The Missing Ink A Pre-Raphaelite Approach to Teaching Victorian Literature in

Secondary Education in Flanders

Word count: 8,732

Marlies Dekimpe Student number: 01102050

Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. Marianne Van Remoortel

A short dissertation Master of Teaching (9SP) submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Master of Teaching in English and Dutch

Academic year: 2020 – 2021, Master of Teaching

Table of contents

Nederlandstalige samenvatting ................................................................................................................... 1

Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3

A Pre-Raphaelite approach to teaching Victorian literature ............................................................................... 4

Research design ................................................................................................................................................... 5

Methodology and workbook analysis .......................................................................................................... 6

Teaching methodologies: the CEFR and the comprehensive approach ............................................................... 6

Bloom’s taxonomy ............................................................................................................................................... 9

Workbook analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 11 The introduction says it all ............................................................................................................................ 12 Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray ..................................................................................................... 13 Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven ......................................................................................................................... 16 Sherlock Holmes, an all-time favourite (?) .................................................................................................... 18 Some extras ................................................................................................................................................... 18

Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................... 19

The missing ink – a Pre-Raphaelite approach ............................................................................................. 21

Teaching literature: the comprehensive approach ............................................................................................ 21

Practical implementation ................................................................................................................................... 24

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 26

Appendix ................................................................................................................................................. 27

Lesson proposal .................................................................................................................................................. 27

Rubric: research assignment .............................................................................................................................. 31

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................. 32

1

Nederlandstalige samenvatting

Deze thesis werd geschreven ter afronding van de Verkorte Educatieve Master aan de

Universiteit van Gent. De paper fungeert als een onderzoeksopdracht waarbij een relevant

hedendaags educatief probleem onder de loep wordt genomen.

De voorbije twee jaar heb ik verschillende stages volbracht in het secundair onderwijs

in Vlaanderen. Tijdens deze stages viel het mij op dat er in de werkboeken Engels voor de

derde graad nauwelijks of geen Victoriaanse literatuur aan bod komt. In het eerste

theoretische luik en het daaropvolgende werkboekonderzoek van deze thesis vat ik kort

samen welke thema’s aan bod komen, waarom de onderzochte werkboeken zo selectief

omspringen met Victoriaanse literatuur én licht ik toe welke methodologieën daarbij

aangewend worden. Blooms taxonomie en the comprehensive model van Bloemert et al. zijn

de centrale pijlers binnen dit werkboekonderzoek.

Een tweede observatie die ik aankaart, is dat leerlingen en leerkrachten in de derde

graad secundair onderwijs zelden met pen en papier notities nemen. Online taken,

PowerPoints en het gebruik van mobiele toestellen zijn prominent in het secundair onderwijs.

Dit roept de vraag op, of het handschrift volledig verdrukt zal worden, terwijl het net tot

hogere leeruitkomsten zou kunnen leiden.

De afwezigheid van Victoriaanse literatuur in Engelse werkboeken, alsook het

verdwijnen van het handschrift zijn volgens dit onderzoek een leemte. De vergelijking tussen

de negentiende eeuw en onze hedendaagse samenleving vormt een stevige startpositie voor

relevant en interessant, geïntegreerd literatuuronderwijs, zeker wanneer we Victoriaanse

literatuur een prerafaëlitische insteek geven. In tegenstelling tot de onderzochte werkboeken

streeft de prerafaëlitische aanpak ernaar Blooms hoogste taxonomisch niveau (creëren) te

bereiken, alsook te voldoen aan volledig geïntegreerd taal- en literatuuronderwijs.

2

Abstract

This thesis was written as part of my teacher training at Ghent University. It serves as a

research exercise, in which I take a closer look at relevant, contemporary issues that came to

my attention these past two years, while doing teaching practice myself.

The first of these issues is the mere fact that almost no Victorian literature is

mentioned in present-day workbooks for teaching EFL in Flanders. A second, striking

observation is that students and teachers alike pay little to no attention to writing by hand.

The modern, online system offers little room for the handwritten word. This made me wonder:

is handwriting losing ground completely? And is there perhaps a higher learning outcome

resulting from writing by hand that we could integrate in present-day teaching practices?

These concerns are easily connected to those of the Victorian Era, and especially to the

aesthetic concerns the Pre-Raphaelites addressed. The similarities between the Victorian Age

and our own times make it interesting to look at the relevance of teaching literature through

a Pre-Raphaelite looking glass - not only focussing on the resemblances between both ages,

but also underlining the conflicting ideologies that arise whenever a (technological or

industrial) shift is taking place in society.

By analysing the English workbooks available in Flemish secondary education, I will be

able to give an outline of the topics that are taught in the third grade, specifically when it

comes to teaching English literature. This overview will give an idea of the limited topics that

are looked into nowadays, as well as the current methodologies applied. By giving some

insight into the different methodologies for teaching literature, as well as an explanation of

Bloom’s taxonomy, I will develop a methodology that could be used to provide a higher

learning outcome for the students, as well as providing them with more insight into the

historical and present-day relevance of the Victorian Age. By doing so, we will, hopefully, be

filling in that missing (l)ink.

3

Introduction

The Victorian Age, as the name suggests, coincides with the reign of Queen Victoria, beginning

in 1837 and ending, roughly speaking, with her death in 1901. It was a time of mass

industrialisation and inventive progression, but also a time marked by growing social unrest,

triggered by these rapid changes. The Pre-Raphaelites, a socio-artistic movement of that day,

embodied the fearful aversion of everything this modern, industrialized society represented,

including the obvious and growing gap between the rich and the poor, the loss of individualism

within a capitalist society, and the disconnection between the artist and his work. Dante

Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt were the initial members of

the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. These men turned their backs on the Renaissance and

academic conventions, preferring to draw inspiration from nature instead. (Duschness P. C.,

1960, p. 37) William Morris, Burne-Jones and Swinburne, formed the Oxford literary branch

of the Brotherhood. (Duschness P. C., 1960, p. 37) According to Morris, “the world had come

to the point where it had lost its sense of direction and thenceforward went along the road

which led to a perverse individualism, to commercial exploitation and to the debasement of

handcrafts”. (Duschness P. C., 1960, p. 37) Morris, as did the Pre-Raphaelites, believed in

useful and good looking, handmade goods, but also inherently in the process of creating.

(Duschness P. C., 1960, p. 37) The Pre-Raphaelite predilection for medieval handcrafts, ideals,

and creative exploits, therefore suggested a return to the individually created (art) work,

respecting craftsmanship as something enlightened, as opposed to the lifeless, industrially

produced goods of the Victorian Era.

More than a century later, we may consider that today’s struggles are not that

different. The immensely fast-growing technological possibilities and seemingly all-consuming

social media raise similar questions about the position of the individual and of a work of

(literary) art in a society where everything is fleeting. This comparison strengthens the

relevance of the Pre-Raphaelite frame of mind, as it wants to highlight and exalt the

importance of the bond between the individual (the reader), the artist and the work of art.

Not the printed, mass-produced book, but the private experience a reader and maker enter

into is what matters, when, for example, writing by hand, or when reflecting deeply on the

closer connection with the literary work. This personal, almost sacred experience is as

important today as it was during the Victorian Era. The renewed popularity of, for example,

4

knitting, slow coffee, houseplants and gardening amongst youngsters suggests that there is a

need to slow down and focus on valuable, mindfulness activities. As an educational response

to this need, I want to develop a methodology for teaching (Victorian) literature in secondary

education, with a Pre-Raphaelite touch to it.

