Leni Marlina
In order to improve learning English as foreign language (EFL) in the developing country such as Indonesia, English teachers need to integrate children's literature in teaching and learning process. Despite children's literature is sometimes stereotyped as books for young learners only, the use of English children's literature for teaching EFL at secondary schools has many benefits for the adolescent students. The aim of this paper is to discuss: (1) the importance of utilizing English children's literature; (2) the types of English children's literature which can be used in teaching; and (3) the implementation of integrating English children's literature into EFL classroom. The main reason to use English children's literature in EFL classroom according to Hismanoglu (2005) is that because it has valuable authentic material, cultural enrichment, language enrichment and personal involvement. The implementation of integrating English children's literature has to consider two main factors: selection of the literary texts and teaching implementation. The model of teaching by using children's literature can use a certain format which suggested by Richard-Amato and Snow (2005), it is framed as a sequence of Into, Thought, and Beyond (ITB). Into is the step that occurs before reading. On the stage of Into, a teacher attempts to make students interested in the text upon preparation of many resources. Thought is the step when students are ready to read the literary works. On the stage of Thought, it requires the way to engage the class to a story by reading aloud and having expression. Beyond is the step where students can do activities to extend the appreciation of the work. In improving student's English learning capacity, the model of ITB will strongly need to be supported by Literature Circle which is design to be able use both in and outside classroom. © Common Ground, Leni Marlina.
State University of Padang (UNP), West Sumatra, Indonesia
