UNCERTAIN PLACES: CHALLENGING
AND APPROPRIATING TEXTS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
MIQUEL BERGA*
Uni e si a Pompeu Fab a, Ba celona, Spain
ABSTRACT
This pape sugges s some basic pedagogical p inciples which should be
bo ne in mind when dealing wi h non-na i e s uden s o English li e a u e.
They a e p esen ed as consis en wi h he a ious changes o pa adigm con-
ce ning he na u e o ex and he eading p ocess which ha e aken place in
he las decades. The pape o e s models, o de eloping c i ical awa eness
and o desc ibing he eading p ocess, which sp ing om he au ho ’s wo k-
ing de ini ion o ex . The concep o ansla ion is examined in i s po en ial
bene i s as a lea ning s a egy connec ed wi h he idea o c ea i e e-w i ing.
and a ela ed checklis o class oom ac i i ies is sugges ed.
KEY WORDS
Language, li e a u e, ex , pedagogy, eading.
RESUMEN
El a ículo sugie e los p incipios pedagógicos básicos que deben ene se
en cuen a en las elaciones de enseñanza/ap endizaje con es udian es de li e-
a u a inglesa cuya lengua na i a no es el inglés. Es os p incipios se p esen-
an como consecuencia lógica de los cambios de pa adigma que an o el con-
cep o de ex o como el p oceso de lec u a han expe imen ado en las úl imas
décadas. El a ículo plan ea modelos pa a el desa ollo c í ico de la lec u a y
pa a una adecuada desc ipción del p oceso lec o que eme gen de la de ini-
ción de ex o p opues a po el au o . Asimismo, se explo a el concep o de
aducción en elación a sus bene icios po enciales como es a egia de ap en-
dizaje en el ma co de los eje cicios de eesc i u a c ea i a. Finalmen e, se sugie-
e una lis a abie a de ac i idades de clase en consonancia con los plan ea-
mien os expues os.
CAUCE, Re is a de Filología y su Didác ica, nº 24, 2001 / págs. 507-517 507
* Miquel Be ga is a senio lec u e in English language and li e a u e a he Fac-
ul y o Humani ies (UPF). He has published ex ensi ely abou Geo ge O well and o h-
e B i ish w i e s in ol ed wi h he Spanish Ci il Wa . His biog aphy o John Langdon-
Da ies (1991) was g an ed he “Fundació Cong és de Cul u a Ca alana” awa d. His la es
publica ion is an an hology o Ame ican go hic ales, “Cinco muje es locas” (Lumen,
2001).
MIQUEL BERGA
508
PALABRAS CLAVE
Lengua, li e a u a, ex o, pedagogía, lec u a.
RÉSUMÉ
L’a icle p opose les p incipes pédagogiques de base à considé e dans
les appo s enseignemen /app en issage a ec des é udian s de li é a u e anglaise
don la langue d’o igine n’es pas l’anglais. Ces p incipes découlen logique-
men des changemen s de pa adigme qu’on subis les de niè es décennies aus-
si bien le concep de ex e que celui de lec u e. De la dé ini ion de ex e
a ancée pa l’au eu , ésul en des modèles pou le dé eloppemen c i ique de
la lec u e e pou une desc ip ion pe inen e du p ocessus qui lui es p op e.
Le concep de aduc ion es lui aussi explo é, en aison des a an ages po en-
iels qu’il o e en an que s a égie d’app en issage dans le cad e des exe ci-
ces de ééc i u e c éa i e. Une lis e ou e e d’ac i i és de classe es en in
p ésen ée, en co éla ion ès é oi e a ec les hypo hèses dé endues.
MOTS-CLÉ
Langue, li é a u e, ex e, pédagogie, lec u e.
When hey a e in he posi ion o lacking ull linguis ic compe ence
in hei L2, eade s sha e a gene al endency o de elop an a i ude o
o e -de e ence owa ds ex s which a e p esen ed o hem as holding
he s a us o “li e a u e”. Too o en we ha e acco ded ce ain mys ical
p i ileges o he e m Li e a u e ( his is usually seen in uni e si y depa -
men s whe e eache s o li e a u e become he heologians o English
S udies who deal wi h big heo e ical issues while lesse eache s, ha
is eache s o language o composi ion, a e le wi h he job o pa ish
p ies s in ca ying ou he ou ines o daily p ac ice). In he case o s u-
den s o a o eign language his p econcep ion is u he ein o ced by
he adi ional assump ion ha he eache ’s job has o do wi h he meneu-
ics, ha is o say, ha i is o he eache o p oduce he igh in e -
p e a ion o he sac ed ex s. The combined e ec o his p ejudice
esul s in s uden s app oaching ex s o o eign li e a u e wi h a dep ess-
ing a i ude which consis s o doses o o e -de e ence and passi i y in
equal pa s. In hese ci cums ances ou pedagogical in e ac ion, which
should be di ec ed a p oducing TEXT-ASY, is likely o p oduce TEXT-
ICIDE which is he su e sign o us a ion in eache and s uden alike.