A Pre-Raphaelite approach to teaching Victorian literature

The fact that I not only want to focus on a Pre-Raphaelite approach, but also on Victorian

literature in general has three reasons. Two of these have to do with the relevance of Victorian

literature today, the third has a more practical and even psycho-expressive reason.

First of all, my survey of workbooks for secondary (English) education in Flanders

indicates that there is little attention for Victorian literature, a notable lacuna which should

be filled for several reasons. As mentioned earlier, the Victorian Era is in many ways

comparable to society’s struggles of today. By looking into the different literary reactions to

the social unrest of that time, I believe that secondary pupils could gain much more insight

into our present-day situation. This cross-historical knowledge and literary understanding will,

in my opinion, increase the personal joy in reading not only Victorian literature, but also

contemporary works of literature.

This thesis also wants to suggest that the Pre-Raphaelites could be a very rich and eye-

opening subject to teach seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds. The Pre-Raphaelites were so

much more subtle in their display of evolutionary displeasure: by referring to medieval

iconography, guilds, Pre-Raphaelite painting techniques and chivalric tales, they can even now

urge a present-day audience to grasp the rich and full, pre-industrial tradition and therefore

to see the evolution that is taking place, as it is. Of course, given the limited hours of teaching,

teachers have to select wisely what to spend time on in class. Bearing this in mind, it is obvious

that there is a lack of diversity when it comes to presenting a wide range of literary works,

especially when I find this era of literature as relevant today as it was back then. This

conviction brings me to my second argument for a modern, challenging methodology for

teaching Victorian literature.

Looking back on my secondary education, I was always more intrigued by and attracted

to texts and assignments that demanded a more creative and personal interpretation. This

creative challenge is the highest educational ‘aim’, as Bloom’s taxonomy claims. ‘Creating’ is

5

the highest thinking skill that we should strive for when challenging students in a classroom

setting. The canonical texts, Victorian or not, can all be taught with a focus on the ‘creating’

skill, by applying a Pre-Raphaelite approach. Why I opt for a Pre-Raphaelite approach has to

do with a third reason, which perhaps is a culmination of Bloom’s taxonomy and the Pre-

Raphaelite theories.

The third element that I will touch upon and that will be intertwined with the Pre-

Raphaelite theories, with Bloom’s taxonomy, and with the workbook analysis is the

diminishing focus on the act of handwriting itself. Today – especially given the pandemic

circumstances – most tasks are prepared and made on a computer. It saves teachers and

students time to hand in, gather and correct assignments. I do not advocate against the use

of the computer, but I do want to draw attention to the fact that there is much to gain from

letting students write by hand in certain situations – for example when teaching Victorian

literature. To give an idea, studies have shown that there is stronger brain activity after taking

notes by hand, than after typing on mobile devices. (Umejima, Ibaraki, Yamazaki, & Sakai,

2021) The title of this paper, The Missing Ink, not only refers to Philip Hensher’s plea about

“how handwriting makes us who we are” (Hensher, 2013), but also to the lack of nineteenth-

century writing in EFL workbooks and the practical Pre-Raphaelite approach in general.

Research design

This paper, in parallel with the three points of focus, consists of three parts. The first part is a

literature study in which I will describe the teaching methodologies (for literature) that are

applied today, as advised by the MLA and CEFR. I will also add a short summary of Bloom’s

taxonomy, in order to refer to it properly in my workbook research. Subsequently, I will

describe what Victorian literary topics the workbooks offer and what type of exercises are

mostly represented, all the while referring to the teaching methodologies and to Bloom’s

taxonomy. In the second part, I will substantiate my choice of a Pre-Raphaelite approach to

teaching Victorian literature in secondary education, and I will also take a closer look at the

relevance of the handwritten word in close connection to Pre-Raphaelite ideas. In the third,

practical, part I will add a possible literature class, of course focussing on Victorian literature,

in which I apply the methodology I propose.

6

Methodology and workbook analysis

Teaching methodologies: the CEFR and the comprehensive approach

The introduction has already made clear that present-day teachers are very limited in what

they may teach. Every teacher has to stick to the prescribed eindtermen, issued by the Flemish

government. These eindtermen strictly state what every student should attain in every course,

in every grade. In recent years, these eindtermen have been revised to reflect society’s

changing needs. There has been a major shift towards preparing students to become more

communicative and more proficient in handling information so as to function more effectively

as fully fledged citizens in our ever-changing society. The advised methodologies, proposed by

the leading methodological institutions, such as the Modern Language Association of America

(MLA) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching,

Assessment (CEFR), reflect this need, as do the workbooks that are available today for

teaching English as a foreign language. (The CEFR Levels, 2021)

It is perhaps useful to clarify that the CEFR is a practical instrument, and that it has

“played a decisive role in the teaching of so-called ‘foreign’ languages by promoting

methodological innovations and new approaches to designing teaching programmes, notably

the development of a communicative approach”. (The CEFR Levels, 2021) The CEFR is a tool

to assess and indicate the proficiency level of foreign language learners all over the world: it

is a standard framework, not only to enable language learners to discern their proficiency

level, but also a framework providing the most up-to date methodological innovations. MLA

is the CEFR’s American counterpart – which explains why I will be referring mostly to the CEFR

and less to the MLA.

Before I discuss the list of English workbooks and what topics Flemish students spend their

time on in EFL classes, it is necessary to look at the contemporary teaching methodologies

that are applied in everyday classroom settings today, as these are closely connected to the

setup of the workbooks available. Teaching methodologies are a theoretical translation of how

teachers should practically present content to their pupils. In practice, a teaching

methodology is always in interaction with the teacher’s and students’ ability, personality,

motivation, convictions, etc. (Valcke & De Craene, 2020) This complex interaction of very

7

personal attributes makes it impossible to speak of a ‘perfect’ methodology: class

management and, consequently, learning outcomes will succeed only when there is a well-

balanced, organic, interactive classroom setting in which both teacher and students are

intrinsically motivated and working towards the same goal. (Valcke & De Craene, 2020) A

teaching methodology is therefore never an immutable thing; it is under constant influence

of its setting, context and the teacher and students involved.

Bearing this in mind, we can discern the leading teaching models that have been and

are applied today. A recent study by Bloemert, Jansen and Van de Grift (2016) has defined

four different approaches to studying foreign language literature. (Bloemert, Jansen, & Van

de Grift, Exploring EFL literature in Dutch secondary education, 2016, issue 2) According to

Bloemert et al., we can distinguish a text approach, a context approach, a reader approach,

and a language approach. (Bloemert, Jansen, & Van de Grift, Exploring EFL literature in Dutch

secondary education, 2016, issue 2, p. 173) These four approaches each have a different focus

on the use of literature: the four models each underline what purpose literature can serve

within the foreign language class. Following Pagan’s example (2006), Bloemert et al. make a

clear distinction between the study of literature and the use of literature as a resource.

