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Lesson 2: Testing and Critical Approaches to Literature
INTRODUCTION:



Literature is a humanities subject, but it is part of most language programs of schools
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Today, the bulk of the subjects in an English major course are language not literature, but the
latter continues to be integrated in the language program because of its potential benefits
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:


At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
a
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Discuss the various critical approaches to literature;
c
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Criticize sample literatures using the various approaches; and
e
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MOTIVATION:
ACTIVITY #1: Throwback Time Directions: Recall your most favorite literacy piece discussed in your
English class
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(20 points)

PRESENTATION:



Stern (1987) in her article, Expanded Dimensions to Literature in ESL/EPL: An Integrated
Approach, stressed the great influence of literature to language learning According to her,
linguistically, literature can help students master the vocabulary and grammar of the language
as well as the four language skills
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Moreover, provides the subject matter, the context, and inspiration for numerous
Written and oral activities so that a single literary work becomes the central focus of a
classroom study unit
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TYPES OF LITERATURE TESTS

In general, literature tests may be classified as testing literary background or testing reading
selections
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Since tests of this type do not entail active use of language skills this Module will focus only
on tests on reading selections
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According to the Taxonomy of Cognitive Questions, questions are classi fied,
according to complexity, as follows: literal comprehension, reorganization, inferential
comprehension, evaluation, and appreciation
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II
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It may be oral or written
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Both tests may use the objective or essay format
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III
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Testing Literal Comprehension
Literal comprehension tests include recall of details, main ideas, sequence, comparisons, cause and
effect relationships and character traits
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Objective type
Recall of details
• Identify the characters who sad the following lines in the story
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b
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2
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Students are
required to re-arrange ideas according to required format to show that the whole concept has been
well understood
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Objective type
• Classifying
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• Synthesizing
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b
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Construct a topic outline of the essay providing at least three main heads and a number
of sub-heads
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Write a one-paragraph summary of the plot of the story
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Testing Inference
Inferential tests require students to use information explicitly stated in the text along with personal
experience and knowledge in order to conjecture and to form hypothesis
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a
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• Inferring character traits: Match the adjectives that best describe the traits of the character as
shown by his/her actions
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Essay type
• Predicting outcomes: What do you think is in store for Lumnay as the symbols at the end of the
story portend?
• Inferring author's organization: Why did Nick Joaquin use three generations in his story?
4
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Such tests include judgments of reality and
fantasy; fact or opinion; adequacy and validity; appropriateness; worth, desirability and
acceptability
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Objective type
• Judgments of fact or opinion: Write O if the following statement expresses an opinion of a reader
on the story, F if the statement is stated by the author in the story
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Essay type

• Judgments of reality and fantasy: Do the events in the story depict real- life situations or are they
just product of the author's imagination? Explain
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Testing Appreciation
Appreciation tests require students to articulate emotional and aesthetic responses to the text
based on personal and professional standards of literacy forms, styles, genres, theories, critical
approaches
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a
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b
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Evaluating Literature Tests

Just like any tests, objective type of literature tests is easy to evaluate because there are ready
answer keys to
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Essay type of tests, however, is difficult to assess because the
evaluation focuses on both content and form
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Form is the language of the response;
assessment should consider grammar and diction
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Evaluation and appreciation tests, however, elicit opinion answers, thus the substance does not
depend on the literary text but on the student's ability to expound his/her ideas
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The more proficient in language the student is, the more chances he/she
has of getting good ratings
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Understanding critical perspectives will help you to see and
appreciate a literary work as a multilayered construct of meaning
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Soon you will be a full participant in an end less and
enriching conversation about literature
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The Formalist Approach
This is a way of analyzing a literary genre
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The formalistic approach to literature examines a text by its "organic form" - its setting, theme,
scene, narrative, image and symbol
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Excluding any external elements
or outside information (i
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Therefore, all interpretations must be supported by evidences found in the text
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Developed in the 1920's - 1930's and peaked in the 1940's - 1950's, the New
Criticism replaced the traditional literary approach by rejecting impressionism, moral tones, and
philological studies; traditionally, scholars and professors "surrounded" literature rather than closely
examining it by its form
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Even though current literary theorists
tend to criticize the formalistic approach for its "narrow-mindedness," they cannot deny that it has
left a lasting impression on American literary scholarship
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This approach examines a text as a self-contained object; it does not, therefore,
concern itself with biographical information about the author, historical events outside of the story,
or literary allusions, mythological patterns, or psychoanalytical traits of the characters (except those
aspects described specifically in the text
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After analyzing
each part, the critic then describes how they work together to make give meaning ( theme) to the
text
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The Humanist/ Ethical Approach: The effect the work has on the audience/ reader
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Literature should
instruct and delight
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Examples: Christian humanist, Marxist, feminist, "moral crusader "

2
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The impact of the work on history and the importance of historical knowledge in understanding
a work
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Examples are
given below:
a
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Literary history
4
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Biographical Criticism is a form of Literary criticism which analyses a writer’s biography to show the
relationship between the author’s life and their works of literature
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The works of authors were read as sources of information about their lives, personalities, and interests
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5
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Literature as a tool of psychoanalysis
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g
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6
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Jungian literary analysis
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g
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Archetypal image patterns, colors -- red, black
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The textual approach: As you analyze a genre, the theme may answer the following:
1
...
) What is the impact of translation
3) oral tradition
4) What is the substantive, accidental, authorial made by editor
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While they are both taken advantage of, they are on opposite ends of the spectrum of
analysis and entail entirely different approaches
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There is an emphasis on analyzing the style of the piece, words used
and the way in which the speaker delivers the message
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Overall, the textual approach to rhetorical
analysis is used to dig deep into the literal text and better understand what is being said and what the
speaker is trying to defend or present to the reader
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Martin Luther
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech
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He is relying on pathos throughout in order to relate to his audience, regardless of race,
because the issue of discrimination is a powerful subject and his details bring out emotion
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As part of the bigger picture, this speech was given in 1963 during the Civil Rights Movement, a time in
which African Americans were fighting for equal rights
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King is
African American and that this movement directly affects him making his speech more meaningful and
powerful
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8
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It would seem obvious that as linguists we have a special role in the teaching of literature, because we
are experts in the medium – language – from which literary texts are made
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Poets and writers,
particularly in their manifestos or statements about practice, make various statements about the
language of poetry which ignore or deny what linguists know about language
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9
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This can be categorized into:
a
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Reader-response suggests that the role of the reader is essential to the meaning of a text, for only in the
reading experience does the literary work come alive
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Thus, the purpose of a reading response is examining, explaining, and defending your personal reaction
to a text
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There is no right or wrong answer to a reading response
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Do not use
the standard approach of just writing: “I liked this text because it is so cool and the ending made me feel
happy,” or “I hated it because it was stupid, and had nothing at all to do with my life , and was too
negative and boring
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Thus,
do not summarize the contents of the text at length
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c
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Essay It Out!
Directions: As you have learned from this lesson, answer each item comprehensively
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What is the role of literature in language testing?
2
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3
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What are the various critical approaches to literature? Discuss each of them
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My Artifacts!
Instructions: Present one (1) sample for each type of literature tests
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(50 points)
RUBRIC:
Appropriateness of Artifact presented

5 points

Discussion/ Justification

3 points

Writing Conventions (Grammar & Spelling)

2 points

Total

10 points e ach

PART II
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Directions: Criticize the poem below using the personal approach
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(25 points)
B
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Do not forget include the summary of the story

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