Children’s Literature and the Development of Basic Skills in English

This course provides advanced knowledge about children’s culture and literature from the English-speaking world, and how literature can be approached and used in developing learners’ basic skills.

The course focuses on working with varied and multimodal texts and different literary genres that highlight the diversity amongst today’s learners. The course gives advanced subject-didactic and theoretical knowledge about a broad and varied selection of literary genres, as well as multimodal texts. Furthermore, the course emphasizes the candidate’s own critical reading skills and critical reflection upon choice of texts and other resources for English teaching in primary grades. The course also provides the candidates with thorough knowledge about the development of learners’ basic skills, such as literacy development (in reading and writing), but also critical, digital and multimodal skills.

A central theme in the course is the use of children’s literature to promote children’s linguistic, aesthetic and intercultural competencies. Moreover, the course focuses on children’s understanding of text and text creation. Accordingly, the course will explore different theoretical and methodological approaches to reading and writing through creative, exploratory and aesthetic processes.

The course also focuses on discussion and reflection upon own teaching practice, and the course work involves a variety of written, oral and digital assignments.

Knowledge

The student has

• in-depth knowledge about the development of basic skills in English, including digital, multimodal and critical skills (literacies)
• advanced knowledge about central theories in relation to children’s literature and culture, and about research-based didactic approaches to literature teaching
• thorough knowledge about texts (written, oral, visual and multimodal) from the English-speaking world that can promote joy and motivation for reading, as well as develop learners’ linguistic and intercultural understanding/competencies
• advanced knowledge about and understanding of the possibilities and challenges of using children’s literature in an intercultural perspective
• thorough research-based literature’s potential for enhancing/broadening the learner’s understanding of self and others

Skills

The student can

• plan, teach and reflect research- and experience based, both independently and together with others
• convey essential subject knowledge to colleagues at own workplace
• use different theories and methods to analyze and critically evaluate different kinds of texts
• facilitate for exploratory, creative and practical-aesthetic processes when working with children’s literature and in the development of basic skills

General competence

The student can

• reflect theoretically upon children’s literature in relation to different historical, cultural and linguistic contexts
• use literature when working with learners’ identity development, as well as in the development of their aesthetic, linguistic and intercultural competencies
• critically evaluate texts, textbooks and other learning resources relevant to the English subject

The course will take place over two semesters with three meetings each semester. Between the meetings, the course presupposes self-study, work with different learning tasks and participation on the learning platform.

Teaching will include lectures, group work and discussions, practical learning activities, oral presentations and written work. A continuous aspect of the course is also the candidates’ own development of academic writing and reading skills.

Active participation is expected throughout the whole study process. All teaching and communication will be in English, and the candidates are expected to use the language actively during the meetings and in written and oral communication with peers and instructors.