Literature, Reading, Writing, and ESL: Bridging the Gaps

For a long time, literature, which once played a prominent role in language study, has been excluded from both ESL programs and first language composition programs whose central aim is the achievement of linguistic proficiency. In recent years, however, many educators in both fields have again acknowledged the academic, intellectual, cultural, and linguistic benefits of the study of literature. An examination of research on the activities of reading, composing, and responding to literature reveals that these three areas of study, usually taught separately, can be viewed as similar processes. After discussing these findings, this article describes a literature and composition course which demonstrates how ESL students can profit from instruction which focuses on the interrelationship of reading and writing. The course also shows that ESL students have much to gain when literature is the reading content of their composition course and the subject matter for their compositions.