(Bloemert, Jansen, & Van de Grift, Exploring EFL literature in Dutch secondary education,

2016, issue 2, p. 173) The study of literature either focusses on the text itself or the context

of the text. In the former approach, we would for example take a closer look at character

development and literary analysis. The latter approach focusses on the (socio-cultural)

historical context, in which the literary piece was written. (Bloemert, Jansen, & Van de Grift,

Exploring EFL literature in Dutch secondary education, 2016, issue 2, p. 173) The use of

literature as a resource, on the other hand, does not focus on the text, but on the development

of the reader. The reader approach and the language approach both underline this

development of the learner. The former focusses on the personal development (through

interaction with the text), whereas the latter focusses on pure language acquisition (for

example the acquisition of vocabulary or grammatical structures), by reading the text.

(Bloemert, Jansen, & Van de Grift, Exploring EFL literature in Dutch secondary education,

2016, issue 2, p. 174) The four models can be discerned separately throughout history.

8

(Bloemert, Jansen, & Van de Grift, Four approaches to FL literature eduction)

Before 2001, the CEFR companion volume only mentions literature in a textual approach,

focussing on the aesthetics of literary texts. It is only since 2001 that the CEFR suggests a

possible combination of the models: since then, the companion volume explicitly states that

“literary studies serve many more educational purposes – intellectual, moral and emotional,

linguistic and cultural – than the purely aesthetic. It is much to be hoped that teachers of

literature at all levels may find many sections of the Framework relevant to their concerns and

useful in making their aims and methods more transparent.” (CEFR companion volume 2001,

2021) The CEFR puts faith in the teachers, without giving clear practical tools on how to

actually make literature relevant at all levels, within the EFL classroom. The MLA picked up the

suggestion, proposing a move towards a more integrated language and literature curriculum

in 2007. (Bloemert, Jansen, & Van de Grift, Exploring EFL literature in Dutch secondary

education, 2016, issue 2, p. 173) However, it took another decade to reach an updated

methodology.

In 2018 the CEFR combined the four models into a renewed approach to teaching

literature in Europe, now clearly advocating the importance of not only reading as a leisure

activity, but also emphasizing that learners of English should be able to analyse, criticize and

express their reactions to creative texts and literature. (CEFR companion volume 2020, 2021)

This statement, as will become clear in the next paragraphs, is obviously inspired by Bloom’s

taxonomy. Researchers such as Bloemert et al. have come up with a practical combination of

the four methodologies discussed, responding to the CEFR’s appeal towards an integrated

language and literature curriculum. Bloemert et al. speak of a practice-based model, also

known as the comprehensive model, which I will come back to in the second part of this thesis.

The comprehensive model, together with Bloom’s taxonomy, was the main inspiration to

develop a Pre-Raphaelite approach for teaching Victorian literature in secondary education.

9

Bloom’s taxonomy

Now that we have discerned the four leading methodologies for teaching EFL literature today,

I want to complete this theoretical basis with a short overview of Bloom’s much used

taxonomy. In 1948 Benjamin Bloom and a group of fellow educational psychologists started

to develop a classification system for educational goals and objectives. (Nieto-Cruz, 2010, p.

4) The system would consist of three domains: the cognitive, the affective, and the

psychomotoric. (Nieto-Cruz, 2010, p. 4) Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain was

completed in 1956, and from then on made it possible for researchers to categorize the

objectives of the learning system. (Nieto-Cruz, 2010, p. 4) The framework helps teachers to

clarify and organize their teaching objectives, allowing them to prepare appropriate

instruction and to choose valid tasks and assessment strategies, thus ensuring that instruction

and assessment are all aligned with the objectives. (Armstrong, Bloom's Taxonomy, 2010) In

short: it is an indispensable tool in everyday teaching practice.

The original framework consists of six categories: knowledge, comprehension,

application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Each category consecutively builds further

upon the previous, providing teachers and students with a clear and simple ‘guideline’ as to

which educational objectives are more challenging, and which objectives build upon the

mastery of a preliminary level. The categories thus consecutively aim at higher learning

outcomes, which means that pure knowledge is the necessary precondition to be able to

comprehend, apply, analyse, and so on. Once students have reached a certain basic

knowledge, they will be able to challenge themselves with other skills and abilities by putting

this knowledge into practice.

In 2001, Bloom’s taxonomy was updated, adding one more, higher, category: creating.

(Armstrong, Bloom's Taxonomy, 2010) The psychologists, theorists and researchers who

published this revised taxonomy also altered the framework, making it into a more dynamic

system of classification. (Armstrong, Bloom's Taxonomy, 2010) By using action-oriented

words, replacing the original nouns by verbs and gerunds, they made the taxonomy more

practical for everyday use. (Armstrong, Bloom's Taxonomy, 2010) The classification now

consecutively speaks of the following learning objectives: remembering, understanding,

applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating. (Armstrong, Bloom's Taxonomy, 2010) Each of

10

these levels has a specific set of descriptors, which makes it easier to use the taxonomy to

align instructions and assessments with the lesson objectives.

The typical pyramid structure, which includes the action-oriented descriptors of every

level, is the best way of visualising the revised taxonomy:

(Armstrong, Bloom's Taxonomy)

Creating is the highest thinking skill, which means that, in order to bring students to this level,

the teacher needs to provide enough prior knowledge and exercises, giving the students

enough food for thought, context, and freedom to work with the materials provided. Letting

students select the right topic and content, and align these with a suitable methodology, is a

challenging but exciting way to stimulate them to engage with new material. The Pre-

Raphaelite approach, as will be made clear in the second part of this thesis, aims at exactly

this. First, however, I will take a closer look at what methodologies and thinking skills are

aimed at in the workbooks of EFL today.

11

Workbook analysis

In this part of the paper, I take a closer look at the English workbooks, available for teaching

English as a foreign language (EFL) in secondary education in Flanders today. After thorough

consideration I have opted to analyse English workbooks for third grade students only. The

teachers who helped me during this research confirmed that, if Victorian prose or poetry is

part of their teaching schedule, it will most likely be in the third grade of secondary education

(approx. sixteen- to eighteen-year-olds). By the third grade, the students should have

gathered enough prior knowledge to take a closer look at the historical and literary context of

Victorian Britain, and they should be able to take on more creative, personal, and less guided

assignments.

To get some insight into the instruction books and workbooks available today, I contacted

ten English teachers from different Flemish schools and cities. Half of them replied to my

request, lending me their workbooks, or giving me access to the online materials they use in

their courses. To this list of instruction manuals, I added the English workbooks available at

the faculty library of Psychology and Pedagogical Sciences at Ghent University, but the list is

not exhaustive.

