english literature tutor

english literature tutor

Exploring the Evolution of English Literature: A Comprehensive Guide for Tutors

1. Introduction to English Literature Tutoring

In order to read and appreciate literature, students need to have a sense of poetry and aesthetic, a touch for linguistic elegance and beauty – which are the soul of a good piece of literature. English being a language of sophistication and elegance, it is quite natural that English literature becomes a delightful subject, which elevates the spirits, broadens the buttresses and above all, deepens the feelings. The various forms of literature (from the Elizabethan and the Restoration period, to the present day) explore almost all elements of human existence to entertain and inform us. They provide symbols, images, characters, stages, actions and thoughts rooted in universal questions inherent to human being. Besides shaping the minds of the people in the language, they build up arguments supporting the values and attitudes people cherish before, in their period and ever after. Indeed, they connect and bind people of various eras using threads of emotions.

English literature is a rich and satisfying subject. A literature which is taken up for its own sake is generally pursued not only with the objects pursued in the study of other kinds of literature but also with many others which are not pursued in this way. Reading is, of course, essential for a brief study of English literature, or any literature for that matter. Please make your students aware of the bitter truth – literature is essentially about reading, and you cannot avoid reading – and that’s what they are going to do in their language and literature classes – only reading and almost nothing else. A wide reading provides them with many perspectives, and a freedom to enjoy course and language dynamics. This helps them plan their syllabus and give equal importance to both language and literature in all their classes, ensuring an amalgamation of language and literature. It will eventually enrich their mind as well as approaches. Treat reading as a joyful activity, not as a burden.

2. Key Literary Movements and Periods

Part 2: Although some people would draw the boundaries rather differently, and some would add an age of information, this list represents a largely historical view of our literary tradition. We have divided the thousand or so years of English literature into a number of periods, each of which is fixated on a particular characteristic, trait, trend or paradigm of literature. The periods may seem numerous, and their boundaries too readily defined, but sections of literary history that can be seen to share a more or less uniform set of values, to have experienced similar trends and patterns, or to have a common preoccupation or ‘motive’, may then be regarded as ‘periods’, with their own general characteristics and scope. Buildings in a particular style, like art and literature, often and predominantly have the characteristics of their era – ‘Gothic’ cathedrals might be seen as the equivalents of Chevy Novas or Tickle-me Elmo toys. Only literature does this in the most extreme way.

Part 1: The following list of key periods in English literature marks a close approximation to the arrangement of the literature and language focus in the post-16 phase of education. In KS3 years, study is less exclusively associated with literary history. These stages are as long (or as brief) as we wish them to be. Important events, individuals and ideas do not respect chronological barriers and we should always be prepared to cross frontiers, leapfrog and double back. Nevertheless, the periods, and their approximate temporal designations offered, as it is intended to help tutors get their bearings in the broadest sweep of the literature, and more helpfully, in sorting out topic areas for lesser sabbaticals and diversions.

3. Effective Teaching Strategies for English Literature

Reading can be exhilarating. The relationship of the student to the literature is as important as the significance of the material found in the literature and how it is handled by the tutor. Interactive and reciprocal in nature, literature itself mirrors back to its student the student’s hopes and fears, dreams and discoveries. Thus, teaching strategies and methods need to facilitate student-student and student-text useful interactions. They also require innovative planning and monitoring on the part of the tutor. Once low-level abilities are replaced with high-level abilities, most students become perceptive and interested readers who can work harmoniously and effectively with their tutor. As students test and experience literature, they exploit their textual resources which lead ultimately to more open avenues for gaining meaning from the literature.

Robert Frost writes in his poem “Mending Wall,” “Good fences make good neighbors.” This saying holds true in relation to tutoring English literature. It is very important for an English tutor to know the boundaries of his or her abilities. As a private tutor, it is important to maintain respect for a student’s rights as an individual; remember to obey strictly all ethical considerations. Statistics indicate that a tutor’s personal warmth is a major factor in promoting student achievement. Most tutors have found that the initial student-tutor meeting is crucial, for it liberates both parties from artificial expectations and concerns. The tutor is not the student’s surrogate teacher, and the student is not a passive receptacle. Both should be considered working partners.

4. Utilizing Technology in English Literature Tutoring

Also, the education departments of colleges and universities should inspire trainees’ mental development, where it should be normal practice for pupils to be able to answer orally and visually stimulating questions about the type of learning they are undergoing. Tutors have to keep reminding themselves that the only way they can maintain interest and enhance learning is through the use of a wide range of multi-platformed questioning techniques, which will benefit today’s media wedded and ‘wall-posted’ generation of learners. Written, auditory, and visual captivation have become the ‘buzz-word’ for all inclusive tutorials, so the classic queries still play a valid part in stimulating students’ participation and enjoyment in ‘book learning’. They need to be taught that all around them is one great big enquiry of the benefits. All they have to do is develop a willingness to explore that new world that will improve their reading, speaking, and confidence skills and, incidentally, raise their educational qualifications.

Reading literature is a leisure skill that today’s technology-attached students are unwilling to do. They think that reading is a waste of time and that they can get all the information they require from social networking sites, the internet, and through multimedia presentations. This means that assignment stimulus material often does not attract them. In fact, many tutors encourage students to take photocopies of their assignments home and discuss them with their parents because the parents know more about the context of the poems, novels, and plays than most students do. It is incumbent on English Literature tutors to capitalize on this latent knowledge that a lot of the students and their parents have about the classics and, at the same time, to cultivate a love and enthusiasm for these masterpieces that are so wonderfully created, so exquisitely worded, and so universally presented – who has not had the Shakespearean experience of not being able to ‘breathe’ in some dramatic circumstance? Who, apart from our students, wants to read literature devoid of creative technique?

5. Assessment and Feedback in English Literature Tutoring

Feedback and assessment practices in English literature courses are the main strategies to help students optimize their learning. The choice of assessment and feedback should be viewed first and foremost through the outcomes required of university-educated English literature graduates. This is essential to select the most appropriate strategies to assess these outcomes and enhance student learning in the most efficient way possible. Permanent assessment provides assistance to students’ preparation and assists in the construction of knowledge in the context of their prior knowledge. Teachers expect that students will be able to provide an answer to a question in a manner that demonstrates their understanding of principles, ability and skills they apply, and the identification of problems and analysis and evaluation of issues.

English literature comprises a variety of literary works written in English. The vast array of literature includes works created by authors from different countries and cultures, including the English-speaking nations of England, the United States, Canada, and Australia. The age and depth of English literature combined with current interests and new methods of delivery have resulted in a large number of general and specialized courses offered to undergraduate students. English literature students have diverse objectives, and English courses provide a variety of discipline-related content considering the diverse needs and learning preferences of students. The emphasis on teaching and learning has produced the growth of feedback and assessment tools that are considered vital to a successful and effective learning environment. Effective feedback results in enhanced student performance and promotes the learning of students from different backgrounds and students studying different topics.