Engaging Young Learners in Literature to Promote Their Language Development and Literacy

Abstract

This paper explores the ways language teachers use in engaging their young learners in literature used in the classroom for promoting their language development and literacy. Research shows that stories have great impacts in children's early lives and their language development. Listening to stories told or read to them is one major way for children to pick up vocabularies and use them to communicate with other children and adults. However, there are times when teachers fail to engage students in the stories read or told in the classroom. Teachers, therefore, should have creativities to engage their students in the literary works read in the classroom. Ways language teachers can use include the diversity of the selection of the reading materials and pre-reading, during-reading, and after-reading activities. It is in these activities that teachers can implement different ways of reading, depending on the characteristics and responses of their students.