WHY LITERATURE FOR FIRST GRADERS?

 

Language does not occur in an empty space, language is the group of  signs which try to weave the tapestry of things which would remain unsaid or unamed. These things, unsaid or unamed, exist and nobody knows exactly what they are and what they are made of, but language, with its material signifiers, is always ready to signify them.

By signifying we meet life in a less instinctive way and more cognitive way, we manage to build up a concrete life where we can live and die with more dignity.

Language exists in each thread of the weaving process, one which is never finished.

Literature is one kind of tapestry, one able to offer us safe ground and endless sky, one which gives us wings to fly and shoes to step on sharp stones, one which helps us not to feel alone.

When in a foreign language class, literature plays a big role, since it brings the foreign worlds and their words to us, inviting us to be part of its context, for we may lack its expressions but not its dreams, fears and hopes.

Literature, especially for children, is full of magic, unknown things and mystery, it is a wonderful tapestry for the learners to play with and feel inspired to get their own threads and start spinning their own wheel, this time in another language.