- ACE 4 SET(OC), (De Baerdemaeker, Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, Van Hoefs), Pelckmans, Kalmthout,

2019 – accessed through Pelckmansportaal.be, 19 May 2021

- ACE 5 SET(OC), (Berings, Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, Van Hoefs), Pelckmans, Kalmthout, 2020 –

accessed through Pelckmansportaal.be, 19 May 2021

- Connect 4, (Vaes, Hoof, Van mechelen), Plantyn, 2019 – accessed through Scoodle, 31 March 2021

- Connect 5, (Vaes, Hoof, Van mechelen), Plantyn 2019 – accessed through Scoodle, 31 March 2021

- New Contact Two-in-One 4, an upper-intermediate English course (2nd edition), (Claeys, Deltour,

Plaquet), Plantyn, 2018 – accessed through Scoodle, 31 March 2021

- New Contact Two-in-One 5, an upper-intermediate English course (2nd edition), (Claeys, Deltour,

Plaquet), Plantyn, 2019 – accessed through Scoodle, 31 March 2021

- New Contact 5, an advanced English course workbook (Claeys, Passchyn), Plantyn, 2015 – accessed

through Scoodle, 2 May 2021

- New Transit, advanced, workbook (Deburchgraeve, De Rycke, Gijselings, Joos, Vanachter & Van

Dongen), Pelckmans, Kalmthout, 2012

- Spark 4, (Arnold, Cox, De Rycke, Swaenepoel), Pelckmans, Kalmthout, 2014

12

I also investigated the following workbooks, but as these did not mention Victorian history,

prose or poetry, I will not describe their content:

- ACE 4, workbook, (De Baerdemaeker, Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, Van Hoefs), Pelckmans,

Kalmthout, 2019 – accessed through Pelckmansportaal.be, 19 May 2021

- ACE 5, workbook, (Berings, Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, Van Hoefs), Pelckmans, Kalmthout, 2020 –

accessed through Pelckmansportaal.be, 19 May 2021

- Insight, upper-intermediate student’s book & workbook (J. Wildman), Oxford University Press, Oxford,

2014

- New Contact Two-in-One, 3de graad, Down to Business (Claeys, Deltour, Plaquet), Plantyn, 2015 –

accessed through Scoodle, 31 March 2021

- New Contact Two-in-One, 3de graad, Social Matters (Claeys, Breyne, Deltour, Plaquet), Plantyn, 2014 –

accessed through Scoodle, 31 March 2021

- New Contact Two-in-One, 3de graad, State of the Art (Claeys, Deltour, Plaquet), Plantyn, 2014 –

accessed through Scoodle, 31 March 2021

- New Contact 4, an upper-intermediate English course workbook (Claeys, Passchyn), Plantyn 2015 –

accessed through Scoodle, 2 May 2021

- New English File, Intermediate teacher’s book (Oxenden, Latham-Koenig & Brennan), Oxford

University Press, Oxford, 2014

- New English File, upper-intermediate teacher’s book (Oxenden, Latham-Koenig, Brennan & Martin),

Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014

- New Transit, upper-intermediate, workbook (Deburchgrave, De Rycke, Gijselings, Joos, Vanachter &

Van Dongen), Pelckmans, Kalmthout, 2012

- Spark 5 (Arnold, Cox, De Rycke, Swaenepoel), Pelckmans, Kalmthout, 2014

For the purpose of my research, I will focus solely on the nine workbooks that broach Victorian

writing. Moreover, after scrutinizing these, I was able to discern only three recurring

(Victorian) topics: Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe and Sherlock Holmes. The Victorian Age as

such is hardly mentioned, with only a few sentences giving the students an inkling of the what

and when of the era.

The introduction says it all

The introductions of the workbooks reveal the (often similar) applied methodologies and

topics used. Overall, there is a strong focus on language-task based methods and to teach

13

students relevant, every-day communication strategies. For example, New Contact 5 claims

that it is

a language-task based course. In their view language tasks include all activities during

which the language itself is not focused on, but used for realistic purposes for which

focus language and particular functions and grammar are necessary. … Watching a

video for grasping the content of it, or reading an extract from a novel for literary

purposes are genuine language tasks. (Claeys & Passchyn, New Contact 5 Teacher's

Manual, 2015, p. 3)

Connect adds that “communication is essential when learning English, and the different skills

needed to communicate in English – speaking, conversation, writing, listening, and reading –

are all vital components of this ELT method.” (Vaes, Hoof, & Van Mechelen, Connect 4,

Leerkrachtenboek, 2019, p. vi) Moreover, the introductions accentuate the importance and

use of contemporary topics. For instance, Connect emphasises “on moving away from timeless

classics such as ‘Valentine’s Day’ or ‘Christmas’ towards contemporary topics like ecology,

science, literature, gender, politics and society, and urbanisation.” (Vaes, Hoof, & Van

Mechelen, Connect 4, Leerkrachtenboek, 2019, p. vi) The topics should trigger the students to

have and express opinions. (Vaes, Hoof, & Van Mechelen, Connect 4, Leerkrachtenboek, 2019,

p. vi)

The workbooks clearly focus on present-day themes: they stress the use of (semi-)

authentic material, which, after looking into the books, means they refer to more canonised,

well-known works, always intertwining these with modern, functional topics. When looking at

the table of contents in New Contact, it is therefore not very surprising to see the topic of

‘Tomorrowland’ listed. (Claeys, Deltour, & Plaquet, New Contact Two-in-one 4, 2018, p. 10)

The methodology used in most of the workbooks is very task-oriented, focussing on oral and

written communication, coaching the students to be able to use English in everyday situations.

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the most popular Victorian

novels used in the EFL workbooks. It is the only Victorian literary piece mentioned in New

Contact 5, in a unit focussing on deception. (Claeys, Deltour, & Plaquet, New Contact Two-in-

14

one 5, 2019, p. 119) Five pages are devoted to Wilde and this novel in particular. The students

get to read some general, albeit limited information about Wilde and the books he wrote, and

they are invited to brainstorm about what The Picture could be about, by looking at some

glossy, vintage covers of the book. (Claeys, Deltour, & Plaquet, New Contact Two-in-one 5,

2019, p. 119) Next, there is a long excerpt, accompanied by content questions which the

students can answer by simply skimming the text. This short excerpt is followed by a small

vocabulary exercise in which students have to connect several literary genres to well-known

book covers, including The Picture serving as an example of a gothic novel. (Claeys, Deltour, &

Plaquet, New Contact Two-in-one 5, 2019, p. 124) Apart from the definition, “a story that

involves darkness, evil and the supernatural, and designed to evoke terror or disgust”, there

is no mention of when or how the gothic novel first appeared, let alone why the genre is

quintessentially Victorian. (Claeys, Deltour, & Plaquet, New Contact Two-in-one 5, 2019, p.

124). There is no reference whatsoever to the cultural context in which the novel was written,

apart from the brief background information on Wilde.

New Contact 5 only focusses on the study of literary texts: there is no focus on reader

development, but only on textual and (limited) contextual information. When we compare

Bloom’s taxonomy to the exercises, it also seems that students are triggered up to the level of

analysing: the students have to analyse, examine and draw a conclusion from a text and from

some pictures, but they are not challenged to evaluate or create anything.

