Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,7, University of Kassel (Literature: Language and Cultural Awareness), course: Department of English & Romance Languages, language: English, abstract: This term paper will take several questions into account by starting off with a general definition of the terms ‘Literature, Language and Cultural Awareness’ as they are the basis for talking about literature and literary texts. Afterwards, a precise definition of the terms will follow before the consequences for the EFL classroom will be mentioned which lead to a text example that shows how one can teach the aspects that have been mentioned before and why it is important to teach students literature at all. The text shows that students need to understand other cultural backgrounds in order to understand the whole text since we do not have the expression ‘hills like white elephants’ in Germany. As a result, this text is a good example for showing how important language and cultural awareness are in order to understand literary texts in the EFL classroom. When we talk about literature in the EFL classroom, we should first of all ask ourselves what we need to take into consideration in general when we want to deal with literary texts in the EFL classroom. Some questions arise like why one should teach literature in the EFL classroom and what kind of literature needs to be taught. It is important to read literary texts in the EFL classroom because the curriculum says that teachers should deal with different countries and cultures by presenting people in real life situations. Therefore, they should mostly use authentic material in order to build a connection to the student’s world. The teacher should be careful in choosing texts for the EFL classroom because the texts need to be suitable for the class in order to let the students work with them.

Defying Culture Hegemony through Teacher Generated Materials contributes to the growing literature on the critical analysis of English language teaching and learning materials used with students in local contexts. This research draws on contextualised teacher generated materials that contest decontextualised and standardised cultural content present in generic and commercial EFL textbooks. Six in-service teachers developed contextualised EFL materials (workshops and worksheets) for the pedagogical interventions of their qualitative action research (five teachers), or case studies (one teacher) to be used in state-funded and private schools, two private universities, and a non-formal public institution. Two full-time professors of the emphasis conducted a qualitative documentary research whose main purpose was to critically analyse the cultural content of EFL materials generated by these in-service teachers. These sociocultural mediations correspond to local realities of those who learn and teach English with these mediations in state-funded and private educational institutions in the Colombian context. Besides being designed from a critical stance and being implemented with students of varied English proficiency in state-funded and private educational institutions, these contextualised materials counter conventional resources used in EFL education, make up for their absence, or complement the existing ones. EFL materials proposed by the six in-service teachers create reflective, meaningful, and constructive learning environments. They also challenge the long-term cultural hegemony of commercial and instrumental EFL textbooks produced by foreign publishing houses or their local branches in our country. Furthermore, the study explores the role of contextualised teacher generated materials in fostering the development of students' cultural awareness, self-esteem and self-concept, and inquiry skills such as observation, prediction, interpretation, and communication. Additionally, it enquires into students' inferential reading and speaking in a blended learning setting, and in-service EFL teachers' oral interaction. This volume portrays a dimension of English teachers that reclaims their role as critical researchers and materials developers and invites them to envision themselves as autonomous and prospective educators and ponder their renewed identity.

Each contributing author offers a unique perspective from their specific college discipline. Some of the scholarly essays focus on issues of health and wellbeing during the COVID crisis and what college educators can learn from those experiences to better equip them for handling such disruptions in the future. Other contributing authors focus on diversity of race and gender by exploring injustices as revealed in ethnic and minority literature and gender-focused literature. Some scholarly essays reveal how teaching foreign languages can foster a diversity consciousness in students and expose them to cultural experiences and cross-cultural communication of diverse people around the world. Some of the contributing authors use their agency to advocate for access for students who have experienced underrepresentation and to promote building an inclusive multicultural campus. Students with developed critical thinking skills, collaborative skills, and cultural intelligence will be prepared for leadership stateside and abroad.

A couple’s future hangs in the balance as they wait for a train in a Spanish café in this short story by a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize–winning author. At a small café in rural Spain, a man and woman have a conversation while they wait for their train to Madrid. The subtle, casual nature of their talk masks a more complicated situation that could endanger the future of their relationship. First published in the 1927 collection Men Without Women, “Hills Like White Elephants” exemplifies Ernest Hemingway’s style of spare, tight prose that continues to win readers over to this day.

A bear takes a baby into the forest to eat some honey, and her mother is so relieved to find the baby safe and covered in honey that she begins using the endearment "honey," which now all parents use to address their children.

In Writing Without Teachers, well-known advocate of innovative teaching methods Peter Elbow outlines a practical program for learning how to write. His approach is especially helpful to people who get "stuck" or blocked in their writing, and is equally useful for writing fiction, poetry, and essays, as well as reports, lectures, and memos. The core of Elbow's thinking is a challenge against traditional writing methods. Instead of editing and outlining material in the initial steps of the writing process, Elbow celebrates non-stop or free uncensored writing, without editorial checkpoints first, followed much later by the editorial process. This approach turns the focus towards encouraging ways of developing confidence and inspiration through free writing, multiple drafts, diaries, and notes. Elbow guides the reader through his metaphor of writing as "cooking:" his term for heating up the creative process where the subconscious bubbles up to the surface and the writing gets good. 1998 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Writing Without Teachers. In this edition, Elbow reexamines his program and the subsequent influence his techniques have had on writers, students, and teachers. This invaluable guide will benefit anyone, whether in the classroom, boardroom, or living room, who has ever had trouble writing.