Teaching English via Fiction : A phenomenographic study of teachers’ perceptions about using fiction to teach English

Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine and identify the different ways in which secondary and upper secondary school teachers perceive the use of fiction to teach English as well as their beliefs about the outcome or benefits of doing so. Five secondary and upper secondary school teachers in Sweden who teach English as a foreign language were interviewed about how they use fiction to teach English. A phenomenographic cross-case analysis was used to analyse the data. The teachers’responses were categorized and labelled into two main themes, that is, teaching methods and benefits of using fiction to teach English. However, the teachers’ descriptions about the definition and medium of expressing fiction was first established. The data from the theme ‘teaching methods’ were later sorted, categorized, and labelled into six instructional strategies. The teaching strategies included: selecting authentic learning material for students; building knowledge about themes in the fictional works; using classroom discussions to support students' learning; encouraging students to use their previous knowledge and learning experiences to understand the content of the fictional works; using audio-visual aids to enhance students' understanding of themes in the fictional works; and designing tasks that reinforce learning. These strategies were common amongst all five teachers. However, there were some subtle differences in the teaching methods, caused by factors such as the students’ mastery of the English language, the English course(s) the teachers were teaching and the fictional material they were using to teach English.