Literature in the English as an additional language classroom: an integrative review of Brazilian studies

Abstract

The present study aims at investigating the role and place of literature in the English as an additional language classroom (EAL) in the Brazilian context. In order to do that, an Integrative review (Souza; Silva; Carvalho, 2010) was carried out in the digital repository Portal de Periódicos da CAPES (https://www.periodicos.capes.gov.br/) with the terms “literature” and “English language teaching”, which were used both in English and in Portuguese. The key concepts that constituted the basis of this study are: Literature as a human right (Cândido, 1995); Critical Pedagogy (Freire, 1989, 2006, 2010); Engaged pedagogy (hooks, 2022) and Critical Language Pedagogy (Crookes, 2013). The objective was to answer the following research questions: (1) How has Literature been approached in the teaching of English in the Brazilian context? (2) Has Literature contributed to the promotion of a critical perspective in the teaching of English in Brazil?. Departing from the search of studies, and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, nine articles were selected and analysed. Two main trends regarding the approach of literature in the English classroom could be observed: a) literature as a means to teach language and b) literature as a means to promote critical language development. Although some tenets of critical language pedagogy (Crookes, 2013) could be identified in the articles belonging to the second trend, in most of them the concepts are not explicitly discussed. In addition, it seems that the word critical is sometimes used without a clear definition. Thus, English language teachers may struggle when trying to understand how to approach literature from a critical perspective in their classrooms.