Reading the short story The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde as a practice for English as additional language teaching and learning process

Abstract

This article addresses the teaching of English as an Additional Language (EAL) in the Brazilian basic education context through a pedagogical practice developed upon the use of literary texts, in this case Oscar Wilde’s short story entitled The Happy Prince (1888). This work describes this pedagogical practice as well as highlights the benefits of using literature in EAL teaching practices. The justification relies on the disbelief manifested by many teachers concerning the use of literary texts in the EAL teaching context. Important theorists in the field of language teaching, such as Violetta-Irene (2015), Corchs (2006), Brumfit & Carter (1986), Festino (2011), among others, provided the theoretical framework for this research. The results demonstrate that language teaching through the use of literary texts is feasible, creating a more contextualized, reflective, critical, motivating learning process that develops the linguistic abilities of the students while enriching their social, historical and cultural knowledge.

Keywords

• ILA. Texto literário. Prática pedagógica.