In this master dissertation we explored in detail the new literature tasks accompanying the discussion of literary texts in literature classes, together with their differentiation in the first triad. The new literature tasks belong to the last, concluding phase of educational interpreting in the communicative approach to literature teaching. The latter centers around the student and the text. The teacher assumes the role of a facilitator whose duty is to make it possible for pupils to enter the world of imagination, thereby fostering the development of their creativity and linguistic proficiency. This is achieved through the creation of several diverse, interesting, fun and creative new literature tasks that allow for many different forms of classwork and offer pupils a great deal of choice. Since differences in knowledge, skills, needs and interests always exist among pupils, the differentiation of tasks (i.e. their design with different levels of difficulty in advance of the class) is crucial in literature teaching too. Only sufficiently differentiated new literature tasks allow all pupils to progress and succeed.
In the empirical part we explored the new literature tasks and their differentiation by teachers of the first triad. The data was obtained from a questionnaire, an analysis of teachers’ preparations, and from an observation of a literature class. The results from comparing these three data sources show that teachers on average prepare around three assignments for a literary work used in class. The tasks that are most often used are those of developing imagination, imaginative activity and the continuation. Almost three-fourths of teachers are successful at differentiating the new literature tasks when preparing for the class, however, only slightly more than half of them are also successful at executing the differentiation. While most of the new literature tasks are designed at the level of the use and synthesis, there are no statistically significant differences among teachers in the assignment of tasks relative to their length of service.
With the help of the empirical analysis, we obtained an insight into the current state of the new literature tasks and their differentiation in the first triad. This in turn made it possible for us to develop a model for the planning, preparation and execution of the new literature tasks as part of a literary text discussion, in the hope that the new literature tasks with different levels of difficulty would be more appropriately planned and executed.
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