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About this talk

What is the role of literature in language learning and teaching? Amos Paran reflects on a career spent working on literature in language teaching. Are there methodological approaches that are more likely to succeed than others? What is the role of initial teacher education and of CPD in helping teachers access the affordances of literary works of all genres in language classrooms across the world and at different educational stages? Different countries and different curricula take different views and provide different answers to these questions: there is no one view of the role of literature in language teaching; rather, there are stories of literature in language teaching (Paran, 2006). In this lecture, Professor Amos Paran attempts to untangle some of these stories through reflecting on the connection between practice and research and the way in which they feed on each other. He reflects on the value that is put on researching and on working with teachers; on the insights into practice that his own research and that of his students has uncovered; and on the different approaches to teaching and researching literature he has encountered. This is also the story of the way in which his career spent working on literature in language teaching has unfolded, seemingly of its own volition, without a plan; in the words of Antonio Machado: caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. Following the lecture, guests are warmly invited to join us for a drink's reception, offering the opportunity to continue the conversation and connect with fellow attendees in a relaxed atmosphere. This is part of the IOE Professorial Public Lecture series.

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