How to Teach Literature to College Non-English Majors
Many non-English majors shy away from college English courses until the very last minute, or until they have no other choice: They either take the required course or they don't graduate. Students with this sort of phobia haven't learned, or been shown, how pleasurable studying literature can be. Here are some ways to help them see the light.
Instructions
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Have students write in a journal. Tell them that this will be a class requirement, but that grammar and spelling mistakes will not be held against them. They will write on a daily basis, and they will write whatever they want, but the key is to have them write about what they have read or seen (if they have recently viewed a movie, for example).
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Have students write a short story of their own based on a story they studied in class. Assure them that they will not be plagiarizing, because they are not to use the characters or theme of the story per se; they are to take what they were left with or the feeling they had when they finished the story. It is this feeling that will be the germ for their own story.
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Break up the class into groups of five or six. Give the students questions pertaining to the literature (whether poems, a story or a play) they have been assigned. After discussing the literature and answering the questions, each group reports back to the class to share what they have done.
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Go outside the classroom. Taking field trips to plays, to poetry readings on campus or to nearby facilities can show non-English majors the gratification of studying literature.
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Have the students put on their own adaptation of a story they studied in class. Encourage them to look for props among items they may have at home. Also encourage them to improvise, adding their own twist to the literature. They can write their lines on index cards to lessen the stress of memorization. The audience will be the students' classmates.
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Tips & Warnings
Though written assignments will still be required and exams will be given, the students will have a better attitude toward the required work because of the fun they have had.
