement in poetry came VII into existence known as the Romantic Movement This was the period of great poets, e.g Robert Burns (1759 – 1796), William Wordsworth (1780 – 1850) These poets were interested in describing human feelings and human reaction to the beauty around them V The Victorian Age (c.1840 – c.1900) In 1837, Queen Victoria ascended the throne The rest of the century is usually called the Victorian age This is remarkable not for the development of any new type of Literature but for the quality and general excellence of Literature in every department There was strong support for the British Empire and the belief that the British ruled other peoples in Africa, Asia for their own good It reflects the age’s ideas of virtue and patriotism Some famous writers e.g poets: Alfred Tennyson (1809 – 1892), Robert Browning (1812 – 1889); novelists: Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870); especially some female writers: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti (1830 – 1894), Emily Bronte… VI The Twentieth Century (after about 1900) The First World War (1914 – 191) shattered British and European belief in their own superiority The War produced several young poets who wrote about their experience in the trenches These poems are full of bitterness at the wastefulness of life and pointlessness of the war There has been an enormous increase in people writing poetry in English from other countries within the commonwealth (the former British Empire) and the U.SA Generally speaking, the English Literature in the 20th century brings with it the following characteristics: The reiteration of the old revolutionary formula of liberty, equality, fraternity in a new setting The worship of power rather than beauty The challenging attitude of the older value in art and life