In New Transit, too, Oscar Wilde is one of the few Victorian writers mentioned. In

contrast with the previous workbook, it is noteworthy that New Transit spends around twenty

pages on the topic. The chapter on Wilde is divided into a factual and a fictional subchapter:

the first sheds some light on his life, his supreme conversational gifts and even his style of

dressing. (Deburchgraeve, De Rycke, & Gijselings, 2012, pp. 235-238) The students also learn

about his famous epigrams, combining listening exercises with learning new vocabulary and

writing exercises to express their thoughts on Wilde’s life and writing. (Deburchgraeve, De

Rycke, & Gijselings, 2012, p. 240)

In the subchapter on Wilde’s fiction, the students get to listen to Wilde’s fairy tale The

Happy Prince and get to read a part of The Picture of Dorian Gray, alongside a screening of the

movie adaptation. The students should watch the opening scene of the movie, and complete

ten epigrams from the opening scene. (Deburchgraeve, De Rycke, & Gijselings, 2012, p. 244)

By looking at the opening of the film The Trials of Oscar Wilde, the students get to know a bit

15

more about how Wilde’s contemporaries reacted to his pieces. (Deburchgraeve, De Rycke, &

Gijselings, 2012, p. 245)

The exercises in the workbook mainly focus on rephrasing textual content: the

students have to be able to answer questions after a listening comprehension and reading

exercise, also learning some new vocabulary. Apart from the many gap-filling exercises, there

are two noteworthy writing exercises: the students should write down their attitude to the

phrase “The love that dare not speak its name”. (Deburchgraeve, De Rycke, & Gijselings, 2012,

p. 240) This writing exercise can be used in a class discussion on homosexuality. Another

exercise triggers even more creative skills: after reading the second half of The Happy Prince,

the students should write their own version of the first half of the fairy tale. (Deburchgraeve,

De Rycke, & Gijselings, 2012, p. 243) Considering the diversity of the exercises, as well as the

range of listening and reading comprehensions included, the makers of New Transit have

included all four methodologies: there is a focus on textual elements, on some historical

context, as well as on reader development on a personal and lexical level. Scaling the exercises

on Bloom’s taxonomy, it is also clear that the makers of the workbook have tried to include all

thinking skills, ranging from triggering pure knowledge to creating a new piece of text.

Last but not least, ACE 5 also incorportes a rather large piece on Oscar Wilde. However,

Wilde is not mentioned in the work- and textbook, but in the accompanying SET(OC) workbook

that focusses solely on the development of research competences. Poe, the Aesthetic

Movement and, maybe even more surprisingly, the Pre-Raphaelites are touched upon in a

chapter on how to analyse a classic from English literature, in connection to relevant

contextual and cultural information. (Berings, Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, & Van Hoefs,

2020, pp. 57-65) Thirteen pages of reading excerpts from The Picture of Dorian Gray are to

drill the students to develop their research competences. Content questions, in combination

with general information on the Aesthetic Movement and Dandyism should trigger them to

analyse, synthesise and evaluate their findings. (Berings, Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, & Van

Hoefs, 2020, pp. 58-62) The paintings by Rossetti, Burne-Jones and Leighton serve as visual

aesthetic examples of the era. (Berings, Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, & Van Hoefs, 2020, p.

62) ACE 5 SET(OC) combines the context, text and, to some extent, the reader approach, and

aims for Bloom’s level of analysing and evaluating, these being important elements in

conducting proper research.

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Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven

In Connect 5, the only (early-) Victorian writer mentioned, an American at that, is Edgar Allan

Poe. A reading of The Raven is added to chapter one. In a short biographical note, the students

learn something more about Poe’s life. (Vaes, Hoof, Van mechelen, & De Moor, 2019, p. 53)

The Raven is read in-class to discern types of rhyme, figures of speech and patterns. (Vaes,

Hoof, Van mechelen, & De Moor, 2019, pp. 54-55) After reading the poem, the students

should be able to recount the story in their own words, as well as be able to explain the

meaning of several difficult words underlined in the text. (Vaes, Hoof, Van mechelen, & De

Moor, 2019, p. 56) An included literary essay on The Raven tells the students more about the

time, setting, narrative qualities and symbolism used in the poem. (Vaes, Hoof, Van mechelen,

& De Moor, 2019, p. 58) However, there is not much historical context in this essay, as it only

focusses on intratextual elements.

After rather thoroughly discussing The Raven, Connect 5 also makes a bridge to the

gothic novel. The Raven, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Frankenstein (by pre-Victorian Mary

Shelley, 1818), Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886) and Dracula (by Bram

Stoker, 1897) are mentioned briefly, as a steppingstone towards a class discussion about the

gothic novel. (Vaes, Hoof, Van mechelen, & De Moor, 2019, p. 59) The students have to look

up some information about these canonical novels: who wrote each story, as well as what

setting, which characters, what plot and what type of the supernatural can be found in each

gothic novel. (Vaes, Hoof, Van mechelen, & De Moor, 2019, p. 59) The Victorian context is not

mentioned explicitly.

Looking at the exercises on Oscar Wilde and on Edgar Allan Poe, Connect 5 applies

several methodologies when it comes to teaching literature. Most exercises study textual

elements, such as the setting, character description and plot. Apart from this textual focus,

there is also some focus on reader development. This reader focus is, however, limited to the

development of vocabulary and grammar, and not the personal development of the reader.

However promising the introduction, stating that students should be challenged to have and

express their opinions, there is little room for this when it comes to forming an opinion on

literary texts. The texts in the workbook serve as a means to acquaint students with new

vocabulary, by underlining difficult words in the texts and providing the students with

definitions and small exercises using this vocabulary. The chapter on Edgar Allan Poe does end

17

with a suggestion of a presentation: the students should look up a gothic novel online and

make a short presentation, using a mind map. (Vaes, Hoof, Van mechelen, & De Moor, 2019,

p. 59) The students have to analyse and evaluate online information, combining it into a

structured presentation.

The third workbook that mentions E.A. Poe is Spark, although it is less often used by

the English teachers who responded to my query. The last chapter of Spark 4 includes the

poem The Raven, as apparently it has been turned into a rap song by the American rapper MC

Lars. (Arnold, Cox, De Rycke, & Swaenepoel, 2014, pp. 263-265) The only exercise connected

to this poem, is for the students to look up a classic poem themselves and turn it into a rap-

song to perform in front of their classmates. Spark does not use the poem to study the text

itself, but perhaps more so to trigger (personal) reader development. The students are

challenged to create something personal, by looking at the example provided in the workbook.

This challenge is of the highest educational level, according to Bloom’s taxonomy, and thus

requires proficient mastery of the lower levels. An appeal to the lower thinking skills, however,

seem to be missing. No contextual information, no vocabulary exercise, no basic information

is provided.

Another book that includes Edgar Allan Poe is New Contact 5, this time with the short

story The Black Cat. (Claeys & Passchyn, New Contact 5, 2015, pp. 201-208) The accompanying

workbook does not provide any exercises, but the short story should be discussed orally. The

textbook suggests some discussion topics, also providing some room for the students to give

their opinion on their reading experience. (Claeys & Passchyn, New Contact 5, 2015, p. 208)

The students are triggered to evaluate the literary piece while reflecting on their personal

reading experience.

Finally, ACE 4 SET(OC) also broaches Edgar Allan Poe’s work. This accompanying

workbook, focussing on research competences, has included Poe’s short story The Tell-Tale

Heart, in a chapter on how to report research results. (De Baerdemaeker, Delbaere, De Rycke,

Opsomer, & Van Hoefs, 2019, p. 47) The short story functions as a first example of the gothic

literary tradition, followed by The Signal-Man, by Charles Dickens. (De Baerdemaeker,

Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, & Van Hoefs, 2019, pp. 50-53) Both short stories are used to

look up gothic elements and symbolism. (De Baerdemaeker, Delbaere, De Rycke, Opsomer, &

Van Hoefs, 2019, pp. 54-56) The workbook does not pay special attention to the personal

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enjoyment of reading but does highlight the combination of context and text research, in

order to achieve Bloom’s level of analysing and evaluating.

Sherlock Holmes, an all-time favourite (?)

