An Applied Linguist in the Literature Classroom

Abstract

French teachers are facing lowering enrollments and student demands for marketable language skills. As a result of these trends, the study of literature is often sacrificed. Can the literature classroom serve as a place where students' needs for utilitarian relevancy are met? As an applied linguist, I argue that theories and research in second language acquisition (SLA) can have an impact on the teaching of literature. In order to illustrate this point, I review four principal areas of research in SLA, discusses their implications for the literature teacher, and provides concrete examples from French literary works. Finally I conclude that teachers of language and teachers of literature must join forces in new ways to (re)claim a place for the study of literature in the foreign language curriculum.