Abstract:

The article gives an insight into the peculiarities of learning and teaching English and American literature to future translators and interpreters. The authors present their findings on introducing works of literature by English and American authors into the academic process of professional linguists’ training. The research has an interdisciplinary character – it is carried out at the confluence of linguistics, literature studies and methods of teaching academic subjects thus being a contribution into the study of content and language integrated learning.

The research data collected with the help of traditional research methods of observation, product analysis and questionnaire allow the authors to come to a number of conclusions. The most valuable of them is that learning English and American literature extends students’ background knowledge and promotes the many-sided development of their personality, background knowledge, abilities to evaluate, reflect and express their opinion alongside improving their language skills in all kinds of activities. Reading fiction enriches vocabulary which gives basis for different kinds of tasks: comprehension checking questions, lexical and grammar exercises, translation practice assignments. Writing skills are mainly trained by making interpretation of literature works or their fragments, which involves a complex analysis of the typical features of the author’s language, lexis and syntax of the story, including the stylistic devices as well as covering its content. Essays are written to discuss issues connected with the problems raised in the texts, expressing opinions and giving reasons, using all means of coherence and cohesion, relevant phrases and clichés, and referring to examples. Monologues, dialogues and discussions contribute to the students’ speaking skills, encouraging their communication in class and via specialized distance learning resources. Audiobooks may also be introduced into the course for developing listening skills. As literature is part of culture, studying it gives knowledge in social and cultural contexts. The skills of autonomous study involve studying authors’ biographies and literature reviews, references, encyclopedias and dictionaries. Using illustrations and slideshows for reports and presentations gives an opportunity to develop creativity.

Teaching literature provides an opportunity to introduce various forms of work and a wide range of tasks: work in pairs and groups, compiling glossaries, doing matching tasks, categorizing, etc. This is necessary for forming language, communication and professional competences of future translators and interpreters supporting motivation for further study. The authors’ views are supported unreservedly by the results of the students’ opinion survey on popularity and efficiency of literature studying, as referred to in the article.

Keywords:

English and American Literature, linguistics, teaching methods, translator/interpreter training.