The only Victorian literature mentioned in Connect 4 concerns Sherlock Holmes, the fictional

detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1886. As an appendix to the workbook, this

legendary character is mentioned as the most widely known detective in British literature,

next to Hercule Poirot. (Vaes, Hoof, & Van Mechelen, Connect 4, 2019, p. 311) The workbook

includes a two-page fragment from Doyle’s first novel A Study in Scarlet, published in 1887.

(Vaes, Hoof, & Van Mechelen, Connect 4, 2019, pp. 312-313) Several difficult words are

underlined in the text, the meaning of which the students should be able to derive from the

context.

The reading exercise is followed by a screening of a video fragment that they have to

compare to the original (written) fragment. (Vaes, Hoof, & Van Mechelen, Connect 4, 2019, p.

314) The questions relating to both exercises mainly focus on content, for example comparing

the character representation in the fragment with the film adaptation. (Vaes, Hoof, & Van

Mechelen, Connect 4, 2019, p. 314) After this, the workbook mainly focusses on the actors

who have played Sherlock during the past decade and students have to reflect on who they

would choose as the next actor. (Vaes, Hoof, & Van Mechelen, Connect 4, 2019, p. 315) There

is no real focus on reader development, but solely on the study of literature. Connect 4, in

contrast to Connect 5, is very limited when it comes to discussing Victorian literature. Sherlock

Holmes remains as popular as ever and is, therefore, a ‘contemporary’ topic to trigger

students’ communicative skills.

Some extras

Apart from the three recurring topics, there are a few additional insertions of Victorian prose

and poetry. An interesting aside is perhaps the use of a Victorian poem in Spark 4. In the last

chapter, there is a poem by Robert Browning, My Last Duchess, serving as an example of a

dramatic monologue. (Arnold, Cox, De Rycke, & Swaenepoel, 2014, pp. 256-257) The

workbook states that the dramatic monologue was “one very popular poetic form used in the

Victorian Age”. (Arnold, Cox, De Rycke, & Swaenepoel, 2014, p. 255) Apart from this, there is

19

only a short definition of the dramatic monologue. The students should read My Last Duchess

and discuss the typical characteristics with their peers. (Arnold, Cox, De Rycke, & Swaenepoel,

2014, p. 256) The method used in Spark 4 is strictly limited to a study of the texts provided,

only looking into the characteristics of a certain text (such as the dramatic monologue).

Finally, there is a second workbook that does spend some time on one of the most

canonical Victorian writers, Charles Dickens. New Contact 5 has added quite a long reading

excerpts from Oliver Twist and alongside that, some information on nineteenth-century

London and the social unrest of that time. (Claeys & Passchyn, New Contact 5, 2015, pp. 191-

200) The textbook gives the teacher the possibility of diving into the subject, as there is a lot

of reading material included. The exercises provided are, however, focussing solely on the

content of the reading excerpts and do not exceed Bloom’s level of understanding. New

Contact 5 only suggests the study of literature, and leaves only limited room for reader

development, as there is some vocabulary to be learnt while reading the excerpts.

Conclusion

Before I started my research, I rather expected to come across Dickens and the Brontë sisters,

as they are very informative when it comes to how the cogs of Victorian society ran. Students

would already learn a great deal about the Victorian Age by simply diving into the texts these

authors produced. However, my investigation has shown that these canonical authors are

barely part of the curriculum in the third grade of secondary education. If Victorian literature

is mentioned at all, it usually boils down to The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde, The Raven by

Poe or the Sherlock Holmes novels by Doyle. Moreover, it appears that the novels that are

discussed are simply the ones of which we still find modern adaptations to this day.

Most of the workbooks do not exceed Bloom’s cognitive level of analysing and

therefore fail to challenge students to evaluate anything, let alone to work with the provided

materials creatively. The workbooks which I discussed each differ according to the applied

methodologies, but each clearly tries to administer the suggested language and literature

integrated curriculum. The literary texts are often a means to learn vocabulary (the language

approach), as well as to learn something about the traits of certain literary genres (the text

approach). On the downside, there is little to no attention to the contextual approach and

even less so, to the reader approach. This conclusion corresponds with the workbooks’

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introductory words (cf. New Contact and Connect), which emphasize their focus on

contemporary topics to teach students functional and relevant vocabulary and grammar.

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The missing ink – a Pre-Raphaelite approach

Teaching literature: the comprehensive approach

It is clear from my workbook research that the makers of EFL workbooks want to apply a

contemporary, relevant, and useful methodology. They are keenly aware of their students’

interests and only refer to older literature when there is a connection to a contemporary topic

or film adaptation. These modern topics should trigger the students’ interest to learn (mostly

practical) English. The MLA and CEFR explicitly advise teachers of EFL to administer a language

and literature integrated curriculum. Bloemert et al. have translated this into the

comprehensive approach. (Bloemert, Jansen, & Van de Grift, Exploring EFL literature in Dutch

secondary education, 2016, issue 2) Most of the workbooks are, however, unable to apply this

approach completely.

The Pre-Raphaelite approach is a comprehensive approach. Combining the context,

text, reader and language approach, it is in complete alignment with Bloemert et al.’s

comprehensive approach and the CEFR’s proposed language and literature curriculum.

Students should learn enough context about the Victorian Era to understand the social and

literary developments that took place during this period. Without proper context and relevant

historical information, Victorian literature would seem somewhat outdated, but by triggering

the students’ intrinsic motivation, by responding to the students’ needs, this can be turned

around. Comparing the Victorian Era to our present-day situation will encourage and interest

the students to engage with the topic. Victorian writing will be much better understood and

appreciated within a dense contextual frame.

Apart from this study of literature, the Pre-Raphaelite approach also focusses on the

personal growth of the reader, through reading. The students will be challenged to find a

deeper personal meaning through reading, hopefully increasing their reading pleasure while

doing so. Keeping in mind that we are still talking about EFL classes, the texts discussed in-

class can and should also be a means to improve the students’ language skills, for example

teaching them specific vocabulary and grammatical structures.

The link between the comprehensive approach and the Pre-Raphaelites is an obvious one to

make if we consider their theories which inherently translate the need to challenge the reader

22

through a work of art. They proposed that the receptivity of the reader should be expanded;

poetry and prose should inherently cultivate an aesthetic kind of attention, which has a

broadening effect on the reader’s mind. (Helsinger, 2008, p. 3) When reading or looking at a

work of art, the ‘receiver’ will be triggered by multiple stimuli simultaneously and

consequently and the reader will foster unexpected or novel connections. (Helsinger, 2008, p.

3) This ‘aesthetic attention’ stands in shrill contrast to the “tightly focused and goal-oriented

concentration demanded by much Victorian prescriptive writing” (Helsinger, 2008, p. 3). In

somewhat different words, as well as with an extra, political undertone, the Pre-Raphaelites

accentuated aesthetic (schematic) knowledge, provided by the text, which stimulates the

reader into personal (aesthetic) development. This personal reader development is what lacks

in most of the EFL workbooks and should therefore be overtly present in this proposition of

this language and literature integrated class.