This is a poin which should be ex ended beyond he o eign lan-
guage class oom since i is a he e y hea o a common and gene -
al conce n in educa ion. Yea s ago Robe Scholes (1985, p. 16) pu i
UNCERTAIN PLACES: CHALLENGING AND APPROPRIATING TEXTS…
509
in e ms which ha e become mo e and mo e ele an wi h he pass-
ing o ime:
In an age o manipula ion when ou s uden s a e in di e need o
c i ical s eng h o esis he con inuing assaul s o all he media, he
wo s hing we can do is o os e in hem an a i ude o e e ence
be o e ex s.
To oppose he ha m ul e ec s o e e ence, o e -de e ence, and
passi i y be o e li e a y ex s in a o eign language we should ac i a e,
as much as possible, he po en ial o awa eness which should be, o
begin wi h, bo h linguis ic and li e a y. Linguis ic awa eness and li e -
a y awa eness a e ins umen al in de eloping he kind o awa eness
ha ma e s: c i ical awa eness. The “challenging” and he “app op ia -
ing” o my i le can only be me wi h c i ical awa eness. To achie e
his c ucial aim I p opose a model ha accoun s o wo in e ela ed
axes which de ine he ield o ou conce ns. Axis A ollows wha Pope
(1995) has called he “ h ee mo emen s and momen s o in e en ion”
and ocuses, ul ima ely, on he ele an ma e ials o class oom p ac-
ice. Axis B ollows sugges ions by Ca e (1991, p. 11) on wha he
conside s he ele an pedagogical conce ns in class oom in e ac ion
(see diag am on nex page).
When con on ing a li e a y ex in a o eign language one should
bea in mind hese six ocal poin s i we wan o equip s uden s wi h
he means o “open up” he ex and make i hei own. I migh no
always be easy o accoun o all o hem bu we should in end o ac i-
a e as many as possible in ou p esen a ion o ex s. Tex awa eness
is he i al s ep leading o c i ical awa eness and i migh o en be
enough o ocus on “language” and “con ex ” o u n he eading o a
ce ain ex in o a meaning ul exe cise in c i ical unde s anding.
Bu o accoun o he o he h ee ocal poin s (c oss- ex ual, s u-
den -cen ed and p ocess-o ien ed), mo e is needed. I we eally wan
s uden s o asse hei powe o e he ex s a he han become pas-
si e consume s o canonical li e a u e a shi o emphasis is needed.
Wha I p opose is o see ou discipline in e ms o “Tex ual S udies in
English” a he han “English Language and Li e a u e”. In ou si ua ion,
wha is p obably equi ed is a new p ojec , he change o di ec ion in
English s udies which Scholes (1998:103) has de ined as a econs uc-
ion o ou syllabi away om a canon o ex s and owa d a canon o
me hods. In o he wo ds, mos ex s will do i we apply o hem ped-
MIQUEL BERGA
510
A
Rele an ma e ials should accoun o he:
B
Pedagogical app oaches should be:
CONTEXTUAL
TEXTUAL
CROSS-
TEXTUAL
LANGUAGE-
BASED
STUDENT-
CENTERED
PROCESS-
ORIENTED
agogical app oaches ha pu he s uden a he cen e and a e used as
a sp ingboa d o engaging he lea ne in an ac i e eading p ocess.
Bu , how can his se o pe cep ions be u ned in o s a egies o
li e a y s udies? How can we engage s uden s wi h c i ical and c ea i e
p ac ices consis en wi h he assump ions men ioned so a ? My mod-
es p oposal is ha we should in ol e s uden s in c ea i e e-w i ing
(which implies “doing” hings o ex s, changing hem, ans-la ing hem
in some way o ano he ) as he mos e ec i e way o con on ing, chal-
lenging and ul ima ely app op ia ing wha is ini ially p esen ed o hem
as “li e a u e in a o eign language”. Ou submissi e eade o English
li e a u e can hen become a c i ical eade o ex uali y in English. And
climbing his u he s ep is whe e he c ucially educa ional ole o li -
e a y s udies lies in ou cu icula. In doing his, we may ha e o e ed
ou s uden s some guidance in lea ning how o unde s and hei wo ld
and su i e in i and, hope ully, hey should end up be e equipped
o c i icise i and y o imp o e i .
