STAGES OF LITERARY APPRECIATION

It is fundamental that as teachers, we understand the various stages of literary appreciation to make literature meaningful to our students and help them better connect to the text. Thus, not only do we have to understand the stages of literary appreciation but also apply various strategies suitable to the students' level.

Firstly, as teachers, we must see a need for Young Adult Fiction in the curriculum. Herz 1996, supports this view as he asserts that Young Adult Literature is appropriate for unmotivated students who cannot manage the prescribed readings in the English curriculum. Moreover, to ensure that adolescent readers are comfortable and able to understand the material they are presented with, we need to consider students' stages of development to select materials and methods that support them (Herz 1996). Thus, readers "add-on" to their initial stage depending on subject matter, interest, habits and individual reading abilities. Carlsen (1974) and Nielsen and Donelson (2001) established stages of development that must occur if a child is to become an adult who reads enthusiastically with aesthetic appreciation.

Donelson and Nielsen (2001) posit that at level One of Literary Appreciation-
 
Understanding that Pleasure and Profit come from Literature (Ages 0-5yrs)

It should be noted that development of literary appreciation begins long before children learn to read. At this stage, literary appreciation is a social one. The appreciation develops with exposing the child to books and movies or having them relate stories. As parents and teachers, we play a vital role at this stage, supporting children and engaging them in reading activities.

Students may then add-on to their stage of literary appreciation, by becoming addicted to a particular book or character. This addiction allows for the development of speed and skill. Nielsen et al (2001) regard this as Level Two: where students are learning to read or decoding information(Ages 6-8yrs).

A note of caution: struggling students may no longer be searching for pleasure but focus mainly on decoding information.

Level Three: Losing Oneself in a Story (Ages 9-11 yrs)

During this stage, reading becomes a form of escape to readers. Children frequently read series books, fantasies and animal stories (Carlsen et al 1974). For example, a child may indulge in reading books such as The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton and Archie Comics. Carlsen (1994) further claims that it is vital that this stage occurs for everything else in literature to be meaningful. As teachers we need to surround our students with these materials to stimulate their interest and set a foundation for this stage to occur.

Level Four: Finding oneself in a story (Ages 12-14)

During adolescence, our young people are self-searching and making decisions about who they are. In most cases, they tend to identify with characters in books and movies. Therefore, they place preference on texts and films with "real" stories that they can relate to in order for them to receive pleasure. They become discriminatory and are no longer satisfied with stereotype characters. They are no longer living vicariously in character's experience but rather, adolescents are searching to find themselves in the roles of these characters. Reading for these young adults is aimed at discovering  their own identity. Our role as the teacher, is to select material which is suitable enough to evoke students' interest, which are relevant to their lives and provides a sense of hope for our youth.

Level Five: Venturing Beyond Self (15-18 yrs)

At this stage of literary appreciation, the adolescents egocentricism is no longer his sole priority. His focus is on developing skills intellectually, emotionally and physically. Thus, reading is not a central focus but rather places emphasis on the society.

Level Six and Seven: Reading Widely and Aesthetic Appreciation (Ages 18-death)

Reading at this stage is for pleasure. Individuals read and share their experiences with their peers during book talks and book clubs for example. Individuals read a variety of genres  at this stage and enjoy literary appreciation, having acquired all previous stages.

Thus, as teachers and parents, we need to support our children at which ever they are but ensuring that they keep adding to the previous stage which they already possess. In our classes, we have students at various stages of literary appreciation, therefore, as teachers, we must not only be familiar but also understand these stages to match each reader's stage with materials which entertain them. These materials must also challenge readers so they may add-on to their stage (Bushman and Haas, 2001)

http://www.pucpr.edu/facultad/ssantiago/english326/326-Stages%20of%20Literary%20Appreciation%203.pdf

http://www.breitlinks.com/my_libmedia/adolescent_lit.htm