Skönlitterära urvalsprocesser
En studie om relationen mellan kunskapsförmedling, styrdokument och kanonbegrepp i gymnasial engelskundervisning
This study explores the selection processes regarding fictional literature in English as asecond language education. The aim is to illustrate the relationship between the knowledgeteachers seek to pass on to their students and how the governing documents and the Westernliterary canon affect which literature that is chosen. The study uses qualitative interviews withsix teachers from different gymnasial schools in Northern Sweden. The results show thatteachers use literature as a tool for teaching grammar, lexicon, language structure and storytellingskills. In the more advanced English courses, the teachers prefer to exert more controlover which literature is read, mainly due to the fact that the governing documents specificallyrequire a presence of older, culturally established works. These choices are highly influencedby the Western literary canon. Teachers use different methods to make sure that these worksare covered, including adaptations such as film, music or poetry. Some teachers argue that theuse of adaptations robs the students of the chance to learn how to enjoy the true art-form thatthe originals represent, while others argue that this is a way to make sure that their studentsaccess canonized works in a, for them, interesting way.