Ha ing se up he ul ima e aim in eaching English li e a u e o EFL
s uden s in hese e ms, i is necessa y o wo k on he basis o some
“wo king” de ini ion o he e y concep o Tex , which has become
cen al in ou cu en pe cep ions o a and li e a u e a he end o a
long deba e on he na u e o wha McRae (1991, p. 5) has called “ ep-
esen a ional” language. Cunningham (1995, p. 5) has eassessed his
on ological issue sugges ing ha he shi s in emphasis can be aced
A MODEL FOR DEVELOPING CRITICAL AWARENESS THROUGH
THE READING OF LITERARY TEXTS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
UNCERTAIN PLACES: CHALLENGING AND APPROPRIATING TEXTS…
511
back ollowing signi ican o mula ions o he same unde lying ques ion
and men ions Tols oy’s Wha is A , Sa e’s Wha is Li e a u e?, Jakob-
son’s Wha is Poe y? as p eceden s leading o he ecen conce ns
exp essed by De ida’s o Ricoeu ’s in he key ques ion: Wha is Tex ?.
Cunningham’s discussion helped me in inding a wo king de ini ion o
Tex which has p o ed a use ul and inspi ing memo o my own class-
oom p ac ice. I is he ollowing: “Tex is an unce ain place whe e
wo ds and wo lds con e ge in human ques o meaning”. This de ini-
ion is, in ac , a eminde o he “s u wo ds a e made on” and hei
pa icula communica i e po en ial: wo ds e e o wo lds bu new
wo ds c ea e new wo lds –new eali ies– in a dual p ocess which is
cha ac e ised by a cons an in e ac ion be ween ex ual he o ici y ( he
language de ices which a e placed inside he ex ) and his o ici y ( he
e e en ial links which place he eade ou side he ex ).
The e is now a b oad consensus in add essing he issue o ex
along simila lines. I is, I belie e, pa o wha would now be con-
side ed by mos as he dominan pa adigm in li e a y heo y. The hi d
o a se ies o s ages which s a ed wi h a p eoccupa ion wi h he au ho
(Roman icism and he XIX h cen u y), was ollowed by an exclusi e
conce n wi h he ex (New C i icism 1920s), and has gi en way o a
ma ked shi o a en ion o he eade (Recen decades). Pedagogical
app oaches mi o de elopmen s in li e a y heo y and he essen ial
change can be o mula ed as a shi om eaching as an exe cise in
he meneu ics whe eby he eache in e p e s/ e eals meaning o he
lea ne , o eaching as an in e ac i e p ocess in ol ing eache , ex , and
lea ne , whe eby meaning only becomes ele an as a esul o ac i e
nego ia ion.
This se o assump ions is, I belie e, consis en wi h he model
which I de eloped in he ea ly 1990s in o de o desc ibe The Read-
ing P ocess and which is a he basis o he p oposals I will make in
connec ion wi h class oom p ac ice when eaching li e a u e o s uden s
whose i s language is no English (see diag am on nex page).
This diag am ies o ep esen he a ious in e ac ions in ol ed in
he p ocess o eading in a class oom si ua ion. I shows, i s o all,
he basic in e ac ion be ween eade and ex bu allowing oom o
he se e al, and p obably di e en , eadings ( esponses, in e p e a ions)
ha will occu . The eache ’s eading is supposed o in e ac wi h he
s uden s’, bu i is gi en some py amidal p ominence in o de o indi-
ca e s/he’s expec ed o s imula e pe sonal esponses bu also o a oid

MIQUEL BERGA
512
R1 R2
RT
Wo (l)dTEXT
absu d in e p e a ions ha canno be based on easonable e idence
om he ex .
