textThis multi-case (two-case) interpretive study investigated the difficulties in studying
and teaching the required survey courses of British and American literature in traditional
English departments in Taiwan as well as what the students and instructors did when
encountering these difficulties. Conducted in two traditional English departments in
Taiwan, this study had two types of participants: two instructors with different
nationalities offering British literature and American literature respectively and the
upper-division English majors enrolled in the two classes. The focal student groups from
the two classes were volunteers. For cross-validation of the findings, the following data
sources were included: classroom observation for eight weeks, questionnaire (mainly to
guide the interviews), semi-structured text-based and in-depth interviews with focal
groups, and in-depth interviews with the instructors. Along with classroom observation
narratives and analytic memos, interview data with these informants were transcribed and
analyzed.
The findings of this study support prior scholarly discussions concerning the fact
that students majoring in a foreign language lack target language proficiency and target
cultural understanding, and thus the ability to understand the assigned literary texts.
Although the masterworks used in these courses were considered to be difficult, it was
found that both teacher influence and learner characteristics were even more significant
in shaping how difficulties were experienced in studying and teaching literature written in
English as a foreign language. Institutional or instructional factors such as curriculum
requirements, course requirements, and course objectives were found directly to influence
students’ difficulties and successes. Further, the findings of this study pointed to the
importance of motivation-related issues, as shown in individual interest, aptitude, and
motivational orientation, but seldom mentioned in previous scholarly arguments or
research data. As a result, instructors encountered difficulties given in their teaching that
characteristics of the learners could not be changed in the short term and those of choice
of teaching materials were more or less fixed by the curriculum. Based on these findings,
suggestions are made for curriculum designers and instructors teaching foreign literature
as well as for future research.Foreign Language Educatio