Bloom’s taxonomy, and especially his highest thinking skill, ‘creating’, is the second

argument for a Pre-Raphaelite approach. The Pre-Raphaelites believed in the creation of art

within a supportive circle and referring to the medieval guilds, by mixing professional and

personal friendships in choosing the subjects of the works, as well as the actual production

and – strikingly – the address of their work. (Helsinger, 2008, p. 14) Indeed, much of Pre-

Raphaelite art was openly addressed to someone (close), going against the grain of the era, in

which anonymity and isolation seemed to become the modern standard. (Helsinger, 2008, p.

14) Anonymity and isolation, which seem to be also a trait of our current society, can be

overcome by the creation of something very personal, possibly through collaboration, be it in

a small class group. The collaborative aspect not only redeems Bloom’s taxonomy, but it is

also a practical expression of the students’ need to have a feeling of relatedness to their peers.

Deci and Ryan have theorised that students will be much more motivated and thus will gain

much more insight and knowledge, when three central ‘needs’ are accounted for. (Valcke &

De Craene, 2020, p. 47) First of all, class management and student motivation depend on

giving the students the opportunity to do things autonomously and alongside this, they also

need to have a feeling of belonging and relatedness to their peers. (Valcke & De Craene, 2020,

p. 47) Thirdly, they have a need for feeling more competent. (Valcke & De Craene, 2020, p.

47) This theory is closely connected to Bloom’s taxonomy, which states that students gain

much more learning outcome when they are triggered to process content by working with it

actively: analytical, evaluative, and creative processing trigger students to fully embrace a

23

learning activity and thus to motivate themselves intrinsically. (Valcke & De Craene, 2020, p.

54) The collaborative creative aspect, which is clearly a Pre-Raphaelite trait, is woven into this

methodology, as a translation of Bloom’s highest cognitive challenge and to redeem the

students’ need to have a feeling of belonging, relatedness, and competence. Practically, by

the end of the lesson series on Victorian writing, the students will have to create a (personal)

piece of art, which is the culmination of everything they have learned and read during the

previous sessions.

A third aspect of this Pre-Raphaelite approach is the focus on the handwritten word. In my

bachelor paper, I took a closer look at one of its most distinguished progenies of the Pre-

Raphaelites, William Morris, and especially at his A Book of Verse. A Book of Verse was

reactionary when it appeared in 1870, and it still upholds the same relevant, reactionary ideas

towards making and experiencing a literary work. In my BA paper I revealed the intricate

interaction and hermeneutical value of the illuminations and calligraphy of the work. The Pre-

Raphaelite convictions, as well as Morris’ state of mind can be discerned in the interaction

between the handwritten word and the interpretation of the ornaments, bulging like

metaphors from every page. As a reader, just like Morris aspired to do, you are pulled in by

the feeling of a closer connection: the connection the maker had with every page of the book

while writing it, while making it. This artistic strength and connection lie at the basis of the

Pre-Raphaelite way of thinking, namely the aesthetic conviction that art is a genuine craft,

resisting the “perverse individualism and commercial exploitation”. (Duschness P. C., 1960, p.

37) The creation of something beautiful demands time, attention, effort, and knowledge of

the maker. This investment on the part of the maker makes a piece truly aesthetic, in contrast

to quickly made, industrialized goods.

The Pre-Raphaelite approach to teaching Victorian poetry wants to introduce the

students to the genuine traits and personal expression of the handwritten word. Handwriting,

as a separate, powerful communicative skill, as well as a creative and personal outlet, has

suffered under the overwhelming rise of digital communication. Writing with a pen is perhaps

one of the most human, lasting and communicative acts we can perform. This productive skill

is mostly focused on in primary education, after which (and especially in secondary education)

it suffers a lack of attention, patience and, to many teachers and students, relevance. Students

will therefore be introduced to the idea that a person’s handwriting is much more than the

24

solely communicative act, as graphology studies suggest. Graphology, from Greek graphein

(“to write”) and logos (here in the meaning of “theory”), has been much used in order to

research personality traits by looking at the handwriting of a person. (Victor, 1955, p. 3) The

slant, pace and rhythm of someone’s handwriting may reveal specific characteristics of the

person in question or about someone’s mental state while writing – always bearing in mind,

though, that graphology remains a pseudo-science.

Students will gain much more satisfaction from creating a personal piece of writing,

written by hand, simply because this gives way to a closer connection between them, their

piece of art and the extra-communicative aspects intertwined. I do not suggest that students

should deliver a piece of art such as Morris’ A Book of Verse, but the mere fact that they will

have to engage with their own handwriting during the creative process will elevate their

personal connection to the piece they have written. In that sense, the Pre-Raphaelite

approach is an appeal to the slow and personally satisfying process of creating.

Practical implementation

The Pre-Raphaelite approach to teaching Victorian literature should of course also be

applicable in a real classroom setting. As an appendix to this thesis, I have added a lesson

proposal, which provides a hands-on overview of what can be taught, what prose or poetry

can be used, which interactive materials can be added, etc. The lesson plan has three phases:

there is a clear introduction, a middle part consisting of a pre-reading, reading and post-

reading phase, and a final creative phase. The introduction mainly focusses on the study of

literature in connection to contextual information. The aim is to trigger the students’ prior

knowledge and add socio-cultural insight about the Victorian Era and its types of poetry and

prose. In connection to the rise of the industrially mass-produced book, the students are also

triggered to think about the implied loss of the handwritten word, both in the nineteenth

century and today. In a short class discussion, the students should be stimulated to reflect on

the importance of this shift, as well as on the characteristics of their own handwriting.

From the second phase onwards, the teacher can decide whether to focus on poetry

or prose. The pre-reading activity consists of a short presentation of diverse works and artists

within the chosen genre. The suggested authors and works are limited in number, but the

students should be able to choose which of these authors to focus on. By doing so, the

students will experience the feeling of autonomy, which adds to their intrinsic motivation.

25

During the reading phase, the students each read the suggested literary work of the chosen

author, after which they will pair up with another student to talk about their reading

experience and to compare their insights. This will add to their feeling of belonging, again

improving their intrinsic motivation. The post-reading phase consists of a thorough research,

focussing on the literary traits and deeper meaning of the piece of writing, in connection to

the socio-historical context of the introduction. Students should be able to look up (online)

information on the chosen work, all the while improving their research competences which

are also an important feature in the newest eindtermen. The students can work in groups,

together with students who chose the same author. The students evaluate their process by

using a rubric, which helps them structure and evaluate their research process. A possible

rubric is also added as an appendix to this thesis.

The final, creative phase is a culmination of the previous phases. The students will have

to create a personal interpretation of a nineteenth-century poem, or, if they are up to it, write

a poem from scratch. Each pupil should look for a poem that appeals to them personally. The

students each make a small work of art: they should write the poem by hand, adding

calligraphy, personal drawings, a small painting, collage… which adds meaning to the poem.

The students are coaxed to ask help from friends and family during this creative process,

adding to their feeling of relatedness. The students get a few weeks to engage with the

project. After the agreed time, the works of art are displayed and discussed in-class. During

this class discussion, the students should again reflect on the creative process and how they

experienced this in connection to the literary piece, but also in connection to their personal

outlet and understanding of the work.

During the whole process, the Pre-Raphaelite approach hopes to teach the students

some resistance to (what Morris called) “perverse individualism and commercial exploitation”

and moreover to let them experience a feeling of autonomy, connectedness, and relatedness

during the creative process of making a literary piece their own, with pen and paper.