All he eadings, including he eache ’s a e included in he same
a ow o show how hey do depend no only on he ac ual wo ding
o he ex bu , o a g ea ex en , on hei knowledge o he wo ld
which will accoun o a lo o assump ions, p econcep ions and expec-
a ions abou he e y ex . Bu he ela ionship which is es ablished
be ween eade s, ex and he wo ld wo ks wo ways, and hence he
wo a ows. The lowe one signalling how he eade s’ pe cep ion o
he ex is, as i we e, “ il e ed” by hei p e ious knowledge o expe-
ience o he wo ld and he uppe a ow sugges ing how i is p ecise-
ly h ough ex and eading ha we shape ou pe cep ions, ou g ow-
ing awa eness, o he wo ld and hence he b acke s in “wo ld”, a
concep we basically app ehend h ough “wo ds”.
I we look a he p ac ice o eaching h ough an analogy wi h he
p ac ice o cooking I would say ha we, he cooks, ha e o s a wha -
e e dish wi h he same wo basic ing edien s: ex and s uden . These
a e ou wo a eas o in e en ion. In he Tex ual a ea we ha e o p o-
mo e awa eness connec ed wi h h ee di e en le els o compe ence:
linguis ic, p agma ic, and li e a y compe ence. This ini ial in e en ion
can be g ea ly ein o ced by p o iding s uden s wi h clues and
esou ces om o he a eas. Tha is, by mo ing om he Tex ual o he
Con ex ual and C oss ex ual. To discuss wha is implied by hese wo
concep s is beyond he aim o his pape bu a de ailed accoun o a
case in poin o class oom p ac ice can be ound in Be ga (1999). The
ele an poin , hough, is ha one ealises he ex en o which a is ic
c ea i i y is connec ed o he exe cise o e-w i ing in li e a y adi ion
UNCERTAIN PLACES: CHALLENGING AND APPROPRIATING TEXTS…
513
by simply ga he ing he di e se con ex ual and c oss ex ual ma e ials
abou a gi en ex . As Lodge (1992, p. 98) pu i “…in e ex uali y is
he e y condi ion o li e a u e (…) all ex s a e wo en om he is-
sues o o he ex s, whe he hei au ho s know i o no .” I e e y new
ex has ine i ably a p e- ex , e e y c ea i e e-w i ing b ings abou a
ulle unde s anding o he p e- ex and new laye s o meaning a e
added o he new e sion o he p oduc . I is wi h his awa eness o
wha is oo ed a he e y co e o a is ic c ea i i y ha we – eache s
and s uden s alike– may eel mo e con iden in ollowing me hodolo-
gies based on wha Pope (1995) has app op ia ely called “Tex ual In e -
en ion”.
Bu le us now conside he second basic ing edien in ou cook-
ing: he s uden . I we a e o be consis en wi h all he heo e ical assump-
ions s a ed so a we ha e o pu he s uden a he cen e o he whole
p ocess, side by side wi h he ex . In o he wo ds, ou me hodologies
ha e o ind ways o ma ching ou ex ual conce ns wi h he conce n
o gi ing s uden s hei due ole as ac i e eade s. I ha e always ound
e y use ul he ollowing diag am in which I ied o summa ise Ronald
Ca e ’s (1991, p. 11) clea and pe cep i e iews on his issue:
S uden -cen ed
P ocess-o ien ed
Reading
Li e a y Tex s Ac i i y-based
Me hodology
Language-based
app oaches
Now, eache s bea ing in mind all hese assump ions and conce ns
will ind imagina i e ways in de eloping pedagogically sound s a egies
in hei class ooms. Bu he so o echnique which I ound mos sa -
is ac o y in accoun ing o all he heo e ical a ionales I ha e ou lined
MIQUEL BERGA
514
in his pape can be explained in hese e ms: wha we ac ually do in
a class oom si ua ion has always been a ques ion o T ansmission and
T ansac ion. To open up ex s, o le s uden s asse hei powe o e
hem and o challenge and app op ia e hose ex s, o le hem be ac i e
eade s c i ically awa e o he p ocesses in ol ed in p oducing li e a-
u e, o make hem eel ha i is “ hei ” esponsibili y o nego ia e and
cons uc he meaning o hose ex s… In o de o accoun o all o
hese engaging possibili ies we ha e o encou age a hi d p ocess, a
hi d T,: T ans o ma ion. To app op ia e a ex , o ead deeply in o i ,
eade s o li e a u e in a o eign language ha e adi ionally eso ed o
my ou h T, T ansla ion.
