Reflection: Teaching literature

As a Literature teacher, I believe that I am not just teaching about the texts, but about the world that the texts are talking about. So if the texts I am teaching is about the old days when Shakespeare lived, or is set in the rice fields of Thailand, I need to be able to transport the students to those worlds and experience them, within the confines of the classroom. It is a challenge to be able to do so, made tougher by the tests and examinations which require students to critically read the texts and analyse the characters, theme and so on. The latter undoubtedly adds stress to students, and is why they often feel that Literature is a difficult subject. However, therein lies the advantage of Literature in the Singapore classroom; it is designed to train students to think critically, an important aspect in today’s world. This is yet another challenge for today’s Liteature teacher.


I believe that in order for students to critically appreciate any text, they need to enjoy the text first. If from the onset, they feel negative about the text, then they have already lost half the battle, and the rest of the journey will be a tough one for them. Hence, my job is to try and introduce the texts to students in enjoyable ways, and also to highlight to them that many themes are still relevant to us today. For example, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is essentially about a boy and a girl who met at a party, but are not allowed to start a relationship. As a teacher, if I can bring the story to the students’ level, then I have passed a huge hurdle. Of course, to ensure that the students are continually interested and engaged, I need to make sure that lessons are fun and filled with thought provoking activities.