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Why Children’s Literature?

Literature is ‘authentic’ material. Ghosn (2002) defined children’s literature as “...fiction written for children to read for pleasure, rather than for didactic purposes.” Children’s Literature is highly treasured in many countries all around the world. Through literature learners are being exposed to language and given access to culture and languages that they are studying, which in Brunei Darussalam, it is the English Language, a second language for most learners. Lazar (1993) stated that,

“Literature exposes students to complex themes and fresh, unexpected uses of language. A good novel or short story may be particularly gripping in that it involves students in the suspense of unravelling the plot. This involvement may be more absorbing for students than the pseudo-narratives frequently found in course books.” (p.15)

Lazar (1993) further stated that if materials were carefully chosen, learners will feel that what has been done in the classroom would be relevant and meaningful. Thus careful selection of children’s literature is able to offer an alternative, motivation medium for foreign language acquisition (Ghosn, 2002). Learners not only find literature as interesting but it also facilitates the integration of the language skills. Thus this is able to promote word recognition and opportunities for authentic reading and writing tasks. As learners read literature, they learn the target language in a whole context rather than memorizing words and rules (Chen 2006). This way of getting knowledge about language, as mentioned by Chen (2006) is similar to the ‘subconcious process of language acquisition’ which Krashen (1976) had proposed. The use of literature has been recognized as conducive to academic, intellectual, cultural and linguistic learning (Sage, 1987). Not like formal learning of vocabulary and language structure in the classroom, literature provides an informal but supportive environment for students to naturally develop their linguistic system.

Literature also acts as an important basis of language input in the second language context. For second language learners, reading perhaps mainly channels the input of the target language. As Nuttall (1982) stated, “The best way to improve your knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among its speakers…. the next best way is to read extensively in it” (p.168). Krashen (1982) also states that reading is a convenient way to receive comprehensive input within the four walls of the classroom. This input does not necessarily have to be gained from direct contacts with English native speakers. When it comes to reading materials, Gajdusek (1988) argues that literature is a more satisfying input than other reading sources.

Literature has been used to stimulate imagination, and drama and role play have been introduced to create inspired contexts. Liew (1997), in her paper, had stated that the use of Children’s Literature, in one of her courses with her student-teachers was positive. She also stated that ‘student-teachers unanimously agreed that they have become more creative through the study children’s literature...their writing for children were charged with appropriate emotions.’ Even though her study was meant for adult learners, her strategy could certainly be used in teaching primary schoo