Class and East-West confrontation in E. M. Forster's selected works and teaching of the theme in ELT classes

In this thesis E. M. Forster, a well-known author who has used class and east-west confrontation themes in his literary works, will be taken as a very useful and valuable input source through his works in the so mentioned themes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the benefits and advantages of the classes in which E. M. Forster?s literary texts including the theme of class and East-West confrontation are used. Forster?s five books are handled for this dissertation: A Room with a View including an individual?s opposition to and clash with the society; The Longest Journey, handling Rickie?s labeling people instead of seeing them as plain individuals; Howards End, the tale of typical episodes of class envy and snobbery, a possible budding romance between a wealthy scion and a poor girl, and the like; The Machine Stops with the description of people living in individual cells, empty except for a chair, a desk, and the controls of a machine, from here to people's relationship to a power outside themselves, and their ceasing relationships with each other; A Passage to India, the famous story of East-West confrontation.The themes in these works are quite colorful and useful and thus, they might be a good source of material for writing and speaking sessions in ELT classes. The texts and quotations which can be extracted from these novels can be fitted to any level. But they will be useful in classes and will be very meaningful as outside reading material especially for upper-intermediate and advanced level learners of English.This thesis aims at finding out the applicability of sentences, quotations, specific themes, questions and various implications of statements in E. M. Forster?s literary texts in ELT classes. Two productive skills out of four that one experiences during foreign language learning process are speaking and writing. It is a known fact that learners of English language in various age groups and at different comprehensive levels will have greater tendency towards practicing the language and develop deeper enthusiasm for learning when authentic literary material is provided for activities in productive skills. As literary texts are very useful input resource for ELT classes, such material can be thought as promising a more valuable, thematic and, most importantly, encouraging language learning atmosphere. Recent ELT series like New Cambridge Advanced English or Passages can be parallel to this understanding. When one examines the texts and quotations in these series, one can realize that the learners show greater interest and enthusiasm in speaking and writing classes of those series mentioned above and alike. As for the theoretical base, mainly, Whole Language Learning emphasizes the use of authentic literary material in ELT classes. It is known that the use of such literary texts and quotations is naturally very useful when native speakers of that language are practicing their own language. Likewise, the use of such material in curricula of ELT classes is undeniably important.It can be evaluated that learners of English language in various groups, especially middle school, high school and college students, will show greater interest in studying on the thought inspiring theme of East-West confrontation, cultural diversity and dichotomy, class differences among different strata of society. For Turkish people, it is a very well known fact that a great deal of the intellectual, political, social, educational investments are directed to westernization process throughout the last two hundred and fifty years, mostly to be able to integrate with European Union in recent decades. In our country, when one compares the eastern values and life style to the western understanding, one may come across some paradoxical and thought inspiring situations. Such phenomena, which are handled and studied very meticulously in literary works, naturally arouse the interest in studying on literary texts and quotations in the process of foreign language learning. The use of such material in ELT classes will offer more enjoyable activities and more positive language learning environment and therefore increase the success.