Teachers working on BritLit in Hungary have been busily devising a new approach, and they have chosen to focus on four British cities, examining them through the eyes of their native poets. The first of these looks at the city of Liverpool and uses the words of Levi Tafari.

British Council Portugal, together with state school teachers in Portugal, is working towards creating a set of literature background materials and resources to help English language learning in Portugal. Entitled BritLit, this exciting project will provide Portuguese teachers of English with an interesting, imaginative and supportive method of exploiting the full potential of English language learning through literature. The National Curriculum currently provides a list of set texts which students in Portuguese state schools must study; however time and resources are often against the teacher, preventing them from achieving the full potential offered by the texts. The British Council has stepped in to fill this gap by providing detailed background material and resources, both online and off-line.

Practically, this means working with teachers, who select texts and outline the materials required. British Council in Portugal and London then work together to provide materials such as classroom activity-based worksheets, wall posters, simulations, vocabulary and grammar-focused homework sheets, as well as access to links and resources, information and support through a web page. The development of these materials encourages teachers to study UK novels, meaning that students develop a fuller understanding of UK culture.

Officially launched in September 2002 with Brit Lit Teachers Kit number 1 – featuring Weekend, a short story by Fay Weldon – these practical resources are also supported by writer visits.  As well as organising a visit to Portugal by Fay Weldon, the British Council has also planned regional events and provided teachers with materials to prepare students for live literature visits by Romesh Gunesekera, John Agard and Grace Nichols.  These events served to deepen and develop student interest and knowledge in English literature and language learning.

Future developments in Brit Lit will include the production of resources for short stories by Beryl Bainbridge and Eric Mapass, primarily aimed at Years 10 and 11 at secondary school, as well as a visit by Lavi Tafari.

For more information on Brit Lit, please contact:
Fitch O’Connell
British Council
Rua do Breiner155
4050-126 Porto, Portugal
Tel: (+351) 22 207 30 60
Fax: (+351) 22 207 30 68
E-mail: brit.lit@pt.britishcouncil.org
Web site: www.pt.britishcouncil.org

To download the teaching pack for the short story Weekend by Fay Weldon, follow the links at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/download/britlit/britlit.shtml.