Literature-Based ESL for Secondary School Students

What did you find interesting/important/surprising?

"Each year, one third of U.S. history is covered through five novels. Supplementary materials such as biographies, nonfiction trade and textbooks, drama, poetry, and multimedia presentations give students experience in using a variety of text formats" (TESOL, 20)

            Personally, I thought that a general overview of American history with the use of only five books could be rather intimidating for ESL students. This type of class is given in university, and is still considered by most to be overwhelming. However, I do believe that when well-selected milestones are use to cover the most important historical periods, it becomes feasible. From my personal experience, classic novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, Now in November, as well as some excerpts from important documents such as The Declaration of Independence were used to reinforce historical knowledge about the era. Within all of these, many references to music, poetry, drama, as well as socio-political commodities were observed and were in fact quite essential to global understanding of the material used.  

Try agreeing with the writer.

"Historical fiction helps students experience the past variously, encouraging them to imagine what life was like in another place and time. It develops a sense of the role that carious cultures have played in U.S. history, incorporates many disciplines in an interesting and informative format, and serves as a bridge to mainstream language arts and social studies class." (TESOL, 21)

            I do agree with what the writer is saying, with respect to the development of cultural awareness through literature. Students of any age should be aware of cultural differences, historical features, as well as their outcomes. We couldn't expect a younger student to perfectly master historical content however, focusing on specific aspect could be interesting. Also, allowing students to chose (as a group probably) from a known historical factor could allow them to become more interested and attracted to the content.