以「全方位教學法」在大學英語教室中教授文學

A Holistic Approach to Teaching Literature in the College EFL Classroom: A Sample Lesson

Since time immemorial there has been much debate over whether teaching is a science or an art. In this postmodern and ever-changing world, there are no hard and fast rules as to what are the best pedagogies in terms of teaching English at the college level. A holistic approach taking all key related factors into consideration, therefore, would be one of the most appropriate pedagogies for a world in flux, and especially so for the students in Taiwan where English is learned as a foreign language. The majority of Taiwanese college teachers have claimed to adopt the approach or approaches of 'the current trend' in teaching English to adapt to the change of national education policies, regardless of the fact that some of the approaches are not applicable to the college EFL classroom in Taiwan. Overall, they have spurned teaching literature in the college EFL classroom, arguing that it is a mere waste of time. They insist that English teaching is a sacred ground off-limits to literature. This notion is absurd because literature and English teaching are as inseparable as two sides of the same coin: literature provides contents or matter, whereas language supplies skills or manner. English teaching without contents of proper depth is shallow and ineffective. On the other hand, literature teaching without resorting to feasible skills and strategies is doomed to be tedious and inefficient. This study attempts to argue for the integration of literature in the college EFL classroom in Taiwan. In addition, we propose a holistic approach to teaching literature, showcasing Robert Frost's 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' as a sample lesson. By employing a holistic approach, we strongly believe that literature is by no means a bogey of ineffectual English teaching in the EFL classroom. Literature, if taught properly, is an asset, instead of a liability, in the college EFL classroom.自古以來，究竟教學是一種科學抑或一種藝術，一直是見仁見智的問題。我們認為教學既是科學，也是藝術，因為教學不但包涵有系統的傳授方式，也牽涉宇宙中最複雜的生物─人類（教師與學生）。在此變幻莫測的後現代主義時代中，就大學的英語教學而言，並無所謂最好的教學法。面面俱到將各種因素融入的「全方位教學法」（holistic approach）似乎是最好的教學法之一，特別適合將英語當作一種外國語來教導的台灣。我們主張在大學中教文學的必要性。本研究以福洛斯特（Robert Frost）「雪夜停佇林畔」（Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening）為例，說明以「全方位教學法」教授文學，不但可以提升學生英語文能力，且能獲致「全人教育」（holistic education）的成效，讓學習者終生受益無窮。文學絕非英語教學中可怕的「惡靈」（bogey），而是不可或缺的資產。