試論文學教學與語言教學的結合

On the Combination of Literature Teaching and Language Teaching

近幾年來應用英／外語科系在臺灣如雨後春筍般的大量成立。此一趨勢呈現語言教學日益重視實用；然而在實用掛帥、追求速成及一般人視文學為風花雪月的觀念影響之下，不少教師遂將文學教學與語言教學一分為二，彷彿文學教學與語言教學毫不相關。殊不知二者是一體的兩面，相輔相成。本文將以英美文學與英語教學為例，闡述文學教學在語言教學中的重要性與功能。旨在指出英美文學自”Beowulf”迄今已有一千多年的歷史，其中上乘筆墨，不可勝數。若能增進教師間的互動與學習，善選教材，改進文學教學方法，使之多元活潑，相信文學教學對語言教學的提昇必指日可待。In recent years many departments of applied English/foreign languages have been established like the flourishing of spring bamboo shoots after rain. This trend indicates that language teaching has become more and more practical; yet, due to the stress on the practicality and efficiency in learning as well as the misconception of literature as too transcendental, not a few teachers have come to regard literature teaching and language teaching as two separate things-as if they were totally unrelated. They fail to see, however, that literature teaching and language teaching are, in fact, two sides of a coin; that is, they not only are closely related but also complement each other. Using teaching British as well as American literature and teaching English as instances, this paper intends to investigate not merely the significance but also the functions of literature in the teaching and learning of a language. It aims to point out that since 'Beowulf' was written, there have been thousands of masterpieces in British and American literature. If we can enhance the communication and mutual learning among teachers, select appropriate works for teaching, and improve the methodology of literature teaching, then it predicable that literature teaching will contribute much to language teaching as a whole.