T ansla ion has been he ob ious way, o o eign eade s, o en e
a ex and i is, no doub , a powe ul and mos use ul exe cise in ead-
ing. Bu in he a ea o ou conce ns T ansla ion should be seen as jus
one o he many mani es a ions which de i e om he mo e gene al
concep o T ans o ma ion. In my expe ience he mos e ec i e way o
see how a ex wo ks is o change i in some way o ano he . The e y
ac o doing some hing “ o” a ex es ablishes a dialogic si ua ion. And,
a e all, some deg ee o ans e ence is always needed in any human
communica ion. As Geo ge S eine (1998, p. 49) has pu i “a human
being pe o ms an ac o ansla ion, in he ull sense o he wo d, when
ecei ing a message om any o he human being”. We li e “be ween”
languages (e en inside ou “own” language) and S eine simply ca ies
he a gumen o i s logical conclusion when he s a es ha “a s udy o
ansla ion is a s udy o language”. I is in he p ocess o consciously
changing a ex ha we become ully awa e o wha he o iginal con-
ains. This is wha Jo ge Luis Bo ges (1976, p. 89) was hin ing a when
he w o e ha “Ningún p oblema an consus ancial con las le as y con
su modes o mis e io como el que p opone una aducción. (…) La a-
ducción pa ece des inada a ilus a la discusión es é ica”(“No p oblem
is as comple ely conco dan wi h li e a u e and wi h he modes mys-
e y o li e a u e as is he p oblem posed by a ansla ion. (…) T ans-
la ion seems des ined o aes he ic discussion”). And his is closely ela -
ed o Robe F os ’s amous de ini ion o poe y: “Poe y is wha ge s
los in ansla ion”. In ansla ing be ween languages – ha is in c ea i e
e-w i ing– deep eading occu s and ou o his in ense dialogue
be ween w i e and eade a new ex is bo n. The e is no doub in
my mind ha his c ea i e s a egy p oduces a c i ical awa eness which
allows s uden s o challenge and app op ia e li e a y ex s on hei own
e ms.
UNCERTAIN PLACES: CHALLENGING AND APPROPRIATING TEXTS…
515
The concep o T ansla ion is o be seen, he e o e, as a lea ning
s a egy, a echnique in Re-W i ing wi h no mechanical meaning
a ached o i bu wi h he ull consciousness ha any ansla ion implies
an ac o c ea i e e-w i ing. Tha is why I like o poin ou he se -
e al ope a ions which a e open o us om he ini ial d i e o ansla -
ing (ca ying some hing om one place o ano he as implied in he
Spanish “ aslada ”) om one language o ano he : Ve sion… Con- e -
sion… Di- e sion… Pe - e sion?
I shall conclude wi h a checklis wi h ac i i ies adap ed om Ca e
& Long (1991) and Pope (1995; 1998), bo h, seminal wo ks in consid-
e ing he bene i s o ew i ing exe cises in eaching li e a u e. They a e
p esen ed as exe cises in ansla ion and ha e p o ed, in ac ual p ac-
ice, mos s imula ing and e ec i e in eaching he goals I se mysel
in eaching li e a u e o non-na i e speake s o English. They a e
applied in his case o a cou se on B i ish D ama and I call hem “Some
Ideas o C ea i e W i ing (Re-W i ing) and Commen a y”:
ALTERNATIVE SUMMARIES AND THE ARTS OF PARAPHRASE
Summa ise he play in a a ie y o ways so as o d aw a en ion o
di e en aspec s o i s p eoccupa ions o cons uc ion. Fo ins ance, a
se ies o summa ies a ying be ween a ph ase, a sen ence, 50 wo ds,
and 100 wo ds can be e y e ealing in es ablishing wha you consid-
e p og essi ely mo e o less cen al in e ms o hemes, e en s, cha -
ac e s, s a egies, e c. Al e na i ely you migh “pa aph ase” he ex
d awing on c i ical discou ses: Ma xis , Feminis , Psychological, Pos -
s uc u alis , Pos -colonialis , e c.
CHANGED TITLES, STAGE DIRECTIONS, OPENINGS
In e ene in hese a eas o he play so as o dis u b and eo ien
hem. Aim o cue he eade (o he audience) o a sligh ly o e y
di e en eading (o pe o mance): one wi h sligh ly (o e y) di e en
expec a ions as o cen e o in e es , cha ac e s’ poin o iew, e c.
ALTERNATIVE ENDINGS
Al e he ending o he play so as o d aw a en ion o some op ion
no explo ed o in some way o eclosed. Go on o explo e he easons