(Duschness P. C., 1960, p. 37)

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Conclusion

By analysing the English workbooks available in Flemish secondary education, I was able to

give an outline of the topics that are taught in the third grade. Regarding Victorian literature,

the selected texts are often a means to learn vocabulary (the language approach), as well as

to learn something about the characteristics of certain literary genres (the text approach),

however, there is clearly a missing (l)ink, as there is little to no attention to the contextual

approach and even less so, to the reader approach.

In contrast to the workbook research and as an answer to the CEFR’s call for an

integrated language and literature curriculum, the Pre-Raphaelite approach provides a hands-

on, complete method to teach Victorian literature in a relevant and interactive way. Not only

does the Pre-Raphaelite approach combine all Bloom’s taxonomy levels up to the highest level

of creating, it also applies the complete comprehensive model, as defined by Bloemert et al.

Not only the study of literature is part of the method, but also the use of literature as a

resource for, e.g., personal reader development, is of great importance. The combination of

socio-historical knowledge and creative work will provide the students with a feeling of

autonomy, connectedness, and relatedness. Moreover, the use of handwriting as a personal

outlet will teach the students that a work of art can gain much more (personal) value and

understanding − a welcome breath of fresh air in our rapidly changing, fleeting society.

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Appendix

Lesson proposal

The proposed lesson plan consists of approximately three sessions of fifty minutes each. The

introduction and pre-reading phase can be done in one session. Depending on the genre that

will be discussed, the reading phase will happen at home or in-class. The post-reading activity

should be done in-class, for the students to be able to discuss and check their answers with

their peers. Within the same session, the students can also start to brainstorm and work on

their creative piece of writing.

1. Introduction

The students get to see two contrasting trailers of recent films, in which Victorian London is

depicted. For example, a trailer of the Oliver Twist 2005 film adaptation and that of The Young

Victoria, a film from 2009 depicting the early life of Queen Victoria. These two trailers show a

very different side to the living circumstances in Victorian England. This screening will lead to

a brainstorm in which the students should reflect on what they have seen: What era is this?

What can you already discern about the depicted society?

The teacher introduces the Victorian Era by providing some general information such

as the most important dates and foremost figures. A concise overview of facts can be found

in English Literature II, Historical survey: more recent period (Buelens & Claes, 2012), as well

as in The Encyclopedia of the Victorian World (Corey & Ochoa, 1996).

- Reign of Queen Victoria: 1837-1901 > under her reign the British Empire became a

superpower

- Political and social unrest, such as the potato famine in Ireland from 1845-1850, the

Year of Revolutions in 1848, the Great Exhibition (the Crystal Palace) in 1851, etc.

- The invention of steam power, the postal system, the railway system, the underground

in London, photography, film, etc.

- The nineteenth century as a period of stark contrasts between extreme poverty and

economic success.

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Possible videos providing extra contextual information:

o The Victorian Era

o The Era of Queen Victoria – The Industrial Revolution (By YouTube channel It’s

history)

o Literature in the Victorian Era – A Historical Overview (By YouTube channel By

the Book)

o The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900 (By Victoria & Albert Museum)

o Oliver Twist (2005) – English Trailer

o The Young Victoria trailer HD

2. Second phase

Pre-reading activities

This lesson proposal will focus on Victorian poetry, but nonetheless a teacher can also choose

to work with literary prose. In that case, the teacher should give the students more time (at

home) to read one of the suggested works, whereas poetry can be discussed in-class.

The students are divided into groups to draw up a mind map. In this mind map, they

will focus on Victorian literature or poetry, depending on which genre the teacher chooses.

Within each group, every student is assigned with a specific role: one student is the group

manager, leading the discussion, another student is the scribe, making sure that the mind map

takes shape on paper. The third student is the researcher, tasked with looking up relevant

information online, as well as in works of reference, provided by the teacher.

Each group should at least name two characteristics of Victorian literature, as well as at least

three authors of that time. Moreover, they should be able to insert the contextual information

from the introduction to their mind map, connecting socio-historical facts to literary traits or

writers. After this group work, the students get to present their findings to their peers. The

teacher monitors the group discussion and makes sure that each group receives the correct

feedback. At the end of the discussion, the students are coached to reflect on the similarities

between the Victorian Era and our current society. In what way do the students feel that the

rapid technological evolution raises unrest? The teacher can add some pictures of manuals or

workshops promoting pottery, knitting, calligraphy… to give some food for thought. In this

29

connection, the teacher shows the students some pictures of handwritten letters, in contrast

to typed emails and (emoji)conversations. The students should reflect on the pros and cons of

the handwritten and printed medium.

As a fun experiment, each student should write down the same sentence on a piece of

paper, e.g. “The Victorian age gave rise to the mass-produced, printed book.” The teacher puts

all the papers into a bowl, after which each student picks a slip. Every student has to try and

guess whose handwriting is on the paper, as well as reflect on why they think this is the case.

This experiment will show the students that handwriting is a very personal medium, and that

we are often tempted to consider it a mirror of someone’s personality. After the experiment,

the teacher again asks the students to reflect on the pros and cons of the handwritten and

printed medium, to check if the students might have changed their minds.

The teacher presents at least three Victorian poets, connecting the contextual information

from the introduction to the poets and their works.

- Alfred Lord Tennyson

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

- Robert Browning

- Matthew Arnold

- Christina Rossetti

- Dante Gabriel Rossetti

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

- …

Reading activity:

The students choose one of the three authors and form groups, in which they take a closer

look at a poem by this author. First, they should focus on enjoying the poem: how does the

poem ‘speak’ to the reader? How does the poem make you feel? If you would write this poem

to someone: to whom would you address it and how would you write it (handwriting/on

paper/ what ornaments and why). The students discuss this personal interpretation in their

group. After this, the students read the poem a second time, in order to be able to answer the

post-reading activity questions.

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Post-reading activities

- In-group: look up the poetic traits: rhyme scheme, figures of speech, metaphors, …

- Prepare a short presentation in which you discuss these traits, relating them to the

contextual information.

- Add a vocabulary list of difficult words or explain a grammatical issue in the poem.

The students use the provided rubric to evaluate their research process. Should the teacher

work with literary prose, then the post-reading activity would consist of taking a closer look at

the storyline, the characters, plot and setting, as well as difficult vocabulary. After the

groupwork, the teacher leads a class discussion, during which the students can share their

findings and combine these into an overview of the (poetic) traits, as well as the content of

the poems discussed and the personal experience of the readers.

3. Final phase

Personal, creative work

Each student now has to make a handwritten piece of art: they can choose a work from any

Victorian poet and use references to flowers, colours and a certain style of handwriting, in

order to give more meaning to the poem: they can address it to someone they know, although

this is not obligatory. They can work together, in order for everyone to use his or her creative

skill to improve their peers’ work. Should the teacher work with literary prose, then this

creative activity could consist of writing a fictitious letter from one of the characters in the

novel to another. The students should try to empathize with one of the characters and write

a letter ‘by the hand’ of this character, to another character from the novel.

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Rubric: research assignment

Task Present Group reflection

Name at least two Victorian traits within the poetic

genre.

Used examples:

Sources:

3 authors of the genre Used examples:

Sources:

Connecting 19th C historical facts to the chosen

writer and his or her writing.

Used examples:

Sources:

Make a mind map of your findings, in which the

above tasks are combined.

32

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