CRITICAL LITERARY LITERACY AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING: BLACK LITERATURE AS A TOOL FOR HUMANIZATION

Abstract

For some time in traditional foreign language teaching, literature occupied the place of teaching object used in the translation method. With the changes in teaching methodology, the literary text has lost its importance in English classrooms. However, literature is resurging and asking for space in this context in conformity with the official documents of education that attribute to the teaching of foreign languages the development of knowledge for the exercise of citizenship. This research aims to analyze the use of literary texts in the English language classroom that through this literacy process facilitates the construction of the student's formative character, collaborating in the reflection about his social practices and actions as a critical and sensitive individual. The short story "Girl" by the black writer Jamaica Kincaid is presented as an alternative object of study, bringing attention to relevant discussions of post-modernity, such as the colonization process, which is responsible for a great part of the identity formation of several peoples. Based on the assumptions of literature as a "humanizing" text (Candido, 2012), transgressive (Cosson, 2016; Hooks, 2017), and transformative (Gonçalves; Specht, 2018) the research highlights linguistic, cultural, social, and spiritual learning factors of literary texts, contributing to the formation of a society based on equity, solidarity, and respect.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2025.030-019